South Korea
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Nostalgia: Music for the Old
“Adding Memories” is a cafe in Jongno, Seoul, catering mostly to the elderly crowd, who remember the days decades ago, when people crowded around the jukebox or vinyl records. “Their song requests have a different level of longing,” the DJ said. Read more about Jongno, a
Corruption Suspicions Another Hiccup in Massive U.S. Military Relocation
Suspected corruption in South Korea threatens to undermine what has been called the largest construction project in the history of the U.S. Department of Defense. The U.S. military is currently undertaking a massive relocation of its forces out of bases in and north of Seoul and toward
The Single Mother Stigma
Not every family is comprised of a mother, father and a couple of heterosexual children. Those that don’t fit the mold are labeled “not normal,” and face stigma. After Choi Hyung-sook went on TV as a single mother, fewer customers started coming to her hair salon.
The Old Man’s Harbor
Everyday for the past twenty years, 78-year-old Kim Yun-sik has been going to Jongno in central Seoul. Around noon, he eats free lunch at the cafeteria where a Buddhist temple used to stand until the 1500s; until 5 p.m., he whiles away the time in Tapgol Park, and in
Seocheon: Overlooked, All the More Authentic
The mudflat is vast, stretching as far as the eye can see. A few fishermen in thigh-high rubber boots waddle through pools of seawater. Two elderly women are hunched over, digging up shellfish. We gingerly hop from one rock to another, trying not to fall while still admiring small sea
"The Brooklyn of Seoul"
Beyond the photogenic nature of the neighborhood, Seongsu is remarkable for its resistance to gentrification. Jeong Won-oh, the head of Seongdong district, where Seongsu is located, is spearheading efforts to protect rent from skyrocketing — by trying to meet property owners 1:1, limiting corporate franchises from entering the neighborhood
K-Pop: Stream Like You Breathe
Every morning when Kim Eun-ji gets up, she looks at her desktop computer, iPad, and smartphone to see if they are streaming music without problems. Although all sounds are muted, there are six digital music platforms streaming music 24/7 on her gadgets. She checks to see whether any of
The Latest in S. Korean Feminism: Zucchinis
Yes, zucchinis. On Nov. 18, 3:14 p.m. KST, South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in responded to a comment about a vegetable. The instigating tweet made a jab at Yoo’s persona: “Yoo Ah-in…he seems good to look at from 20 meters away…but it may be
Non-Korean White-Collar Jobs Still Limited to Language Skills
Before entering the Job Fair for Foreign Residents in 2017, each foreigner filled out a form and was outfitted with a lanyard that displayed a version of their name written in the Korean Hangeul script, with their country of origin in a smaller font below. Few events can rival job
The Last Gulps of the Canary in the Itaewon Coal Mine
After climbing a dusty, graffiti-strewn staircase to the entrance to Seoul Pub, one encounters a handwritten sign hanging on the glass door: “No drunken, fighting, sleeping, bothering, picking up.” Inside the bar, owner Jung In-chul explains that the sign is an expression of his desire to maintain a family-like atmosphere
UNESCO Declares South Korea World Heritage Site
Disclaimer: Don’t take this seriously. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced on Tuesday an unprecedented decision to inscribe the Republic of Korea onto the World Heritage List. The unexpected move marks the first time an entire country has been designated a World Heritage site,
“I’m Young, I’m Fast, I’m Pretty”: S. Korea’s Dogged Young Conservatives
After Korea Post scrapped plans to print stamps honoring former military dictator Park Chung-hee this July, the youth of today picked up the slack. University Students’ Forum of Korea, a conservative youth group, launched a crowdfunding project in September to print stamps commemorating Park’s centenary (Nov. 14). This was