Marriages in South Korea are down for the second year in a row. The average age of men getting married is up to 32.2 and 29.6 for women. A total of 26,000 people were married in Korea last year. The number of mixed weddings between Koreans and foreigners is also down for the third year in a row .
If you’re interested in specialty cafes that serve drinks and desserts beyond a latte and a bagel, check out this story at the Korea Times. The article has some great pictures too.
My favorite: green tea adzuki bean sherbet.
As we enjoy shopping at Amazon, Koreans also enjoy shopping at large online retailers. 27 online malls were rated by the Seoul Electronic Commerce Center, a division within the Seoul Metropolitan Government. According to the Korea Times, consumer protection, consumer satisfaction, and complaint management, were the key factors in determining rank. GS Shopping Mall came in first and Nonghyup came in last. Continue reading
While some enjoy the local beers like Hite and OB, many say the flavors are too simple and too similar. The updated Liquor Tax Law intends to fix that, going live on April 1, and allowing small to medium sized beer makers to enter the market. In the past, makers had to have a capacity of more than 150kL in order to sell their beer outside of a pub. It now stands at 75kL.
The tax rate was also cut by 20%. Experts believe that prices will quickly fall and consumers will win big. Continue reading
151 Samsung factory workers have been diagnosed with leukemia since starting work at Samsung Electronics in Korea. 58 of them have also died at a very young age. The high number of cases is very unusual and it’s surprising that accountability and liability have been swept under the rug. For years, Samsung has hushed the issue and denied any link between the hazardous chemicals at their plants and leukemia, refusing to make any apologies.
The Korea Times reports that on Monday, Samsung announced that they will soon take an official position on the issue. Many families have been suffering in their fight against the largest conglomerate in Korea. It’s nearly impossible to stand up against a bully who controls everything, especially what people can say about them publicly. Continue reading
In the past, takeout or delivery were the only options for Koreans not dining with friends or colleagues. Delivery is normally free and offers all the side dishes included with dine-in meals. With the large number of groups, be it friends or the frequent company team dinner, it feels weird to sit alone next to a table of 8. Add to the fact that many Korean specialty restaurants cater soups, stews, and bbq to parties with a minimum of two people.
The trend for 2014 is the individual. Restaurants like Lotteria, TGI Friday’s, and Pizza Hut have changed menus to offer dishes-for-one. They’ve also changed table seating to be more comfortable for those eating alone. Experts look to the rising number of singe-person households as well as people getting married at a later age as catalysts.
포장 pojang – takeout (“to wrap-up”)
회식 hoesik – company/team dinner (“dining together”) Continue reading