Why do Koreans generally not engage with strangers? We asked locals and experts Ava Miller, an avid K-drama lover, traveled to Seoul in July last year to practice her Korean and immerse herself in authentic Korean culture. Staying at a hostel in Seoul, she tried to engage with locals, but whenever she started a conversation, they responded with short answers, and the dialogue didn’t flow as she had hoped. “Everyone was quietly eating or washing dishes, not making eye contact with each other,” th

Crowd density isn't the only reason minor physical contact is tolerated in South Korea During William Smith’s first experience riding the subway in Seoul several years ago, he initially felt that some Koreans were rude and didn’t respect other passengers’ personal space. People would push past him and walk away without apologizing. “In the United States, if I accidentally bump into someone — even after apologizing — I could be accused of something like sexual harassment. But here, people seem mo

Free size in South Korean fashion is a label that fits the industry better than the consumer Choi A-ra, 24, entered university with a goal: to fit into "free-size" clothing. "In places like Hongdae or Gangnam Station's underground shopping centers, most of the pretty clothes I wanted to buy only came in 'free-size,'" she said. "Back in high school, I was overweight — 170 centimeters and 65 kilograms — so my goal was to lose 10 kilograms to fit into them." She reached her target weight. But even

They show up to work in sweatpants with hair curlers dangling from their bangs. They wander the office with AirPods firmly planted in their ears. And when the clock strikes 6, they're already hovering by the door, bags packed and ready to bolt -- unfinished projects be damned. At least, that's how the story goes. Tales of Generation Z workers have taken on almost mythical proportions in Korean offices. In break rooms and boardrooms alike, stories of their workplace misdeeds and faux pas spread l

In a society that celebrates youth and fears aging, pressure to stay young runs deep In South Korea, conversations with strangers traditionally begin by sharing one's age, which helps determine the proper use of honorifics, an important aspect of Korean language, and shapes expectations around people's roles in the relationship. Once ages are shared, it’s very common -- almost expected -- to compliment how much younger someone looks. “You don’t look your age,” one might say, and the other person

Confronting xenophobia, prevalent but largely unrecognized as a problem, is crucial for South Korea‘s transition to truly multicultural society, experts say Online comments dismissing xenophobia in South Korea as insignificant are surprisingly common. For example, when Chosun Ilbo, a major Korean news outlet, published an article in March about racial discrimination and xenophobia in Itaewon, many readers argued it exaggerated the problem. Reactions included: “Don’t talk nonsense, reporter. It’s

For generations, womanhood in South Korea has been inextricably linked to motherhood, a role often defined by self-sacrifice. But today, Korean women are questioning these norms, striving to reclaim their identities as individuals, not just as daughters, wives or moms, and to redefine what it means to be a woman. To capture a snapshot of this change, The Korea Herald spoke with seven women, ranging from a stay-at-home mom in her 50s who bitterly regrets the limited choices she had compared to to

Behind endless streams of social media comments, validation-addicted Koreans seek group acceptance “Do you think it’s okay to go for a test-drive of a Mercedes Benz car in track pants?” Kim, a veterinarian in her 30s living in Seoul, posed the question via a yes-or-no poll on Instagram. To her relie

Some Koreans practice self-talk, wittingly or unwittingly, for such reasons as self-affirmation, indirect communication and coping with negative emotions An older Korean person at your usual bus stop mumbles something that sounds almost like a question about the weather. To be polite, you respond, o

How and why do married couples become sexless? The Korea Herald investigates Ever since the arrival of her daughter six years ago, the precious little being has become the center of Park Eun-jeong‘s world. It also marked the beginning of a new dynamic in her marriage: a sexless, more companionate re