Korea
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How fast can you lose a language?
In less than a week I’ll once more be jetting off to Seoul and I’m beyond excited. I’ve already spent two months away from my second home and I cannot wait to go back to all my favorite cafes, my favorite restaurants and, well, my favorite people! When I first arrived back in Denmark, I…
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What I miss about Korea
You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I’m well aware that I wrote a semi-rant post in June when I was under a lot of temporary stress and really did not feel all that well in Seoul. But as you also know, things definitely turned around and my last months in Seoul were…
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My backpacking trip to beautiful Jeonju
I’m now only two weeks away from my departure for Denmark, and I’m trying to make the most of my time here in Korea before I leave. Although I’m insanely busy during the week with teaching and test grading and preparation I’m free on weekends, and with my husband already back in Denmark I’m even…
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What I look forward to about leaving Korea
A week ago I booked my flight home, so now it’s official. I’m leaving Korea at the end of next month just 5 days shy of my second anniversary of living in Korea. Living in Korea for two years has been a crazy rollercoaster ride and so are my feelings about leaving. While I still…
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What I’ll miss when I leave Korea
I’m moving back to Denmark at the end of July and while I’m mentally starting to get ready to leave Korea, I’m becoming increasingly aware of all the things that I’m sure I’ll miss the moment I’m no longer on Korean soil. You may wonder why I’ll write a “things I’ll miss” list when there…
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Can we trust the (North) Koreans?
The whole world tuned in last Friday when the two Koreas held the first summit in over a decade. The South Korean president Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un of North Korea met at Panmunjeom, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Plans for denuclearization have been made, and North Korea seemed more eager…
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Korean buzzwords: Gapjil
Korean media have been reporting heavily on gapjil (갑질) over the past few weeks. The word is a fairly newly coined term consisting of the word 갑 (甲) literally meaning the “first party in a contract” and 질 which refers to demonstrating a certain behavior. Put together as a colloquial expression it means the arrogant or…
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Well-intentioned(?) Korean racism
Disclaimer: This blog post is not intended as a criticism of Korean society, nor am I in any way implying that Koreans are racist in general. It’s merely a compilation of racially biased experiences that I have had while living in Korea. Having gone from being an ethnic majority in Denmark to definitely being a…
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The Korean gender war
While the eyes of the world may be on Korea for an entirely different war, the current internal situation on the peninsula is boiling. It’s the guys against the girls and the girls against the guys, the gloves are off, and the F-word in this heated debate is… Feminism. While mainly used as an empowering…
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Korean soldiers
When you live in South Korea you can sometimes feel like you live on an army base. There are soldiers everywhere and although I never felt unsafe living on the Korean peninsula, the soldiers are a constant reminder that South Korea’s military remains among the toughest in the world. A necessity given our northern neighbor,…
Sofie to Korea 