Monthly Archives: May 2025

Inflation drives Koreans back to the buffet.

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According to an article in the Korea Herald today, “buffet chains are making a comeback as dining costs continue to rise in Korea.” The articles continues with interviews of several people describes waiting in long lines to get into buffets.

As COVID nearly ended the rein of buffet restaurants, Koreans are now returning to find value and endless choices at them. The “price gap between single-dish meals and buffet admission has narrowed significantly compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Here’s an earlier post we did about a buffet restaurant in Seoul. And a more recent post on the topic.

Looking for related vocabulary to help you learn Korean? Heres our post on the expression, my mouth is bored (I’m hungry). And our post on eating too much.

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Bus ridership continues to drop in Seoul

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“Over the last 10 years, average daily bus ridership in Seoul has fallen by 19 percent, from 4.57 million in 2014 to 3.73 million in 2024, according to official city data released in April.” An article in the Korea Herald today describes the steady decline in passengers on Seoul buses over the past 10 years.

The Seoul city government is required to subsidizes private bus companies when they are not meeting their quota. Further they report that over 90 bus routes operate at a loss. “In contrast, subway usage rose from 38.2 to 44.7 percent, showing a growing preference for rail over road-based transit.”

We covered electric buses in three parts:

Part one, part two, and part three.

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Jeju Island’s Women Divers

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South Korea’s Hawaii-like Jeju Island, is a popular tourist destination for Koreans. Here, a group of all-women divers work year round to collect seafood from the depths of the water.

The findings of an investigation, published on May 2, 2025, shows that these women have unique genetic differences that may play into their ability to spend so much time in the water.

According to a 5/7/2025 article on CNN,, “…the practice is dying out. Young women are no longer continuing this matrilineal tradition; the current group of Haenyeo divers, with an average age of around 70 years, may represent the last generation.”

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Coupang mobile app now in English

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Coupang (쿠팡) is a Korean mobile shopping app similar to Amazon. A new beta feature offers menus and options in English.

According to the Korea Times, “product search, product descriptions, order information and payment, [are] in English.”

Click here for a deeper read on Coupang and who they are.

Click the Icon (blue) and then choose Language
Example of English menu 5/7/2025)

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Easy to Learn Korean 38 – Holidays in May.

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Korean Holidays

Continue reading →

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Korean baseball has it all.

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Food, songs, beer, dancing, cheerleaders, inflatable cheer sticks, and a ton of merchandise – this is Korean baseball. The Chosen Daily ran a tell-all today on why Korean baseball is as good as it gets. According to the same article, more than 10 million fans attended games in 2024, a new record.

For all of our posts with vocab on how to play baseball, attend a game, and more, click here.

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