Long before the seemingly inscrutable neologism "gorpcore” entered the global fashion lexicon, middle-aged men in South Korea were trailblazing the look, seamlessly incorporating Gore-Tex jackets and hiking boots into their daily attire for work, dining and socializing. Leisurely strolling through Seoul's Dongmyo flea market, some of these ajeossi, an appellation for middle-aged men in Korean, caught the eye of a young menswear designer in July 2018: Kiko Kostadinov, whose anti

South Korea stopped assigning numbers to its national treasures a few years ago, but for many, the expression National Treasure No. 1 still remains synonymous with Namdaemun, or Sungnyemun by its official name. So when this gate from the 14th century burned down one night in 2008, the shock was indescribable, akin to what the French people might have gone through during the 2019 blaze at Notre Dame Cathedral. Koreans watched helplessly on TV as the wooden pagoda atop the arch-shaped stone gate b

Find the answer at the bottom. In modern entertainment history, it became a tradition for Korean media to pick three era-defining female actors per decade. Dubbed “troika,” from the Russian term denoting a vehicle pulled by three horses, the three were picked based on their popularity, their work, the number of commercial deals they clinched, and other metrics. Kim Tae-hee, Song Hye-kyo and Jun Ji-hyun were the top actors in the 2000s in terms of clout. They became collectively know

Cemeteries and columbariums in South Korea evoke images of sorrowful families and friends mourning the loss of loved ones. With their rows of urns in glass cabinets, columbariums, in particular, are the last place anyone wishes to visit unless compelled to by the loss of someone dear to them. Called “memorial parks,” the solemn atmosphere of these facilities makes them an unwanted addition to a neighborhood in South Korea, where property prices are a key concern. But from about a dec

SAO PAULO -- Separated by oceans and a 12-hour time difference, Seoul and Sao Paulo lack direct flight connections and speak distinct languages. Yet, in this metropolis of over 11 million, the largest in the southern hemisphere, K-dramas are finding their way into ordinary Brazilian homes, and K-pop acts are captivating youth, gradually making the language spoken in the distant Asian nation more familiar to the local population. The University of Sao Paulo stands tall amid this newfound intere

In labyrinthine Seoul, a multitude of hidden places often go unnoticed by both Seoulites and visitors. Social media has recently become a cornucopia of travel content, and Dutch YouTuber Bart van Genugten, also known as "iGoBart," has leveraged that to the best of his ability to offer a fresh perspective on Seoul’s layers beneath its shiny surface. In his daring new project, "Welcome To My Dong (WTMD)," iGoBart embarks on a journey to visit all of Seoul's 467 neigh

Find the answer at the bottom. When Koreans inquire about your blood type, their curiosity might center not on medical matters but on the pseudoscientific pursuit of predicting some of your personality traits. In South Korea, blood type is commonly used as a gauge of others’ personalities and temperaments, despite the absence of a scientific basis for it. In a recent poll of 1,501 adults aged 19 and over conducted by Gallup Korea, approximately 57 percent of respondents support the conce

In the winter of 2005, South Korea experienced a roller coaster of emotion, looping between shock, disbelief and relief multiple times after Hwang Woo-suk, then the country’s most revered scientist as well as a symbol of national pride and hope for the terminally ill, faced whistleblower accusations for grave ethics breaches, followed by even graver matters of data fabrication. After a whirlwind of claims and counterclaims that left many at a loss as to what to believe, by December of that

Electric-powered bicycles, one of the most recent additions to South Korea's urban landscape, are quickly becoming a popular choice for short-distance travel, with many seen parked on streets and sidewalks across the nation's cities. Replacing e-scooters, which once dominated Seoul's micromobility scene, e-bikes are enhancing public accessibility through affordable bike-sharing services. Micromobility refers to lightweight, single-person vehicles that are used for transportation

HERALD INTERVIEW Yale University was the only Ivy League school that didn’t have a Korean studies faculty member, other than Korean language lecturers, until 2018, when it hired Kim Hwan-soo as a professor of religious studies. Kim, a Buddhist monk and professor of Korean Buddhism and culture, received his doctorate in the colonial history of Korean and Japanese Buddhism from Harvard University and previously taught at Duke University. “Students at Yale had called for a Korean stud

In the summer of 2004, South Korea was jolted by one of the most gruesome crime stories the country had ever witnessed. Driven by hatred for the rich and women, Yoo Young-chul committed 20 murders before he was apprehended, a fraction of his self-imposed mission to kill 100. The serial killer’s dramatic capture, along with shocking details of his crimes, which involved claims of cannibalism and dismemberment, left a lasting impact on the nation’s collective memory. The chilling sag

Every November, a certain type of snack sees a sudden spike in sales: Pepero. On Nov. 11, also known as Pepero Day, people exchange the chocolate-covered snacks. It is not an official holiday, but is widely celebrated in South Korea, with street stalls, convenience stores and supermarkets stocked with a massive supply of Pepero or similarly shaped goodies. The origin of this festivity is a modern marketing legend. While Pepero has always been popular, its manufacturer, Lotte Confectionery, p

On a gentle hill nestled between two wooded areas in Sosa-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, lies a long-neglected training compound for farmers. Occupying nearly 66,000 square meters of land, the compound’s dormitory building, silo for livestock feed storage, pigpen, chicken coup and conference hall, among other facilities, remain tucked out of sight of the surrounding community. The compound's history is unknown even to many of its most immediate neighbors, despite its presence here fo

Home farming is gaining popularity as inflation continues to drive up the prices of produced goods including eggs and vegetables. Recently, the trend has recently taken an interesting turn, with local e-commerce platforms launching mobile farming games that bear real fruit in the physical world. Lee Jae-ram, a 33-year-old office worker in Seoul, recently received his "harvest" of bananas in a package via mail, the fruit of his farming efforts in the mobile game, Al-Farm. Al-Farm is a g

LOS ANGELES -- Stephanie Baldonado first came across Korean food in 2006 during her deployment at a US military hospital in Afghanistan, where she shared a camp with counterparts from the Korean military. She instantly fell in love with it. Years later, her daughter Marlene “fully immersed” herself into the world of K-pop and Korean dramas. Marlene is the captain of a K-pop dance group at San Diego State University. The mother and daughter are both taking online Korean language lesso

NEW YORK -- Portrayals of shaman rituals or shrines in Korean dramas often give off a spooky or menacing vibe. But 22-year-old Laurel Kendall felt none of that when she first encountered a shaman ritual, or “gut,” in the early 1970s in rural Korea. “I was struck by how vibrant, colorful and exciting it was. The place was packed, and it was of course very intense,” the adjunct professor of anthropology at Columbia University and curator of Asian ethnographic collections at

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- Grace Kao got into BTS and K-pop by accident. In April 2019, the sociology professor at Yale University was deeply impressed when she saw the Korean boy band on Saturday Night Live, a TV show that she had watched since she was a child. “SNL was around from the ’70s. I always remembered the musical guests, and they never had Asians. I really enjoyed the performance by BTS, and Googled them a bit,” Kao said in an interview with The Korea Herald at her of

Lionel Mathieu, a roofing craftsman from France, is on a unique journey within South Korea's construction scene, quietly leaving his mark. Mathieu's path to learning the craft of roof construction began working with his hands at home at the age of 14, and at 15 led him to join Compagnons du Devoir, a combined work-study program educating over 30 types of artisans and craftsmen, dating back to the Middle Ages in France. Through the formative program, Mathieu was able to learn from fello

As an increasing number of Koreans are ditching traditional rituals to honor their ancestors, an authority on the rites on Thursday said it is OK to put fried chicken and ramen on the jesa table. A committee that settles ceremonial issues under the Confucian educational institute Sung Kyun Kwan reduced the minimum number of items on the jesa table from the previous 15 to eight in its latest set of guidelines meant to simplify the jesa menu. Following up on its recommendation last year that jeon

DAEJEON – A final-term essay that contained four sentences only, due to the writer’s social distancing-induced depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. An accidental discovery of an abnormal blood swelling in one’s own brain at a cancer research lab. These are two of the entries of the “Failed Tasks Showdown Contest,” held Wednesday evening at the Daejeon-based Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, better known as the KAIST. Ten students from the natio