If you haven’t heard of ASMR, believe us, it is huge. On YouTube, videos of people whispering in their microphone, or creating certain sounds that are supposed to trigger an “autonomous sensory meridian response” -- a tingling sensation that typically starts from your scalp and moves down your spine -- are aplenty. And they are being watched tens of millions of times globally.  (Illustration by Nam Kyung-don)In South Korea, never too far behind a global trend, ASMR has really caught on recently.

Culture April 19, 2019

If you are living outside Korea and happened to have just finished your first volume of Korean fiction, the chances are that the book you’ve read was brought to you by literary agent Joseph Lee and his partners around the world. Specializing in foreign rights of Korean titles, both fiction and nonfiction, Lee, 54, has a pretty impressive list of clients, including Shin Kyung-sook, the author of the 2011 New York Times best-seller “Please Look After Mom,” and Han Kang, the author of the 2016 Man

People April 12, 2019

In South Korea, now is the time to enjoy fresh spring greens, or bom namul.Found everywhere from mountain slopes to roadsides, these wild plants come in many varieties and each has its own unique charm. Although some namul are now cultivated and therefore available year-round, the arrival of freshly foraged leaves -- plentiful and cheap for just over a month -- at local markets is a welcome harbinger of spring.  (Yonhap)“For me, it’s naengi (shepherd’s purse) that tells me winter is almost over,

Food April 12, 2019

Plant-based eating is emerging as a healthier and more sustainable alternative amid repeated global warnings about climate change. For most South Koreans, however, the concept is pretty familiar. Despite recent Western influences, for centuries Koreans have been a plant-loving people. “We are indeed a namul people,” said food and nutrition professor Jung Hye-kyung of Hoseo University, referring to edible wild plants and the important role they have played in the Korean diet throughout history.Th

Food April 12, 2019

Fashion trends come and go. What was once old-fashioned suddenly comes back in style, as nostalgia for the good old days brings back elements of the past. But the latest retro trend here is being fueled more by curiosity than nostalgia, with its main followers being youths born and raised in this era of dizzying technologies. Locally dubbed “new-tro,” this craze is reaching far beyond the boundaries of fashion and design. In Ikseon-dong, the retro mecca of Seoul, young people dressed up in retro

Culture April 5, 2019

Aspiring Korean speakers are virtually all over the world now, thanks to the borderless travel of Korean pop culture. To reach them, the King Sejong Institute plans to go beyond its physical limitations and provide an extensive range of online classes, said Kang Hyoun-hwa, chief of the state-run institution that oversees some 170 Korean language centers worldwide. “On a recent business trip, I looked down from the airplane window on the so many islands that make up Indonesia. Then it struck me.

Culture March 29, 2019

When King Sejong invented Hangeul, the Korean alphabet and writing system, hoping to “broadly benefit mankind,” he couldn’t have possibly meant people on the other side of the planet. But five centuries later, thanks to YouTube, video calls and mobile apps, the Korean language is being taught in places far, far away from its native land. On DuoLingo, a hugely popular free language-learning app with over 300 million users worldwide, some 3.3 million are taking the Korean course.“It is the sixth-m

Culture March 29, 2019

In a country where 4 in 10 adults read less than one book written in their native language per year, an unlikely segment of the book market is thriving: English books for children. Lee Seung-a, an 8-year-old elementary student, is one contributor to this boom. A child reads an English picture book inside Mapo English Literacy Center, a public library of English books for children in central Seoul. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)Currently on a challenge to read 1,000 English books, she tries to

Culture March 22, 2019

When it comes to English books, there are three types of readers in South Korea: expats, Korean elites and language learners. For retailers and distributors, the first is the most difficult consumer group to target as their tastes in books are just as diverse as their backgrounds. The most lucrative and competitive market, on the other hand, is that for young English learners, as Korean moms -- always willing to reach into their pocketbooks for their children’s education -- wake up to the power

Culture March 22, 2019

Much of Itaewon’s future hinges on Korean landlords who expect their long wait for investment gains to finally pay off in the coming years. With a former US base to be turned into a huge public park, many expect the onset of the “Yongsan era,” with the area rising to match Gangnam’s status as an upscale residential and commercial district. But in that transformation, Itaewon’s unique features as a lively, culturally diverse and expat-friendly neighborhood could be lost. While the anticipation fo

Social Affairs March 14, 2019

Some say Itaewon has lost its soul and is now just another soulless hangout place for young Koreans. Others say the neighborhood has become safer and trendier -- suitable for a wider audience. And if you stand in the right place, you can still find the same expat-led culture thriving, they say. Whichever side one takes, the talk resembles the typical debate that erupts whenever a neighborhood gets gentrified. A less developed area with its unique characteristics and a vibrant local community get

Travel March 14, 2019

With birthrates persistently low and the senior population growing, South Korea‘s working age population is projected to shrink from 2018 onward. Against this backdrop, a steady inflow of immigrants and foreign residents is a potent factor that could bring about major changes to the fabric of South Korean society, long considered culturally and ethnically homogeneous. Here’s a look at the multiculturalism’s growing hold here, although it may not be visible yet in the mainstream.Migrant workers A

Social Affairs Jan. 1, 2018

The new year will usher in a slew of new rules and regulations. From public toilets to schools and churches, the changes will affect South Koreans’ daily life. Here is a look at some of the new rules to come into effect in 2018. 　Bye-bye toilet trash cansStarting from Jan. 1, all public bathrooms are required to do away with trash bins and provide rapid dissolving toilet paper, hopefully resolving one of the most common complaints of foreign visitors here.  YonhapThe move comes as part of change

Social Affairs Dec. 25, 2017

Whether you’ve noticed it or not, long padded coats are all the rage in South Korea. PyeongChang Winter Olympics' official down jackets flew off the shelves, with people lining up overnight in front of stores to get hold of the limited item. School commute scenes nowadays can’t be described without mentioning a new quasi-uniform look, complete with black, hooded, knee-length padded jackets. Despite the striking uniformity, the coats are not a uniform. They are the season’s latest ‘it’ item among

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2017