[Newsmaker] For whom the Bosingak bell tolls: Koreans celebrate return of New Year's ceremony

The New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony at Bosingak will be back this Saturday as an offline event for the first time since 2019. Coronavirus restrictions had forced the ceremony to be held exclusively online for the past two years. Just as Americans gather to see the ball drop at New York City's Times Square at midnight, South Koreans flock to the Jongno-gu area to see the old bronze Bosingak bell being rung 33 times, a time-honored tradition with religious roots that signifies “c

Dec. 27, 2022

[Ask a lawyer] Departure order as consequence of law breaking

From work contracts to marriage with a Korean citizen and accidental breaking of local rules and laws, foreign residents can find themselves in complicated legal situations. Ask a Lawyer covers the most common legal issues faced by expats in South Korea through Q&A with lawyers practicing in the very field. -- Ed. Last year, an Indian man had to cut short his stay in South Korea, originally planned for two years. The reason? He was caught driving under the influence of alcohol. The man, age

Dec. 26, 2022

Starbucks aficionados flock to Seoul’s Gyeongdong Market

A Starbucks neon sign hanging on the wall of an old building emits a soft green glow in the midst of street vendors offering seasonal greens and traditional herbal medicines. Young couples and office workers walk past the food stalls surrounded mostly by elderly shoppers looking for a bargain as they head toward a hidden gem in the marketplace -- a new Starbucks store within Seoul’s Gyeongdong Market that just opened last week. Dubbed “Kyungdong 1960,” the new coffee shop is a

Dec. 25, 2022

[Korea Quiz] (34) Color of Korean soccer

Test your knowledge of Korea with our weekly quiz on the language, culture, history or anything K-related. -- Ed. Find the answer at the bottom of the page. Many Koreans avoid writing their name in red as it traditionally signifies death, and in the political arena the color red has long been linked with communism after the Korean War. But the 2002 World Cup transformed the meaning of “red” into unity and strength when hundreds of thousands of unwavering "Red Devils” fan

Dec. 21, 2022

[Land of Squid Game] Keeping the same family name after getting married

    In Korea, the norm is for women to continue using their own surname after getting married. For the wife to take their husband's surname is a foreign concept. If you call a Korean woman by her husband's family name, she may be unaware that you are calling her.  Children will take their father's family name. Korean women keep their family name after marriage because one's name is something that is inherited from their parents ＆ ancestors and should not be changed. Min Byoung-

Dec. 20, 2022

[Weekender] Feces heals? Peculiar Korean home remedies and their effectiveness

Korea has had an abundance of home remedies throughout its history. Many of them are as simple and harmless as drinking plum tea when you have a cough, but some can be as extreme as downing water from human feces. These methods have varying levels of effectiveness and most medical experts voice concern about following them blindly. One example of time-old home remedies still practiced by many in Korea is poking your finger with a needle to cause it to bleed in case of indigestion. Although not a

Dec. 17, 2022

[Feature] Korea is no country for long names

When Vittoria Oliveira de Souza Ventura came to South Korea from her native country of Brazil five years ago, she didn’t expect her name to cause trouble. “My full name is more than 25 characters long (in the English alphabet) and I was denied access to many services because name registration was not possible,” Ventura told The Korea Herald. When written in Hangeul -- the Korean alphabet -- her full name is 16 characters long, compared to most Korean names' three. “I&rsqu

Dec. 15, 2022

[Korea Quiz] (33) Is it really ‘cool’?

Test your knowledge of Korea with our weekly quiz on the language, culture, history or anything K-related. Find the answer at the bottom of the page. In America, the word "bad" is sometimes used colloquially to actually mean that something is very good. In Korea, a comparable word would be “si-won-ha-da,” which literally means cool, but is also used to mean something completely different. A Korean might say “si-won-ha-da” when he or she is sitting on a h

Dec. 14, 2022

[Land of Squid Game] Using both hands to give or receive something

Visitors to Korea may not be expected to follow etiquette that is particular to Korean society, but taking the time to learn and apply Korean etiquette will show that you respect the people you are meeting and their culture. In Korea, it is rude to use just one hand to give or receive something. To show politeness, people use one hand (usually the right) while holding the wrist or forearm with the other hand to receive or pass something. It's something you'll see a lot in Korea so it will be ea

Dec. 13, 2022

Onboard Seoul’s first self-driving bus

A slick and shiny mini bus moved smoothly toward the Cheonggye Plaza bus stop near Gwanghwamun Station, central Seoul. Four passengers, including this reporter, got on board. The vehicle with seven passenger seats had an airy, open feel, with an impressive panoramic glass roof and full-size windows on four sides. There was someone sitting in the driver’s seat, but his hands never touched the steering wheel even as the bus started moving. For much of the ride, which lasted 20 minutes or so,

Dec. 12, 2022

[Subway Stories] Rice shops, tteokbokki and hipsters at Sindang Station

  The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a Korea Herald series exploring the subway stations and surrounding areas across the city. -- Ed.   In the ’70s and ’80s, before the proliferation of cafes and clubs in Seoul, the area near Sindang Station led a peculiar youth culture here -- hipsters hanging out at trendy tteokbokki restaurants where DJs play pop music. Nearly half a century later, the Sindang-dong neighborhood’s then-revolutionary tteokbokki scene may

Dec. 12, 2022

‘Bring my child back’: American fathers cry foul

On a late November afternoon, John Sichi was walking on a treadmill on a street in Seoul. The exercise equipment featured signs on both sides that read “I miss my children so much” in Korean. Next to it stood life-size photos of two toddlers -- a girl and a boy. It was the American father’s way of expressing his frustration with the South Korean authorities, whose inaction he said is preventing his children from returning to him, their custodial parent. “I had no more w

Dec. 7, 2022

[Korea Quiz] (32) 'No one man should have all that power'

Test your knowledge of Korea with our weekly quiz on the language, culture, history or anything K-related. Find the answer at the bottom of the page. “Gapjil” refers to an entity in a position of power abusing that power to bully, take advantage of, or basically make life miserable in an unjustifiable way for a person of inferior position. This could range from a high-ranking official unfairly taking away a subordinate’s privileges or a head of a company telling employees

Dec. 7, 2022

Are Hongdae clubs and streets safe?

Recently, South Korea suffered its worst Halloween nightmare when a catastrophic crowd crush on Oct. 29 claimed 158 lives, mostly young people simply out to have fun and enjoy the festivities. In light of the tragedy, district offices around crowded areas and party districts in Seoul have rolled out some specific safety measures. Within the famous nightlife streets of Hongdae, located in Mapo-gu, red lines have been drawn on sloped streets to help warn pedestrians. And by the end of the month, t

Dec. 6, 2022

[Land of Squid Game] Jeong or warm heartedness and thoughtfulness

Although it's a concept that cannot be easily explained, ‘jeong’ is a crucial aspect of Korean culture. A helpful way to picture jeong is to think of someone or something with whom/which you've been through good times and bad, that you never let go of despite the flaws. Your relationship supersedes your feelings or emotions and it can be for a person, animal, place, or possession. Jeong is not something that can be intentionally or deliberately established, rather it is dev

Dec. 6, 2022

[Korea Quiz] (31) South Korea's moment of glory in World Cup

Test your knowledge of Korea with our weekly quiz on language, culture, history or anything K-related. -- Ed. Find the answer at the bottom of the page. For many South Koreans, the 2002 World Cup was unforgettable. It was the first and only tournament Korea hosted, along with co-host Japan, and it was where the country produced many firsts in its World Cup history -- the first win, the first advance to the knockout stages, and the improbable run to the semifinals. Before 2002, although it ha

Nov. 30, 2022

[Land of Squid Game] Respecting the opinion of elders in making decisions

Children in Korea think of themselves with their parents, immediate family members, and grandparents as a single unit. Children are raised to have the utmost respect for their parents and grandparents throughout their lives, so when it comes to making important life decisions, the opinion of their parents and grandparents is taken seriously. While some cultures might value independence more and see this as interfering in personal decisions, for Koreans it's a critical part of what makes them

Nov. 29, 2022

[Herald Interview] Korean-born Swedish police officer finds birth mother after 46 years

Karin Jensen, a 47-year-old Swedish police officer, had no clue that her business trip to Korea in 2018 would be the beginning of a long journey to discover her biological roots. Born in Daegu, she grew up in Uppsala, Sweden after being adopted by a Swedish couple when she was 4 months old. Having led a happy life with supportive parents and a younger sister, Jensen never felt a need to find her birth parents until she became a mother of two children -- a 13-year-old son and a 10-year-old daught

Nov. 29, 2022

[Subway Stories] Old railway turns into urban park

Before the Korean War a railway connected Seoul and now North Korean city of Sinuiju, working as a main route traversing the country vertically. Eventually the two Koreas, along with railway, or Gyeongui Line, were severed, save for a section connecting Seoul and its satellite cities, known as the Gyeongui-Jungang Line. After a plan to transform the obsolete over-ground railway into an urban park launched in 2010, the park was made accessible to the general public in three phases and finally com

Nov. 27, 2022

[Korea Quiz] (30) Kimchi's new frontier

Test your knowledge of Korea with our weekly quiz on the language, culture, history or anything K-related. -- Ed. Find the answer at the bottom of the page. Along with Korean movies and music, K-food is making its own waves globally. At the vanguard is Korean’s beloved pickle -- kimchi. South Korea’s exports of kimchi products rose to an all-time high in 2021, recording $159 million in total value, customs data shows. The figure for the first nine months of this year stands at $1

Nov. 23, 2022