Category Archives: News

Jeju Island’s Women Divers

Posted on by

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.”

Loading

Coupang mobile app now in English

Posted on by

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)

Loading

Korean baseball has it all.

Posted on by

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.

Loading

Medical tourism and plastic surgery

Posted on by

A Korea Times article today discusses the enormity of the plastic surgery industry in South Korea. “1.17 million foreign medical tourists” visited Korea in 2024 and a growth rate of over 5% annually. Last year, it’s estimated that Korean medical tourism brought in $1.9 billion USD.

Plastic surgery ranked number two for medical tourism behind dermatology. Facelifts and skin tightening are among the more popular services.

For more vocabulary and content for plastic surgery, see our two-part series here.

Plastic surgery – 성형수술 (seong-hyeong susul)

Loading

First birthdays and gold rings.

Posted on by

돌찬지 (dolchanji) is a baby’s first birthday. A long time ago, not all babies lived to see their first birthday and so this day came to represent good fortune for the baby and their family.

The tradition of giving a gold ring to a baby on their first birthday was also born. A gold ring symbolizes good fortune while also having value when the baby grows up – or if the family suffers hardships.

Sadly, due to global inflation and geo-political issues, the price of gold has dramatically risen. A first birthday ring can cost upwards of 700,000KRW ($450USD). Cash and gift certificates are also an acceptable gift for first birthday celebrations.

금반지” (geumbanji) — gold ring

So, giving a gold ring as part of the first birthday celebration can be described as:

돌잔치에 금반지를 선물하다

(dolchanji-e geumbanji-reul seonmul- hada)

To give a gold ring as a gift for a first birthday party

Our articles on babies, gift certificates, and cash.

Korean money

Loading

Garment alterations and laundry services

Posted on by

No neighborhood would be complete a Dry cleaning/Laundry/Alterations (clothing mending) shop.

The turnaround time at the local shops is often 1-2 days and prices are very affordable. Any type of alterations is possible, including shortening pants/jeans while retaining the original hem line. Such service are typically under 15,000 Won ($10.50USD).

Neighborhood dry cleaning/laundry/alterations shop

명품세탁 전문점 – (myeong-pum jeonmun-jeom) Luxury/high quality laundry specialty shop

수선 전문점 – (suseon jeonmun-jeom) Alterations specialty shop

Here’s our related arricle on running errands.

Loading