Culture

From travel to subculture stories

Se-Woong Koo
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Pleasures of Seoul

Demonstrations are a routine occurrence in downtown Seoul, but I don’t mind it in the least. Angry chanting is a familiar soundtrack to life in South Korea; when slogans reverberate at the capital’s most symbolic locations, you know the country is well. Democracy lives. I am fortunate to

KOREA EXPOSÉ
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The K-pop DNA

“I became a BTS fan on Jan. 6, 2017,” said Siti Mariam Sulaiman, a 38-year-old government official from Malaysia. That’s an oddly specific date, but she says every ARMY, an acronym for fans of the K-pop boy group, remembers the exact date of one’s induction into BTS fandom.

Kathy Yun
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Jeju: Museum Heaven or Tax Haven?

Driving around Jeju island and you’ll come across not just white sand beaches and UNESCO World Heritage sites but an endless succession of museums. In fact, tourists can choose from over 100, on themes as diverse as Greek mythology, seashells, African art, teddy bears, sex and health, and stone

Eddie Park
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Pojangmacha: Tent Nostalgia

In Seoul’s central Jongno District lies one of the city’s last pojangmacha alleys.  Every day around late afternoon, hired workers take apart around two dozen wheeled carts lining both sides of the alley. Tents are thrown over steel frames; five-gallon oil containers filled to the brim with

Jieun Choi
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Why the Korean-Venezuelan Brothers Make Chocolate

Meet the creators of P.chokko, a chocolate shop in Seoul. They want to change Korean chocolate and send a message about their home, Venezuela.

KOREA EXPOSÉ
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K-pop 101: Why Do Artists Keep Singing "Niga"?

Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with the N-word. Niga (니가) in Korean literally means ‘you.’ More specifically, 니 (ni) means ‘you’; 가 (ga) is a particle that indicates the noun attached to it is the subject of the sentence. K-pop, which stands for Korean popular music, is

KOREA EXPOSÉ
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What Are Some Cultural Faux Pas in South Korea?

If you’re visiting South Korea as a foreigner, Koreans will often overlook any minor faux pas you make, knowing that you didn’t buck local customs on purpose. Koreans often talk about “sincerity” and “intention”: sometimes, what you do is less important than what you mean. There are nevertheless

Jieun Choi
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Barber From Another Era

Opened in 1927, Seongwoo Barbershop is one of the oldest in South Korea. Its 68-year-old proprietor-cum-barber Lee Nam-yeol may also be one of the longest-running barbers in the country. Time seems to stand still here. Since Lee’s grandfather opened the shop under Japanese rule, Lee has kept most

Youngjoo Lee
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The Palace's Painful Past

When it was built in 1909, the Grand Conservatory in Changgyeong Palace was the largest of its kind in Asia. After years of restoration, the conservatory has been opened to the public just last month. Is it a symbol of colonialists and capitalites tainting the royal legacy of the Joseon

Rachel Oh
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Nightmare Before Christmas: Battle of the Solos

Even the rain on Christmas Eve did not deter couples in South Korea from going out on dates. “I feel like we both took for granted that we would be spending Christmas together,” said Alice Son, a 22-year-old college student in Seoul, about her plans with her boyfriend. She said

Haeryun Kang
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We Need to Talk About Suicide Reporting

How do we find the optimal balance between our right to information, and the risks inherent in broad dissemination of sensitive information? Around 24 hours have passed since 27-year-old Jonghyun, a member of the popular K-pop group SHINee, took his own life. It’s already a huge story, both within

Ho Kyeong Jang
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Obituary: The Legacy of Jonghyun

In an interview with Esquire magazine in April, Jonghyun of K-pop boy band SHINee shared the following story: “A few years ago, I cried in front of my mother and older sister. I was super drunk…. I woke them up late at night and asked them if they were happy.