An old, historic market -- usually filled with more elderly crowds or foreign tourists looking for a unique experience -- is frequented by young hipsters these days who are searching for imported liquor at reasonable prices. “I could buy the liquor at convenience stores or department stores, or liquor shops in my neighborhood, but it is much cheaper here,” said an office worker in his early 30s ...

The average cost of scallions per kilogram sold in retailers across the country more than doubled on-year in May to 5,215 won ($4.69), data provided by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. showed. It was relatively tamer than the price gains in March and April when it jumped 300 percent and 270 percent on-year. A temporary supply chain disruption was the culprit behind the price surge, ac...

For average customers, one of the easiest ways to pursue a green lifestyle is to purchase eco-friendly products. To target these customers and raise their brand images, companies in South Korea are rolling out eco-friendly products one after another, including some made of biodegradable plastic. Typically made from natural materials such as corn starch, biodegradable plastic is designed to brea...

Andong soju, probably one of the most well-known for its unique scent of yeast and smoothness, has been at the forefront of the distilled soju market and has served as one of the most famous specialties from North Gyeongsang Province. Its rival Munbaeju, that originates in Pyongyang, attracts consumers with a distinctly fruity scent of wild pear and runs smoothly down the throat. The drink was s...

There is also the big question of what really constitutes environmentally friendly housing. “There is a neighbor who often talks about how eco-friendly his house is,” a retired office worker with the surname of Kang who built his own house in the Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province said. Kang was referring to his neighbor who lives in a “passive house,” an ultra-low energy building that requires minimu...

Oh Jong-gyun, a 35-year-old in Seoul, had an awkward moment when he went to pay for valet service during a blind date last week. Not only was he feeling shy in front of a lady he had just met that evening, Oh also realized that he hadn‘t carried ”real money“ for months. “I risked losing face, on my first date, to ask her for 3,000 won. Well, she didn’t have it either,” he said. Oh is one of gro...

The growing demand for multibrand platforms in recent years is a response to the increasing number of direct-to-consumer stores in the country which has seen the online shopping business expand at one of the fastest rates in the world, according to Cafe24, a Seoul-based global e-commerce platform provider. “This type of curated e-commerce makes the shopping experience easier for consumers,” sa...

Since the Japanese government announced plans to dispose of radioactive wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant by releasing it into the sea, Seoul is scrambling to stop it from happening. At the very least, it wants Tokyo to provide transparent information to the international community. South Korea, Japan’s closest neighbor, views the discharge of more than 1 million tons of conta...

Park Hyo-eun, a 28-year-old resident of Gyeonggi Province, joined the miracle mornings trend in an effort to live more diligently. She usually heads to a fitness center at around 6 a.m. and works out for a couple of hours. "I set up morning routines to become a more diligent person. After doing exercise and reading books in the morning, I’ve started to place a higher priority on health and make ...

In 2020, 65 percent of the 1.03 trillion won in Bibigo Mandu sales were from overseas markets, CJ said. The US was the biggest market for Bibigo Mandu, which raked in 420 billion won, followed by China at 160 billion won and Japan, at 65 billion won. To cater to the palate of overseas consumers while maintaining its authentic taste, CJ had to make tweaks in their ingredient list. Instead of usi...

With Korea now better known around the world, there is less demand for introductory books on Korea and a higher interest for fictions by notable authors like Han Kang in English, compilations of Korean traditional stories and books about K-pop, among others. For those interested in finding and reading Korean literature in English, the best odds of finding them lies here. By Lim Jang-won ( ljw@...

Kim Young-il, business strategy team leader of Danal Fintech, believes that the digital currency payment market has the potential to grab some portion of South Korea’s 3,000 trillion won in annual transactions in credit cards and cash. Danal’s efforts are the latest attempt to use cryptocurrencies as a means of exchange for goods and services in the physical world. Such efforts have continued f...

“Last year I needed some relief, some mental health outlet, so I bought a bike. I actually started because I was taking the Ttareungyi bikes. Then I craved a little bit more,” Maloney said. “I’ve lived in Seoul for eight years but I’m experiencing it in a totally new way because I’m not stuck on a train or a bus. I can sort of have agency about where I go. Anywhere my bike can go, I can go.” Fr...

Park Ji-hyun still remembers the feeling when she first arrived in the UK in 2008. Having fled repression and poverty in North Korea and human trafficking in China, she was glad to find a refuge, but also nervous to start a new life thousands of kilometers away from home. “Many people welcomed me when I got here,” Park told The Korea Herald in a recent interview via Zoom. “Back then, I couldn...

While major plastic surgery clinics in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul -- the mecca of plastic surgery in Korea -- have lost foreign clients that accounted for approximately 30 percent of total customers, the number of Korean clients has stayed consistent, according to multiple large plastic surgery clinics in the area. “Our major clients are those in their 50s to 70s. In fact, it seems the pandemic ...