Culture
From travel to subculture stories
Education Blues Pt. 1: South Korea Cracks Down on Elite Schools
I suffered through an existential crisis in my second year of high school. By this, I don’t mean over my existence, but over my school’s existence. That year, abolishing foreign-language high schools hit the headlines for weeks, like it has been lately. We’d fret about the future
Where Are All the Women in South Korea's Democracy Protests?
Moon Young-me was one of the five million South Koreans estimated to have come out onto the streets in June 1987. She was bare-faced, wearing no makeup or fancy clothing. That was the norm for the student protest culture at the time. She was a 21-year-old history major, a transfer
Marijuana Taboo in the “Drug-Free” Nation
T.O.P, a member of a K-pop boy group Big Bang, has been lighting up local headlines for… well, lighting up. He is being charged by South Korean prosecutors for smoking marijuana. Many people want him punished for this “indecent” behavior — according to South Korean law, he could
Neungra Bapsang: North Koreans in the South Gain Self-Sufficiency through Food
North Korean defector Lee Ae-ran introduces South Koreans to the food of the North. With her restaurant Neungra Bapsang, she also helps other female defectors make a living. Dressed simply with short hair, Lee exudes confidence. The 53-year-old has a Ph.D. in nutritional science and food management from prestigious
One of South Korea's Most Famous Paintings, but by Whom?
A single painting dominates a dimly lit corner in one of South Korea’s most famous museums. It’s about the size of a magazine. It doesn’t deserve any superlatives — it’s not the grandest, most beautiful, nor the most radical among all the paintings on display. It
Honbap: Eating Alone Is a New Norm
Upon entering any restaurant in South Korea, after saying hello, the staff inevitably ask the same question: How many in your party? Not at this restaurant. The staff here assume you’re all alone. When I walked into Dokgojin, a barbecue eatery in Bucheon, a suburb west of Seoul, the
"Humanities Bullshit"
An anonymous netizen posts on a forum: “What did president Park Geun-hye do right?” Another responded: “I own and run a pub near Gwanghwamun Square. Thanks to president Park, I got so many customers and paid off my debts…. Lol.” This is how “Humanities
Mark of the Beast
If you regularly walk around central Seoul, you’ve probably seen, or heard, them — elderly folks walking around carrying placards with heartwarming messages such as “Lord Jesus Heaven. No Jesus Hell” and “666.” As they walk, they carry with them speakers that play hymns, or broadcast their evangelizing messages.
More Than Fat
In one comedy sketch, an overweight woman wearing sparkling jewelry and a comely black dress scarfs down food. A man acting as her manager yells, “Min-kyoung, wake up! How many times have I told you to lose that weight? How can you call yourself a woman and not make the
Seoullo 7017: Urban Asset or Vanity Project?
A scene from otherwise unmemorable 2009 film Private Eye, about colonial-period Korea, has stayed lodged in my memory for the last eight years: Independence Gate stands alone in a field of wild grass, bushes and mist, with no other sign of human settlement or migration is in sight. Actual photos
Father, Son and Holy Mess: Family Succession in Megachurches
Seen from the back of a high balcony, pastor Kim Sam-hwan cuts a small figure. “Amen!” he calls into two microphones suspended on long wires from the ceiling above. “Allelujah!” responds his flock of five thousand. “Allelujah!” he counters. “Amen!” they roar. If Kim appears tiny, it’s only
Ikseon-dong: Seoul's Hottest Poverty Porn Destination
If you plug Ikseon-dong, the name of a central Seoul neighborhood, into your preferred search engine, you’ll come up with countless photographs, many of which look the same: shabby low-rise buildings with wooden doors along narrow alleyways. One recurring image is Ikseon-dong shot from above, contextualizing it as a