South Korea Local Customs

  I want to Roast more meats!
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  • 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...
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  •   Local Customs
    by jckim
  •   Local Customs
    by jckim
 

Most Viewed Local Customs in South Korea

126.

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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127.

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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128.

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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129.

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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130.

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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131.

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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132.

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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133.

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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134.

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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135.

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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Kinds of Booze in Korea

by jburron

Of course, since everything else is different, Korea also has its own names and tastes in alcohol. For one, good luck finding snigle malt whiskey/whisky here...it's mostly blends, and mostly domestic blends, at that. A few names of drinks you'll likey see here:Young-ju = whisky, literally means English alcohol (Korea is the #1 whisky and #2 cognac importer in all of Asia!)Soju = Korea's vodka, strong stuff. Comes in many subtle accents and potencies. (Koreans drink 4 BILLION bottles of soju a year, that means over 1.5 bottles for every man, woman and child each week!)Oh-ee soju = cucumber soju....yes, tastes like cucumber/pickle. Not bad stuff. Reminds me of dill pickle potato chips.Maek-ju = beer. Lots of this here, including the 'live' kind (means draft). OB (Oriental Brewing), Hite and Cass are some of the larger makers.Baek-say-ju = 100 year alcohol. Tastes lttle like ginsing...kind...

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Eating Etiquette IV

by jburron

Just learned another one over dinner tonight. No one seems to know why, but it's impolite to set your spoon on your bowl when you're not using it. Maybe I should explain: I always understood it polite in Western culture to set my spoon's bowl upside-down on the lip of my bowl (with the point of the stem on the table--making about a 30 degree angle). But, it seems that is not cool in Korea.I also noticed that Koreans generally leave their utensils (spoon and chopsticks) on the table between uses. This is the opposite of Emily Post's etiquette rules, but you ain't in Kansas any longer.Just another thing to remember.Note: in Japan sticking your chopsticks in a bowl (of rice) and leaving them there for any period of time is extreme bad luck--this is how they present and leave offerings to the dead.

Korea - Construction

by ant1606

After landing in Korea you will presumably move around by using state-of-the-art civil engineering roads, bridges, landfills and buildings. You will find yourself in a highly developed country, and high development may mean there's little left to develop. Wrong. New infrastructures are constantly on the go at a quite incredible fast pace. All you see is new, truly new.

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Dogs to dye for....

by ant1606

It is quite common in Korea to see fashionable pets with unnatural colors. Their owners seem to like their dogs wearing bright colors like this poodle with yellow ears and tail. Another trend is to ornate pets with ribbons or accessories. I've seen several dogs wearing glass beads especially on their ears.

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Korea - Tombs

by ant1606

If you gaze while driving around in Kkorea, you will see flattened areas on the hillsides where small mounds are present. These are present-day tombs. Sometimes a vertical stone is also present, the fancier the higher status. These sites are chosen by the shaman according to the astrological person's characteristics. Some of these burial sites are located in remote areas and require long walks in the wilderness to be reached.

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Airport Telephones

by ant1606

Many public telephones in Incheon airport are capable to surf the web. They incorporate the screen, while keyboard and ball-mouse are on the shelf.Price is very interesting, some 500 Won (about half a US dollar) for 20 minutes use.Call rates from public phones are also very convenient. A 10-minute call to a Korean mobile phone number costs about 300 Won.Korea is probably the only country in the world that uses a dedicated mobile phone system. Your foreign phone doesn't work in this country. You can rent one at the airport in case of need.

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Heap of Stones

by jckim

In the Mountain side, Mountain path, Temple side, front of Villages, and other places, you can see the heap of stones. This is like a pray for everythings. Heap of Stones are behavior pattern of Korean Peoples.

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Sadaecheonwang

by jckim

This is like a four King's of Buddha land. they are protection of the law of Buddha and new man's safeguard for converted to Buddhism. From old times in Korea temples, house is build Cheonwangmun, between Iljumun( Main Gate ) and Main Hall. Sadaecheonwang's standing at the Inside Cheonwangmun, and each have a Gum (Sword), Bipa ( Korean mandolin ), Tap ( Pagoda ), Yong ( Dragon ). Sadaecheonwang statues made of wood, stone and sometime picture the scene.

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ÂòÁú¹æ - Sauna-ing the South Korean Style.

by Hmmmm

JimJil Bang - ÂòÁú¹æ are ubiquitous in Korea. They are as much part of Korean culture as Kim bab, sentimental movies, Hanbok, Kimchi, Pansori and Soju swilling mean who frequent them after a hard night.Sauna-ing is a old Korean tradition: Old as Baekdusan itself I'd say. Hanjeungmak sauna - the Sauna Style itself is said to be around 600 years old. A korean or Hanjeungmak sauna is intensely hot and dry, it uses burning pine to heat a cavelike dome made of stone, with empty hemp bags to sit on. Hanjeungmak is thought to be responsible for many women's smooth, healthy skin. Koreans believe that it purges the body of impure elements. My girlfriend swears by them. They are great when you have a hangover. You do it in this order - Eat some kamja Tang or haejang-guk (See Korean Food section) and then spend the night in a JimJil Bang.So what exactly is a Jim Jil Bang?A jim jil bang is a huge...

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Know the Numbers, Get a Discount

by jburron

When bargaining it's a good idea to know how to speak at least the numbers/prices in Korean. Luckily, this is relatively basic (compared to most things here).Two things: each decimal place is said in order (so twenty is just two-ten and twelve is ten-two); and the numbers are partitioned according to ten thousands, not thousands, so there is a term for 10,000, 100 million and 1 trillion. It takes some getting used to but it can be learned (if I can, you can!).The base numbers are:one - 일/iltwo - 이/i (said:ee)three - 삼/sam (sahm)four - 사/safive - 오/ohsix - 육/yookseven - 칠/chil (cheel)eight - 팔/pal (pahl)nine - 구/gooten - 십/ship (sheep)for larger denominations:hundred - 백/baek (beck)thousand - 천/chun (cheon)ten thousand - 만/man (mahn)100,000 - 십만/ship man1,000,000 -...

Local traditions and culture in South Korea

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Local Customs: Cities in South Korea
  1. Seoul Local Customs
  2. Busan Local Customs
  3. Suwon Local Customs
  4. Kyongju Local Customs
  5. Sorak-sanmaek Local Customs
  6. Jeju (city) Local Customs
  7. Daegu Local Customs
  8. Okp'o-dong Local Customs
  9. Koje-do Local Customs
  10. Chonju Local Customs
  11. Puyo Local Customs
  12. Ch'onan Local Customs
  13. Taejon Local Customs
  14. Naejangsan-kungnip-kongwon Local Customs
  15. Ich'on Local Customs
  16. Ulchin Local Customs
  17. Wando Local Customs

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Soul-t'ukpyolsi Local Customs  Jeju-do Local Customs  Kyonggi-do Local Customs  Pusan-gwangyoksi Local Customs  Kangwon-do Local Customs  Kyongsang-namdo Local Customs  Kyongsang-bukto Local Customs  Cholla-namdo Local Customs  Cholla-bukto Local Customs  Ulsan-gwangyoksi Local Customs  Taegu-gwangyoksi Local Customs  Ch'ungch'ong-namdo Local Customs 

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Questions and Answers

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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... 

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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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