A Korean’s Take: Culture, Media & Everyday Life

Hanok photograph beautifully. Those curvy tile roofs. Dark wood. Paper doors that kind of glow when the sun's on them, and a tiny yard in the middle. You've seen the Bukchon rooftop shot. Everybody has, and I'd bet a good chunk of those photos have someone in a rented hanbok in them. Living in one is another matter. I'll be honest: when I was a kid, hanok life was a real hassle for me. That's about all I'll say on that. I suspect plenty of people my age would tell you something similar and then happily go home to an apartment. And the timing is funny, because Seoul Hanok Week 2026 (the fourth one, 82 programs across Bukchon, Seochon and Eunpyeong) started on October 2 and ends today, October 11. So the whole city has been celebrating these houses for ten days. Fair enough. They deserve it. I'm just here for the part the posters skip. Quick facts Seoul Hanok Week 2026 ran Oct 2-11 in Bukchon, Seochon and Eunpyeong. Ondol became a National Intangible Cultu...

The mountains near my place have already started to show some color. Just a little red and yellow so far, nothing dramatic yet. But that's enough. Once the first leaves go, half the country turns into amateur weather forecasters, and every group chat gets the same message. So when are we going? Fair question. The Korea Forest Service put out its 2026 foliage map back on September 22. The first turned leaves of the year had been spotted even earlier, on September 14, by a citizen observer at the Jeombongsan forest protection area up in Gangwon. Then on September 28 the Korea Meteorological Administration called first foliage on Seoraksan. Four days earlier than last year (that was October 2), and pretty much right on the usual date. I already went through first foliage vs peak in my hiking post , so I won't do that again here. This one's about the 2026 dates, why they don't agree with each other, and how to plan around them. Quick facts Forest Service 2026 peaks: Seo...

Tomorrow marks two years since Han Kang got the Nobel Prize in Literature (the news hit on October 10, 2024, in the evening our time). First Korean to win it. First Asian woman, too. I'm not going to play it cool here: I was proud. And judging by what happened next, so was most of the country. Within six days, Kyobo, Yes24 and Aladin (the three big bookstore chains, which handle most of the online book sales here) had sold 1,032,000 copies of her books between them, according to KBS World reporting at the time . Her titles took every single spot in Kyobo's top ten. Shelves went bare. For a country where we keep hearing that nobody reads anymore, that was a strange and pretty lovely week. I should confess something before I start handing out a reading list. I used to be a steady reader. Lately I've gotten lazy about it, and yes, I feel a bit guilty. I still stop by my neighborhood library on weekends, though, so I haven't completely given up on myself. Oh, and today ...

On weekends I ride my bike along the Han River, and from the bike path you basically watch one long picnic go by. Families. Couples. Groups of friends on three mats pushed together. Nobody's doing anything special, really. That's sort of the whole idea. Spring and fall are when it peaks. October's my pick, if you're asking. Dry air, no spring yellow dust stinging your eyes, and the ground isn't cold yet, so sitting on it for four hours still sounds fine. Below is how a Han River picnic works in real life, noodles first, then the rules nobody bothers telling tourists. Quick facts Ramyeon machine set: about 3,500 to 4,500 won Shade tents: designated zones only, open until 10 p.m. through Nov 30, 2026 Ttukseom drone show: Oct 9 and Oct 31, 8:30 p.m. Fines: 100,000 won for trash, 1,000,000 won for cooking outside designated areas Which park, though? Seoul has 11 Hangang parks on the two banks, Gangseo way out west, Gwangnaru out east and a bunch in between. Eleven ...

Every day on my commute I transfer between the bus and the subway, going to work and coming home again. For Seoul commuters it's so normal that nobody even mentions it. But if you're visiting, a Seoul bus stop can look like a test you didn't study for. The route maps are mostly in Korean, the numbers run to four digits, and three buses pull in at once while everyone around you already seems to know which one is theirs. Good news, though. Once you've got one transit card in your pocket, most of that stops mattering. Quick facts Fares with a card: subway 1,550 won, city bus 1,500 won Transfer window: 30 minutes after tapping off (1 hour, 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.) Tap on and off, or the transfer chain breaks Overseas contactless cards cannot tap on buses yet, planned around 2027 Tmoney Travel Card for foreigners: 4,000 won One card, one fare, the whole city Fares first, because they're cheap. A subway ride costs 1,550 won with a card (it went up from 1,400 on June 28, 202...

It's early October, and Seoul has started walking with its head down. Not because of bad news. Because of ginkgo seeds. They've been dropping on the sidewalks since mid-September, squishy little yellow balls that look harmless and very much aren't. This morning, too, I walked to work watching my feet, step by careful step. So here's my one piece of advice before anything else. Watch out for the yellow fruit under your feet, or the smell will follow you all the way into your room. I mean it. Quick facts Seoul’s official tree since April 3, 1971 2026 peak color expected around October 30 (Korea Forest Service) Samcheong-ro: about 1.2 km of ginkgo-lined road Hongcheon Ginkgo Forest: October only, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., free Shaking street trees for nuts can mean a fine of up to 100,000 won So what is that smell? The yellow "fruit" isn't really a fruit. It's the fleshy outer coat of the seed (botanists call it the sarcotesta), and when your shoe squashes...

About 30 kilometers south of Seoul there's a whole city center wrapped in an 18th-century wall, and a lot of visitors to Korea never get there. Which is a shame. Suwon Hwaseong is a UNESCO World Heritage site, walking the wall is free, and the subway gets you there in about an hour. (I lived in Suwon once, so yes, I'm a little biased.) The festival is on this week, too. So here's the practical version, with a bit of history first because the history is honestly the best part. Quick facts Wall walk: about 5.74 km, roughly 3 hours, free Hwaseong Haenggung: 2,000 won, open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hwaseong Eocha trolley: 6,000 won, closed Mondays From Seoul: Line 1 or Suin-Bundang Line to Suwon Station, about an hour 63rd festival: October 4 to 11, 2026, no food booths Why a king built a wall around Suwon Short answer? Grief. Grief and politics. King Jeongjo's father was Crown Prince Sado, who died in 1762 after his own father, King Yeongjo, had him locked inside a wooden r...