Seoul Art Space Sindang is housed in an underground shopping arcade in Sindang-dong, an old neighborhood in Seoul. Unused or abandoned shops in the arcade, which had once thrived with bed clothing and traditional dress shops, were remodelled into workshops for young artists of design and craft, as a
The two most loved Korean-style Chinese dishes are jjajangmyeon, a noodle dish topped with a sauce made of thick black bean paste with diced meat and vegetables, and jjamppong, a spicy noodle soup with seafood and meat. Most Koreans dither between the two dishes before choosing one to order. Restaur
Korean drinkers enjoy bomb cocktails. Beer and whisky bomb has a longer history, but more people today enjoy beer and soju bomb, called ‘so-maek.’ There’s no nickname for whisky bomb cocktail. In many company dinners, a line of so-maek bombs are ‘manufactured’ for the first toast, (or maybe the seco
A popular ice dessert in Korea, bingsu was originally a simple food consisting of shaved ice topped with sweetened red beans and peanut-size rice cakes, sold at snack bars or even on the streets. Then the toppings began to include fruits, nuts, chocolates, jellies, candies, cookies, macarons, ice cr
Until a few years ago, lunch boxes sold at convenience stores were hardly appreciated as proper meals. Then things began to change as single person households increased and solo dining became common. Convenience store lunches are getting more diverse and the market bigger. With last year’s sales inc
The popularity of hanok guest houses continues. Usually gathered around old city towns. These traditional Korean houses are favored not only by foreign tourists but also local travellers. Korean young people find it ‘exotic’ to stay in hanok guest houses, while older generations want to feel a long-
The much-debated ‘Hanbando’ flag, or the ‘Unification Flag’ as known to the world, was first used in 1991 in the 41st World Table Tennis Championship in Chiba, Japan, where South Korea and North Korea participated as a single team. The Flag has a blue silhouette of the Korean peninsula including Jej
Chosen in a recent survey as the most beloved characters in Korea (South), Kakao Friends are in collaboration with hundreds of industrial products and promotional specialties. The Kakao Friends Corporation also operates character goods stores in major cities nationwide, some as pop-up, others as reg
Created on the site where Gyeongui railway line used to run, Gyeongui Line Forest Park is a linear urban park, with a total length of 6.3 kilometers and varying width of 10 to 60 meters. As the downtown part of the line was moved underground, an urban park of a unique shape was created, instantly be
Busking is a specialty in Hongdae area. Unlike Insadong or Itaewon where busking is not rare, Hongdae busking is known to be cool and new, sometimes quite experimental. Latest trends show dancing and other performances beyond music. These performances often require active involvement of the audience
A small beer shop in Korea is identified by the smaller space than regular beer halls, simpler (sometimes humble) interior, simpler selection of drinks, and smaller portions of food with lower prices. Generally, small beer’s representative side dish is fried potatoes, which are usually thicker than
Once Korean commuters used to read books and newspapers. Today they all look at their phones. Once Korean subway passengers used to listen to the music from their mp3 players. Now they all listen to their phones. This is never an unusual scene in Korea, a country with the highest smartphone penetrat
