travel
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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
Remembering Gwangju
I traveled to Gwangju after reading Han Kang’s Human Acts, translated into English by Deborah Smith. The novel, about the massacre of civilians in May 1980 by the military government, is told through the perspectives of various characters: a high school student named Dong-Ho who volunteers to identify corpses,
Dark Tour: Jeju Island Beyond Teddy Bear Museums
Jeju Island is where South Koreans love to get away from it all. Hundreds of flights a day deposit mainlanders hungry for escape, relaxation and selfies. With its sea-locked isolation, black soil and relentless wind, Jeju feels almost like a different country altogether. So it’s hard to believe that
The Ocean Between Jeju’s Island Natives and Mainland Newcomers
Lee Hwan-jung wavers in his small boat, harpoon in hand. Looking back to shore, black rocks and dark waves sway under a granite sky. On this early February morning on the Jeju coast, cold water sloshes over his shoes. Lee is a self-taught fisherman from Seoul. Still robust at 43,
Getting Lost in Alleyways and Seoul's Childhood
Not far from the busiest center of Seoul, with all the traffic and political rallies, there is Seochon, a quaint neighborhood in Seoul. In it, there is a single arcade that has been operating since 1988. It’s managed by Seol Jaewoo, a local resident who successfully crowdfunded to keep
Best Meat-Free Buddhist Places to Eat in Seoul
Typically known for fried chicken and barbecued pork belly, Korean food may not seem very vegetarian/vegan-friendly. But off the beaten paths in Seoul (and sometimes smack in the middle of it) stand Buddhist temples that offer clean and modest meat-free meals — even free of charge at times. In
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
Pretty and Polluted: Jeju Overfilling With Tourists
2011 was a busy year for the civil servants of Jeju Island. South Korea’s most famous island — bar Dokdo — had made the shortlist for the so-called “new seven wonders of nature.” With no restrictions on the number of telephone votes cast by each individual, Jeju’s public
Broken Clocks, Rising Dust: Death of a Street
If the places with history all close one after the other, what will Insadong be? * Read our in-depth coverage about the end of the Insadong of the past: Insadong: Breathing Its Last
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
"Don't Speak in Korean": When Koreans Travel to North Korea
Only a few minutes after arriving in Dandong, a Chinese city that borders North Korea, my assumptions about travel to North Korea were abruptly shattered. I was told by a Chinese employee of the tour company that it would not be wise to, while in North Korea, speak Korean or