Korean Life Explained

As you walk through Gwanghwamun Square, a large statue of a man in armor is hard to miss. If you don't know much about Korean history, you might assume he was a king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty, like King Sejong. He wasn't. His name was Yi Sun-sin, a Joseon naval commander who fought Japanese forces during the invasions of Korea in the late 16th century. There's more to see than the statue itself. The fountain in front of it also tells part of his story, and behind the statue of King Sejong, there's an entrance that leads below the square. Down there, you'll find an exhibit on Yi Sun-sin and the turtle ship. The Naval Commander on Korea's 100-Won Coin When Japanese forces invaded in 1592, they planned to use sea routes to supply their army as it pushed north. Joseon naval forces under Yi Sun-sin disrupted that plan. In Korea, Yi Sun-sin is more than just a figure from a history book. If you have a 100-won coin with you, take a look. That's Yi Sun-sin. The ...

Scroll through K-pop clips or Korean short-form videos for a while, and you may start noticing the same kind of look. Bolder eye makeup than usual. Oversized lashes. Sparkly accessories. Exaggerated poses for the camera. You may even notice that unusual flipped V-sign. At first, it can look like just another idol concept. But when the same makeup and poses start showing up in other videos, you may wonder: "Wait — is that Japanese gyaru?" Partly, yes. But the looks appearing in K-pop today are not the same thing as gyaru culture as a whole. Usually, you're seeing just a few instantly recognizable elements of gyaru in K-pop and short-form content. And one idol made that especially easy to see: Minami of RESCENE. At First, It Looked Like Just One Idol's Character — Then People Started Recognizing the Look Minami, the Japanese member of the girl group RESCENE, showed up in a video looking completely different from her usual self. Her eye makeup was much bolder. Her lashes...

At a tteokbokki restaurant, you may see a menu photo showing a large pot packed with rice cakes. There are two of you, and one pot already looks like plenty. But when it is time to order, you may hesitate for a second. "Can we just order one of these, or do we need to order more because there are two of us?" If the menu says 2인분 (2 servings), the answer is simple: that one menu item already counts as two servings. The 2 does not mean you need to order two separate dishes. It tells you that the dish itself is sold as two servings. So if that large pot is listed as 2인분 , you do not need to feel awkward about ordering that one dish for two people. What matters is what the menu actually says: how many servings the dish is sold as, whether there is a minimum order, and whether the restaurant has any separate ordering rules. Start with the Word 인분 On Korean menus, 인분 (inbun) is used to show how many servings a dish is sold as. 1인분 means 1 serving, and 2인분 me...

As you walk through Insadong, you may notice traditional Korean wooden masks carved to resemble human faces. Some look like they are smiling. Others seem to be frowning. You might first think of them as souvenirs to hang on a wall. But if you enjoy Halloween, a different question comes to mind. What if I took one home and wore it next Halloween? A Hahoe mask is not the kind of Korean souvenir most people think of first. If you picked one out in Insadong and wore it for Halloween back home, it would be a very different choice from a typical Halloween mask. Hahoe masks were originally worn in Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori (Mask Dance Drama of Hahoe). The surviving traditional masks were made of wood and represent different characters, such as the yangban and the gaksi. But just because something in an Insadong shop looks like a Hahoe mask does not mean it was made to be worn. If you are thinking about wearing one next Halloween, that is the first thing to check. Not Everything Th...

When you look at hanbok rentals near Gyeongbokgung, you'll usually see several rental options to choose from. You might be able to rent one for just a couple of hours, choose a longer option, or keep it for the whole day. If it's your first time, it's easy to plan your day around the number of hours shown on the booking page. But a two-hour rental does not necessarily give you two hours inside Gyeongbokgung. It depends on whether the time you spend choosing and changing into your hanbok counts toward your rental time, and how long it takes to walk from the rental shop to the palace. Before deciding how long to rent one, first work out how much of that time you'll actually have inside the palace. First, Check When Your Rental Time Starts Arriving at the hanbok rental shop does not mean you can head straight to Gyeongbokgung. You first need to choose a color and design you like, check the size, and change into your hanbok. If you decide to have your hair s...

Step into a hanbok rental shop near Gyeongbokgung and you'll see that hanbok doesn't come in just one style. You'll see the familiar combination of a long skirt and a short top, ornate outfits that look like a king's or queen's robes, and simpler, more modern versions too. The labels differ from shop to shop as well. Some shops sort them into categories such as "Traditional," "Fusion," "Premium," or "Themed." "Wear hanbok and it's free" sounds simple enough. But once you're standing in front of a rack of different hanbok, it gets a little less clear. Does the one I picked count for free admission? If it says "Fusion," does that mean it doesn't count? What about a modern version? What if only my top or only my bottom is hanbok? Gyeongbokgung has its own rules for what counts as hanbok for free admission, and those rules don't depend on the product name a rental shop gives the outf...