Itaewon, a party district with international vibe, was magnet for Halloween revelers

Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul known for its cultural diversity and international flair, has always been considered the place to go for Halloween festivities. On Halloween weekends, young people in their late teens and 20s wearing costumes of zombies, ghosts or famous characters would fill the streets, using the holiday with traditional Irish roots to express themselves in a way that is not usually considered socially acceptable here. On Saturday, when a fatal crowd surge late in

Oct. 30, 2022

[Interview] ‘It’s just a job’: Actor-turned-shaman speaks against prejudice toward shamanism

Many Koreans have a love-hate relationship with traditional shamans, or “mudangs” as they are called here. While it is not unusual to find a practitioner around the block, they are still widely frowned upon by the majority of the public. Jeong Ho-geun, a 58-year-old veteran actor better known as a shaman nowadays, has experienced such prejudice firsthand since he decided to become a shaman in 2014. His friends started dodging his calls and people left him “like the parting of t

Oct. 29, 2022

When everyone is on KakaoTalk and you have a secret to hide

When KakaoTalk was down and suffered extended service malfunctions last month, rumors quickly swept through social media platforms that the messenger app’s multi-profile function had gone haywire, exposing users’ profile photos to groups which were not intended to be shown. People with secrets to keep, such as extramarital affairs, became particularly concerned about the rumor. A blog post on Daum acted as a warning to other adulterers who created a secret relationship profil

Oct. 28, 2022

"Land of Squid Game” author to hold live chat with readers

Min Byoung-chul, an endowed chair professor at Chung-Ang University and a multicultural educator, will hold an author event in Seoul next month. In the lecture, Min will talk about his recent book “Land of Squid Game,” which highlights some deep-rooted aspects of Korea’s unique culture and traditional games. The first 100 participants will receive a copy of the book for free. A live chat with the author is limited to 50 guests on a first-come, first-served basis. The event wi

Oct. 28, 2022

[Korea Quiz] (26) Birthplace of black noodles

Test your knowledge of Korea with our weekly quiz on the language, culture, history or anything K-related. -- Ed. Find the answer at the bottom of the page. Incheon, a port city west of Seoul, has long served as South Korea’s gateway to the outside world. Located on the western tip of the country and facing China across the sea, it is where the largest numbers of Chinese merchants settled following the opening of the port in the late 19th century. For this reason, the city boasts the lar

Oct. 26, 2022

'No tattoos allowed here'

Tattoos were once considered a badge for gangsters in Korea, but they have become a medium of self-expression or a fashion statement among younger generations. Many are not reluctant to show off their inked skin in public or on social media, but there still persists a societal stigma surrounding the body art. A sports center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, has recently put up a notice that restricts entry of tattooed members. The no-tattoo policy was introduced after complaints from nontattooed member

Oct. 25, 2022

[Land of Squid Game] Coordinating hiking outfits

With 70 percent of its land covered in mountains, many Koreans enjoy hiking as a part of their weekend leisure activity. Mountains are a place where Koreans feel a great sense of community and togetherness. And when it comes to dressing, most Koreans wear proper hiking outfits and carry their hiking sticks along with all the necessary gear for a hike. Sometimes you will see a group of middle-aged hikers wearing coordinated outfits to express their affinity as one group. Min Byoung-chul is an

Oct. 25, 2022

[Subway Stories] Art meets rusty factories in Seoul’s Mullae-dong

  The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a Korea Herald series exploring the subway stations and surrounding areas across the city. -- Ed.   A roughly five-minute walk from Exit No. 7 of Mullae Station on Seoul subway leads you to a village with two faces. Greeting visitors first are the boisterous sounds of machinery and workers cutting and welding iron bars and slabs inside small factories and metal workshops. But soon, one can hear jazz and classical music being played somew

Oct. 23, 2022

[Korea Quiz] (25) Love and hate over a tree

Test your knowledge of Korea with our weekly quiz on the language, culture, history or anything K-related. -- Ed. Find the answer at the bottom of the page. Ginkgo trees are one of the most prevalent kinds of roadside trees in Korea, along with cherry blossom trees. There are about 114,000 gingko trees in Seoul alone, accounting for nearly one-third of the city’s street trees. They are easy to grow, require virtually no maintenance once established and are tolerant of pollution. The seeds

Oct. 19, 2022

[Land of Squid Game] Sarcasm? What's that?

Among Westerners, especially friends, sarcasm is commonly used in conversation, often taking the form of a humorous, ironic statement (e.g. saying “Oh, that's great” to imply that a situation is not good). Koreans hardly, if ever, use sarcasm. Foreigners should avoid using sarcasm too often when interacting with Koreans as it will most likely not be understood, or worse, it may be taken literally. Min Byoung-chul is an endowed chair professor at Chung-Ang University who is w

Oct. 18, 2022

Ministry backs proposed ban on use of drug references in food advertisements

Alarmed by a rapid rise in drug offenses, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday it supports a legislative proposal to ban references to narcotics in food advertisements as something irresistibly good. “Using drug references to promote food can have a negative effect on children or adolescents,” a ministry official said. “Once the proposed bill gets passed by the National Assembly, the ministry will take measures, including drawing up an enforcement ordinance to curb

Oct. 18, 2022

[Newsmaker] Kakao Outage: What happens when a country heavily relies on one super app?

Tech giant Kakao has said most of its services have been restored following an extended outage that began Saturday. But as the country suffered a digital blackout for many hours, the dominance of its "super app" has been called into question. Launched in 2010 as a messaging app, KakaoTalk grew in popularity exponentially over the years and branched out to other areas such as shopping and banking. Kakao also launched in-house apps that work in connection with KakaoTalk, such as ride-hai

Oct. 17, 2022

Seoul opens space dedicated to K-pop dance covers

Dance cover videos, created by fans to imitate idols’ moves on stage and in music videos, have been an essential part of global K-pop fandom culture. On platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, one can easily find short clips where amateur dancers from both here and abroad replicate the choreography with incredible attention to details. These videos are often shot in places such as on the street or in a public park. Recently, one particular locale in Seoul has risen a

Oct. 14, 2022

[Korea Quiz] (24) The Samsung brand

Test your knowledge of Korea with our weekly quiz on the language, culture, history or anything K-related. -- Ed. Find the answer at the bottom of this page. You may know of Samsung just as a TV or phone brand. But on its home turf of South Korea, it is a household name for many more things -- almost too many. Here, a person can be living in a Samsung apartment, wear Samsung suits to work, eat lunch at a Samsung-run cafeteria at work, check stock prices via Samsung’s securities app, get

Oct. 12, 2022

[Land of Squid Game] Never stick silverware straight up in a bowl of rice while eating

Koreans do not stick their spoons or chopsticks vertically into their rice. This behavior is reserved for funeral ceremonies or for a jesa, a memorial service where food is offered in memory of the deceased. This is why foreigners should refrain from doing this; it would be considered rude and offensive. By Min Byoung-chul Min Byoung-chul is an endowed chair professor at Chung-Ang University who is widely known as a multicultural educator and for his practical English teaching. This conten

Oct. 11, 2022

Blind: App that has everyone in the workplace talking

Blind, a workplace community app, has been a source of some of the biggest company news stories and viral social media posts globally. They range from the Korean Air “nut rage” incident and the 2017 sexual harassment allegations at Uber to the controversy at US food delivery platform DoorDash over an initiative that requires all employees to make one food delivery every month, to name a few. One of the latest corporate news stories to come out of the anonymous user-based platform for

Oct. 11, 2022

[Newsmaker] 30% of international schools in Korea teach 'Sea of Japan'

  Over 30 percent of international schools in South Korea have been using textbooks that refer to the East Sea, a body of water between South Korea and Japan, only as the Sea of Japan, a lawmaker said Tuesday. As of August 2020, 12 of 38 international schools were using textbooks that solely use the Japanese name. The number of those textbooks with the Sea of Japan reference marked 24, according to the office of Rep. Ahn Min-seok of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The office refer

Oct. 11, 2022

[Subway Stories] Heritage and trends mix fashionably in Seongsu

  The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories -- a Korea Herald series exploring subway stations and their surrounding areas across the city. – Ed.   Strolling through the vicinity of Seongsu Station, one can get an idea of what is considered hip in Korea these days: It has to be artsy, independent and youthful, with stories, preferably of heritage and history, to tell. Seongsu-dong’s status as a mecca of hipness in Seoul can be seen through millions of Instagram posts in

Oct. 11, 2022

Korea urged to join race for foreign talent: report

South Korea needs to bring in more professional foreign workers to cope with a continuous decline in the working-age population, a think tank said Friday. According to a report published by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, educators, researchers, engineers, artists and highly-skilled workers accounted for a mere 10 percent of last year’s total 406,669 foreign nationals with employment visas. The rest were mostly low-skilled workers in agriculture, construction and

Oct. 7, 2022

Response to teenagers cartoon leads to 'Streisand effect'

On Sept. 18, a teenager’s cartoon satirizing President Yoon Suk-yeol won a top prize at a local cartoon contest. No major news outlets gave it major coverage. The work was displayed for three days until Monday at the Bucheon International Comics Festival. It drew some attention, and mixed comments, on social media. Then on Tuesday, a day after the exhibition’s end, the work was thrust into the national spotlight when the Culture Ministry issued a “strong warning” against

Oct. 7, 2022