[Korea Quiz] Subway-accessible hikes in Korea

Find the answer at the bottom of the page. South Korea’s territory is 70 percent hills and mountains, hence the passion for hiking shared by so many Koreans. In Seoul, an ultramodern metropolis of 9.7 million, there are 14 mountains with a height of over 300 meters. Many of their hiking trails can be reached by public transportation -- which is partly why you can spot so many people in colorful hiking outfits on the subway trains or buses. The Bukhansan National Park, one of Korea's m

Feb. 15, 2023

[Survive & Thrive] Becoming a Korean

Survive & Thrive is a weekly series offering a guide to living in South Korea for those born outside of the country. – Ed. According to the latest government data, there are 210,990 naturalized Koreans in South Korea, making up for roughly 0.4 percent of the population for the nation. Each year, around 10,000 people become naturalized citizens, with recent figures being 11,752 in 2021, 13,400 in 2020 and 8,813 in 2019. There are basically three types of naturalization: general, simpl

Feb. 14, 2023

[Land of Squid Game] Leaving quickly after eating

When Koreans are dining at a restaurant, as soon as everyone is finished eating, they generally move to a different location for coffee or drinks. Westerners, on the other hand, like to stay put for a few minutes after dining to give their meal time to settle, and then they may switch to a different location. Min Byoung-chul is an endowed chair professor at Chung-Ang University who is widely known as a multicultural educator and for his practical English teaching. This content is based on his

Feb. 14, 2023

[Newsmaker] [Herald Interview] ChatGPT shows limitations in East Asian languages, but not for long: linguist

  ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot taking the English-speaking world by storm, is being called by many as a mind-blowing “game changer.” For now, East Asian countries, which use their own search engines and platforms different from the rest of the world, are spared by the immediate impact, although it won’t be long before AI is trained to get information from them as well, according to Jieun Kiaer, a professor of Korean linguistics at the University of Oxford.

Feb. 13, 2023

[Newsmaker] [Hello Hangeul] Yonsei vs Sogang: A closer look at decades-old rivalry in Korean language education

Among those considering coming to Korea for language study, two university-run language institutes have long been considered the best options. Associated with and located on the main campuses of Yonsei University and Sogang University, they take pride in providing the “most immersive learning experience.” Here’s a closer look at the archrival language institutes, whose competition for reputation has brought about benefits to not just learners but the field of Korean language

Feb. 12, 2023

[My Hangeul Story] Korean has given me great opportunities: K-pop fan-turned-Korean teacher

Nura Ezzatie is a social media influencer with at least 182,400 followers on TikTok. Outside the social media world, she is a secondary school teacher in her native country of Malaysia. Neither of the two would have been possible, had she not embarked on a journey to teach herself Korean more than a decade ago. In 2010, then at age 18, Ezzatie discovered the world of K-pop through Super Junior. Watching all kinds of Korean TV shows starring the idol group almost every day, she decided to learn

Feb. 12, 2023

[Herald Interview] For Korea's first world barista champion, failure was path to success

Jeon Joo-yeon’s path to becoming the first South Korean to win the World Barista Championship is a typical “passion leads to success” story. In 2008, then a social welfare major at a local college, she started a part-time job at a big coffee shop in her hometown of Busan. At first, she did not even touch coffee cups. She was part of the shop’s online sales team. Slowly but naturally, she gravitated toward making coffee. In 2009, she made up her mind to become a barista.

Feb. 12, 2023

[Weekender] ‘Come grab coffee by the sea in Busan’

BUSAN -- South Korea’s southeastern port city of Busan is a popular holiday destination for those seeking to enjoy quality seafood and relax at the beach. But in recent years, tourists have been flocking to the city to get a taste of something different -- coffee. Global coffee competition winners are opening up cafes in Busan, with a shared goal of transforming the city into the next coffee hub like the Australian city of Melbourne. At the forefront of the movement is barista Jeon Joo-ye

Feb. 11, 2023

Korean students' exchange visit to US thwarted over dog meat issue

A planned exchange visit to a US town by South Korean high school students last year was canceled after animal activists there raised the issue of dog meat farms operating in the area the students are from, it was revealed Friday. Palisades Park, New Jersey – a twin town of Gangwha County in Incheon-- decided to cancel the planned three-week exchange program in June last year. The decision was made after some activists reported to the borough’s council about illegal dog meat activi

Feb. 10, 2023

[Newsmaker] Star lecturers: Divas of private education and inspiration for many

In today’s world of live broadcast sports and entertainment backed with mega corporate endorsements, there’s a constant stream of people whose net worth amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars -- sports legends, music greats, movie stars and business magnates. In South Korea, there’s one more profession on the list -- star lecturers. In the tvN drama “Crash Course in Romance,” which began streaming on Netflix last month, the male protagonist Choi Chi-yeol is call

Feb. 10, 2023

[Korea Quiz] The most studied foreign language in Suneung

Find the answer at the bottom of the page. Since 2001, students can sit for a foreign language exam, one of five subjects of Suneung, Korea’s annual college entrance examination. Other subjects include Language Arts (Korean), Mathematics, English and Inquiry (social studies and science). Although not compulsory, many Suneung takers, especially applicants for humanities majors, choose to take it, because some universities require a foreign language test score. The nine categories are Jap

Feb. 8, 2023

[Korean History] Hero or villain? Park Chung-hee leaves behind complicated legacy

"History through The Korea Herald” revisits significant events and issues over the seven decades through articles, photos and editorial pieces published in the Herald and retell them from a contemporary perspective. – Ed. Last Wednesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the birthplace of Park Chung-hee, a military strongman who ruled South Korea with an iron fist for nearly two decades until 1979, calling him “a great leader.” A day before Yoon’s visit to Gumi

Feb. 8, 2023

Vinyl craze continues

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, a retro cafe in Insa-dong, central Seoul, saw people chilling out on sofas, listening to music from the 1970s and '80s. Each table was equipped with a vinyl record player and a headset for visitors to indulge themselves in music from the likes of British rock band Queen to Korean legend Lee Moon-sae. “It seems like young people nowadays like LPs more than older people do,” said the only middle-aged man in the place, who introduced himself as a 53-year-

Feb. 8, 2023

[Land of Squid Game] Waiting until the oldest person has finished eating before leaving

    As mentioned in earlier columns, respect for older people is something that is ingrained in Korean etiquette and traditions. In Korea, it is common to wait until the oldest person at the table finishes before getting up and leaving. Also, you should try to eat at the same pace as those around you. Although it may seem like a long list of do's and don'ts for dining with Koreans, once you have dined a couple of times in South Korea, you will get used to it. Min Byoung-chul is an end

Feb. 7, 2023

[Hello Hangeul] What not to do to keep Korean culture, language attractive

If countries were people, Korea would be the quiet, hardworking kid who had little chance to show what an interesting person he is, until he started writing great songs and tales that made people cry, laugh and think. If he continues to excel by getting better at understanding others and making himself understood, he will gain influence, or “soft power.” A term coined by American political scientist Joseph Nye Jr., soft power is defined as the ability to affect others to get what y

Feb. 6, 2023

[My Hangeul Story] Meet Billy, YouTube’s self-starter Korean tutor

YouTube is home to a myriad of creators catering to people interested in Korean language and culture, but not many have the presence of Billy Go. The 36-year-old American has nearly 544,000 followers, amassed through a decade of engagement and several hundreds of tutoring clips and posts. His YouTube channel, which started in 2012, “Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean” mostly features short-form videos of 10 minutes or less that teach the Korean alphabet, words and phrases, as well

Feb. 6, 2023

[Subway Stories] Dongnimmun Station, where memories of heroes are commemorated

Almost immediately, one can feel the nationalistic pride that fills Dongnimmun Station as the taegeuk mark and the four black trigrams of the Taegeukgi, the national flag, can be seen across multiple corners of the Line No.3 terminal. It is one of the few subway stations in Seoul that has its own unique design reflecting the significance of the surrounding areas. Such meaning can be found immediately upon stepping out of exit No. 3, adjacent to a small exhibition hall named “House for

Feb. 4, 2023

[Newsmaker] Why are helicopter parents tailing school trips?

For many Koreans, their most treasured memories from their student days are often of multiday trips to renowned historic or natural sites around the country. These include the UNESCO-recognized historic city of Gyeongju; the country’s wartime capital and now second-biggest city Busan; and Jeju Island, the one and only Korean entry to the World’s Seven Wonders of Nature. However, an online post purportedly written by a teacher about a field trip to Jeju has gone viral, sparking some h

Feb. 2, 2023

[Korean Dilemma] What ChatGPT means for Korea

Just a couple days ago, I spoke to ChatGPT, the revolutionary artificial intelligence chatbot everyone is gushing about. Yes, it was beyond impressive watching the bot produce concise pieces of writing on any given topic with relevant info extracted from mostly English-language sources on the web within seconds. It even spilled out a nice short story about AI and aliens as soon as I asked for it. It may soon be practically pointless for humans to write simple articles, solve math problems or wri

Feb. 1, 2023

[History through The Korea Herald] War orphans, the Holts and seeds borne from tragedy

"History through The Korea Herald” revisits significant events and issues over the seven decades through articles, photos and editorial pieces published in the Herald and retell them from a contemporary perspective. – Ed. When the dust from the 1950-53 Korean War settled, orphans were left to fight for survival. It was then a Christian couple from the US -- Harry and Bertha Holt -- stepped in to play a key role in arranging the babies to be adopted by foreign parents. The Holts

Feb. 1, 2023