I remember seeing a tourist get stuck at Euljiro 3-ga station because her Climate Card wasn’t working the way she expected. A station worker had to walk over and explain that she needed to pay the fare difference, since she’d ridden past the covered zone without realizing it. It wasn’t a big deal, but she…
I remember seeing a foreign couple leave some cash on the table after dinner at a restaurant. A few minutes later, the waitress came running outside with the money. At first I thought something had gone wrong, but she was just trying to give their money back. They had left it as a tip. That…
A friend from overseas once filled her water bottle from the tap in her hotel room and then asked me, “Is this actually safe to drink?” I remember hesitating because the answer isn’t quite as simple as yes or no. The water is considered safe, but most Koreans have their own reasons for not drinking…
Why Do Koreans Eat With Their Mouths Open, Slurping and Smacking? Wheoo-loop. Nyam nyam. Jjeop jjeop. Eating hot noodles without blowing on them first isn’t easy for anyone. But that combination of sounds — the slurping, the smacking, the open-mouth chewing — is something that grates on a lot of visitors, especially people who grew…
Korean Cafe Culture There’s a cafe near my place where I keep seeing the same guy by the window. I’ve probably walked past that cafe a dozen times over the last couple of weeks, and somehow he’s always in the same seat. Same laptop, same untouched glass of water next to a coffee cup that’s…
Korean Dating Culture: Why Do Couples Define the Relationship So Quickly? I remember a coworker once asking me, half-jokingly, why dating in Korea seemed to move so fast. He’d been seeing someone for a few weeks when she finally asked, “So… are we actually dating?” He was completely caught off guard. Back home, he said,…
South Korea has around 55,000 convenience stores, a number close to or matching Japan’s — but when you factor in population size, Korea actually has roughly twice the store density of Japan, with one store for roughly every 900 to 950 people. It’s close to midnight, and the convenience store near my place is still…
What Is Bulgogi? The Real Story Behind Korea’s Most Famous BBQ Dish How did bulgogi end up becoming Korea’s most iconic dish? Honestly, I didn’t think about that question at all the first time I tried it. I was too busy watching a Korean grandmother hand me a pair of tongs, tell me to keep…
Best Time to Visit Korea Okay, real talk. “When should I visit Korea?” is probably the question I get asked the most, and honestly, there’s no single right answer. Every season here has its own personality, its own weather drama, and its own festival lineup that’s worth planning a trip around. So instead of giving…
K-Dramas and Korean Culture. For many people, their first real introduction to Korea doesn’t happen at an airport or in a travel guide. It happens while watching a K-drama. Maybe it’s a palace scene, a family dinner, or a late-night street food scene. At some point, Korea starts to feel strangely familiar, even to someone…
