How to Book a KTX Train in Korea (Foreigner Guide)
A regular at my restaurant, an exchange student, once told me she’d spent five hours on a bus …
Seoul Subway Guide for Foreigners (T-money & Transfers)
One of my part-timers, a student from Vietnam, once got hit with penalty fares for weeks without rea…
How to Use Kakao Taxi in Korea (Foreigner Guide)
Late one night, a couple of regulars from abroad left my restaurant, stood on the curb, and waved th…
How to Leave a Gathering Politely in Korea
At Korean group dinners, there’s a quiet art to being the first one to leave — and I’ve …
How to Respond to Compliments in Korea (Modesty)
The first time you compliment a Korean friend and they immediately fire back “아니에요, 아니에요,̶…
Banmal vs Jondaetmal: Casual vs Polite Korean
A friend who runs a team in Seoul once told me the fastest way a new hire loses points isn’t a…
What Is ‘Ssum’ (썸)? Korea’s Pre-Dating Stage Explained
A while back, a coworker of mine spent weeks firmly insisting she wasn’t dating anyone — she w…
Korean Reaction Words: How to React Beyond ‘Ne’
If you’ve ever wondered why Korean variety shows feel so electric, a big part of the answer is…
What ‘Geunyang’ (그냥) Really Means in Korean
There’s a moment in almost every Korean drama where a character is asked what’s wrong, l…