South Korea Local Customs

  I want to Roast more meats!
by machomikemd
 
  • I want to Roast more meats!
      I want to Roast more meats!
    by machomikemd
  • English kindergarten students in their uniforms
      English kindergarten students in their...
    by Arial_27
  • one of my fave students showing off her artwork
      one of my fave students showing off her...
    by Arial_27
  •   Local Customs
    by jckim
  •   Local Customs
    by jckim
 

Most Viewed Local Customs in South Korea

26.

Eating & Drinking   Seoul

Eating & Drinking, Seoul

 75 Reviews  Hayeong is a newly-opened restaurant perched on top of a hill at the entrance of the Jungmun Resort Complex in Jeju. The restaurant serves high-quality, roasted black pork (for which the island is... 

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27.

Customs & Oddities   Seoul

Customs & Oddities, Seoul

 59 Reviews  Unusual Male Urinal in South Korea. this male urinal is unusually long but is not the most unusual urinal here, they also have flat urinals in the ground wherein you just aim and fire hehehe.... 

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28.

Other Stuff   Seoul

Other Stuff, Seoul

 17 Reviews  Being in the subway made me open my eyes. If you ever take the subway you will notice the following: (1) There are mirror (mostly) adjacent to the platforms. I wondered why until I saw two Korean... 

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29.

Gift-giving   Seoul

Gift-giving, Seoul

 8 Reviews  bought them as gifts to female friends. it cost about 5,000 won each if your buying 5 or more and 7,000 won if youre buying one. (no haggling means 7,000 won for 5 or more and 10,000 won for a single... 

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30.

Business/Money in Korea   Seoul

Business/Money in Korea, Seoul

 7 Reviews  Korean bills come in only 1000, 5000, and 10,000 Won notes. Coins come in 50, 100, and 500 won. Since the exchange rate is around 1150 Won to a dollar, you'll see that it takes a lot of paper to pay... 

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31.

Ceremonies & Holidays   Seoul

Ceremonies & Holidays, Seoul

 8 Reviews  Buddha's Birthday usually falls in late April or early May (in 2004 it was 26 May, and in 2005 it will be 15 May). At this time, the temples of Korea, especially Jogyesa Temple in Seoul, are decorated... 

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32.

Religion   Seoul

Religion, Seoul

 7 Reviews  Although Buddhism is still the dominant religion in South Korea, there is the emergence of Christians especially among the younger generation. As such, you will find more and more churches in Seoul... 

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33.

Historical Anecdotes   Seoul

Historical Anecdotes, Seoul

 3 Reviews  Here is a little story to tell when you are having lunch at the top of Namsan Tower (it revolves and little signs tell you what you are looking at in the distance). In Guui-Dong near the Children's... 

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34.

Relationships & Connections   Seoul

Relationships & Connections, Seoul

 4 Reviews  On Korean fashion: One must at all times wear socks, major rule: never enter a home without socks to maintain the sanitation as you'll always need to remove your shoes in a tiny cramped entryway.... 

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35.

Health & Well-Being   Seoul

Health & Well-Being, Seoul

 3 Reviews  Unlike most westerners, it seems that most Koreans do not seek a sun tan. Good for them! I'm sure they have low rates of skin cancer. The primary manifestation of this trait is that, on sunny days,... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Seolnal

by sunsoohyun

I'll talk about the Seolnal.First, the Seolnal is Janeury First by luner calender.We eat Rice cake soup(Toeukguk) this day.One of the reason of eating Rice cake soup is Seolnal is starting day so we need to clean our body so they eat Rice cake soup.Second, it meant to live long like white long Rice cake.Third, it mean to be rick like the rice cake which become longer and longerAlso, we play Yutnori which is Korean traditional play.Yutnori is play by forecast the year's farming.And we take Korean traditional cloth and give adults new year greeting.New year greeting mean give the greeting to adult. If we did New year greeting, then adults give us well-wishing remarks.

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Changing names

by DSwede

It is becoming more common for Koreans to change their names. They believe that their names are associated with something akin to fate and karma, so by changing their name, they can realign their stars so to speak.However, please note that Koreans do not change their names when the get married. The bride and groom will keep their original names, but their children will take the family name of the father.

Odd foods and Hong-eh

by DSwede

In all my travels I have had some unique and wonderful foods that are not mainstream where I grew up. Korea itself is the reason for many of those. There are things like live octopus, curdled beef blood, etc.However one of the most foul foods that I have ever come across is called hong-eh (홍어 in hongul). It is pickled stingray. It can have the texture of jerky or softer, but always has a near gagging limit of ammonia smell.I've wondered where the smell came from, but just accepted it as a byproduct of the natural pickling process. It probably has something to do with the extra salt content in the flesh.The story goes that long ago down in the waters far off the southwest of Korea, a fisherman got a stingray along with his catch of fish. This in itself is not uncommon. Back in that day, the fish would have just been dried in the sun since refrigeration was not...

Wedding and Funerals...BIG difference

by jburron

Thankfully I've never done this but it might have happened to some fool foreigner who didn't check things correctly.You see, in Korea when one is married you give one gift: money. Cash, actually (since checks are non-existant there). A relative is about 100,000 won (USD 87), close friend is 50,000 won and casual friend is about 30,000 won. Funerals have a cash gift too...probably the same amounts, haven't been to one yet.Now comes the tricky part. You can always give it in a simple white envelope, but many of the shops here sell special ones with Chinese writing on them. Of course us foreigners can't read a lick of Chinese (although Korean is relatively easy to pick up).This is your hint: the WEDDING envelope has THREE Chinese characters on it. The FUNERAL envelope has TWO Chinese characters...don't screw it up, whatever you do.

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Pepero Day

by Arial_27

Every year on November 11th, the Koreans hand out boxes and bags of peperos to one another. They give them out the same way we would Valentines in Western countries - as romantic gifts between couples, or to schoolmates, friends, and family.The pepero is a cookie stick dipped either halfway, or fully in chocolate. They're pretty yummy.

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Pusan People

by IreneMcKay

I thought the people in Pusan were lovely. Very few people speak English, but they still go out of their way to be friendly. We had the driver and several passengers go out of their way to make sure we got off at the right stop and headed the right way when we visited Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. In Yongdusan Park I found an old lady's walking stick in the toilet and returned it to her. I was almost cuddled to death in gratitude. On one bus ride a man changed seat so my husband and I could sit together. Koreans don't hassle you, but if they can help, they will.

Careful with the chopsticks

by hindu1936

There are some things one should not do, but then noone would think about doing them anyhow: do not stand your chopsticks upright in your rice bowl. do not leave a table before the oldest person there does. of course always remove your shoes when entering a home or a low table restaurant. Do not hand money to the cashier using only one hand. Use the right hand and clasp the right wrist with your left hand. Do not hand any piece of paper with only one hand. use the above advice. Do not touch anyone you do not know for any reason at all unless it is to jerk them backwards out of the path of a low flying jet. Even a speeding car is dealt with on an individual basis.

Useful Korean

by hopang

Useful Korean for foreign visitors courtesy of Korean National Tourism Corporation:-Hello : Yoboseyo ;Good morning : Annyong haseyo ;Yes : Ye ;No : Anio ;Thank you : Kamsa hamnida ;How do you do! : Cho-um poep-gessoyo! ;My name is .... : Na-ui irumun.... imnida ;See you again : Tto mannayo ;How much is it? : Olmaeyo? ;Please help me : Towa-juseyo ;Excuse me : Shille-hamnida.

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Gifts to give if you visit Korea

by DSwede

Most Koreans will highly value anything that you give them that shows the area or city that you come from. A t-shirt, wall calendar, small statue/model, touristy thing...Koreans in general do not like sweets or candies. If they eat chocolate, they prefer chocolate that is lower is sugar and higher in cocoa percent (95%+ cocoa). In all honesty, I think if you brought chocolates or sweets, they may have one or two and not eat the rest.

Understanding Kanglish

by DSwede

OK, for those of you who have traveled to to both Asia and the West, you no doubt know there are differences in pronunciation. If you are traveling in Korea, it is no different.To understand Kanglish and further enjoy your stay, please note that both in spoken and written forms, letters are used interchangeably:P <-> B [example: Busan or Pusan]T <-> D [example: Taegu or Daegu]L <-> R [example: do you want to eat rice or lice?]K <-> G [example: Seoul's Gimpo or Kimpo airports, Gyeongju or Kyeongju]F <-> V [F & V do not exist in Korean, therefore often are written using P or B interchangeably]Z [Z does not exist, so is often used as "ch", example eating pizza -> picha]Also, Koreans have a hard time ending words that finish in a "ch" or "sh". they will almost always add a long-E. [example: "I if you have no money, you have no cash-ee"]And words are commonly...

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Questions and Answers

Angrylilazngrl profile photo

Q:  Hi all, I am traveling to South Korea from 4/15-4/21 for a friend's wedding on 4/19 in Seoul. The majority of the wedding... 

dreamybd profile photo

A: Have a nice trip and fun. Be sure to visit the two tourist kiosks to get maps and guides. One is next to the express bus terminal while the other is beside the main train... 

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