Korean culture
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The coolest proverbs
I recently had a pretty cool discussion about proverbs with a Korean acquaintance. I always loved proverbs and idioms in any language since I find that they reveal so much about a country’s culture. For example, think about how many proverbs and idioms there are about bread in Western culture. To be the breadwinner, our…
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Dokdo is our land
Dokdo island (internationally known as the Liancourt rocks) is a small island group situated in the East Sea between Korea and Japan. Ask any Korean, who Dokdo island belongs to and they will tell you that it’s their land or in Korean, “독도는 우리땅”, (Dokdo-neun uri-ddang). If you ask a Japanese about Dokdo, you’ll likely…
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And the Oscar goes to…
Korean cinema just wrote history when the 92nd Academy Awards saw the first ever non-English speaking film win best picture and three other awards. Parasite (기생충 in Korean) has swept all the major awards this past season and critics and theater goers all love this multi-genre story of a clash between the dirt poor and…
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Happy New Year!
A little late, you think? Not really. Because in Korea, the lunar new year holiday called Seollal (설날) starts tomorrow and lasts through Monday, giving the hard-working Koreans four whole days off. While this sounds lovely, the truth is that this season brings as much stress to Koreans as Christmas can bring in the cultures,…
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Meet Pengsoo
A lot can happen in Korea in a short time. Koreans are quick to adopt new trends and fashions, and it seems that Korea now has a new idol. This time, I’m not talking about an actor or a K-pop singer, I’m talking about the giant man-sized penguin, Pengsoo. Pengsoo is a mascot from the…
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A night out in Seoul
When being in a city like Seoul one must take advantage of some of the cultural offers that a big city has to offer. There are always a ton of plays, concerts, and musicals and it can be hard to pick which one to go to. Last Friday I went with my friend Nicky to…
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My Chuseok family trip
This past Chuseok was something else. Chuseok isn’t a holiday that I usually spend much time or energy on. Usually, it’s just a season for some rest and quiet time in a busy city that momentarily slows down. This year was different. To be honest, all holidays have felt odd since my best friend died.…
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Touring Korea
I’m so lucky to have great friends. I’m even luckier that some of them want to visit me in Korea. The reason that you haven’t heard from me in a while is that I’ve been busy touring Seoul and traveling all over the (southern) Korean peninsula. One of my best friends from home came and…
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48 hours in Jeju Island
After three years in Korea I finally (!) made it to Jeju Island, which is located south of the mainland peninsula. It’s not that I have not wanted to go earlier, but being a lousy driver I needed someone willing and able to drive to go with me in order to go and come back…
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The most recent Korea-Japan trade conflict
Korea and Japan may be many things but close friends is not one of them. Every year, some conflict arises and it usually originates from Japan’s lack of apologies and sincere repentance for war crimes committed during the occupation of Korea from 1910-1945. Since the anti-Japanese movement is very strong in Korea, Koreans often ask…
Sofie to Korea 