On a lark Ian and I decided to venture off in search of one of the fabled Korean fortune tellers. I know you’ve seen them. They have tents set up all throughout the city. You can find them inside the CGV lobby, Myeong Dong Shopping alleyways, COEX, and anywhere else you can imagine. Before we…
Living in a new country means wrapping your head around a different way of thinking and living. Hopefully this list of a few Korean customs will help you understand the country and avoid a few pitfalls. As always if you have any more suggestions to add to the list please leave them in the comments!…
Did you know Korea is the birthplace of taekwondo? Gold stars for you if you did. Despite having this nugget of knowledge buried in my brain I never actually went out in search of more insight about the martial art until I ran across a promo for a demonstration happening at Gyeonghuigung Palace. Never one…
Recently I was invited to participate in a Korean Culture Program. Actually, the official name of the event was the Korean Culture Program for Gangnam Foreign English Teachers. Sure the title wasn’t all that snazzy but it definitely got to the point. Twenty four Gangnam teachers were presented with an opportunity to learn how to…
In South Korea rock-paper-scissors isn’t just a kiddy game for preschoolers. Nope, it’s practically a national pastime. Unlike back home in the states where an occasional instance of RPS happens every so often if the circumstances allow, in Korea, people use RPS so much so that I’d be surprised if someone somewhere isn’t playing every…
Dol Janchi Korean First Birthday Party In Korea the first birthday of a child is a very significant event. It’s called “dol janchi” or in Hangeul: 돌잔치. In the not so recent past the mortality rate of infants was very low because of malnutrition and disease. So, as you can imagine, having a child make…
A couple of weekends ago my workmates and I met at 9:30 in the morning to begin our outing to the Ansung cultural village. The whole experience was to be an excercise in bonding with a little fun mixed in. The journey took about an hour. We rode along in good spirits despite having to…
No, that F doesn’t stand for first floor. You see, in Korea, the number 13 is nothing special because all the superstition is reserved for the number 4. This is because the word for the number 4 also sounds like the word for death. Thankfully, the superstion isn’t so hysterical where the number 4 is…
