Oct. 9 is the birthday of Hangeul, the writing system for the Korean language. On this national holiday, South Koreans celebrate the beauty of the over 500-year-old alphabet, invented by King Sejong the Great (1397-1450). Originally made up of 28 letters and later reduced to 24 -- 14 consonants and 10 vowels -- Hangeul is so logical and phonetic that linguists worldwide regard it as one of the most remarkable writing systems in the world. It is also easy to learn. King Sejong once said, &ld

The soul and spirit of an ancient kingdom reside in the center of Seoul’s Songpa-gu. The ancient tombs in Seokchon-dong -- a set of stone mound tombs believed to have been built during the early Baekje Kingdom (18 BC-AD 660) -- sit among modern buildings, in a reminder that Seoul was the kingdom’s capital city. The tomb site is among several archeological sites in Seoul that offer hints about the Baekje Kingdom, its customs and culture, its golden period during the fourth c

Nestled between two mountains -- Bugaksan and Inwangsan -- Buam-dong in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is a quiet neighborhood often described as an oasis of tranquility not far from the city center. While a large number of Seoul’s residential villages have turned into giant fortresses of high-security high-rise apartment complexes, Buam-dong has kept its old-town feel with low-lying houses, curved roads and ample greenery. Not accessible by Seoul’s massive web of subways, the villages were

The approaching Chuseok holiday is a time of the year that Koreans press pause in their busy day-to-day life and appreciate traditional values of their family, communities and the nation as a whole. Many families visit palaces and famous historic sites during the holiday, usually after performing ancestral rites in the morning of Chuseok, which this year falls on Friday. One of the popular destinations is Namsangol Hanok Village in central Seoul, a traditional village that shows what life was du

Seoul’s new cultural hot spot, the Oil Bank Culture Park, has a fascinating history behind its unusual name. For more than four decades, the giant oil tanks that now function as exotic cultural venues stored 69 million liters of oil as part of resource-poor South Korea’s national fuel reserves. The site was off limits to the public. Its fashionable rebirth into an artsy space came about in 2017, long after its official closure in 2000, as the result of a public idea contest. Now

In the forest of the Soswaewon garden in Damyang, South Jeolla Province, there stands a colony of bamboo trees that symbolize the pride of the “seonbi,” the noble scholars of the Joseon era (1392-1910).Standing upright and reaching straight toward the sky, bamboos were seen as a symbol of dignity and the principles of the scholars. Built in the 16th century by Yang San-bo, the garden functioned as a place where great scholars of the time interacted with each other, discussing politic

Much like Korea’s tumultuous modern history, its currency, the won, has had its fair share of ups and downs. Part of the story can be found at the Bank of Korea Money Museum, located at the former BOK building with over 20,000 Korean and foreign banknotes, coins and tokens. On display are some historic forms of currency from the Korean Peninsula accompanied by their stories, such as the only legal coin of the Joseon era (1392-1910), Sangpyeong Tongbo. The economy of the Joseon er

On Thursday, a national holiday marking Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15, 1945, the Museum of Japanese Colonial History in Korea was very crowded with visitors wanting to better understand the history of the two neighboring countries amid a deepening diplomatic and trade rift. The two-story museum, which sits in a small alley in Yongsan, central Seoul, opened in August last year through donations from the public, civic groups and academics. It exhibits the h