Not Just Travel: How Koreans Learn Their Own Food Culture

When Koreans travel, they don’t just eat—they learn. Cooking classes have become a popular way for Korean travelers to connect more deeply with a country’s culture. Instead of simply ordering dishes, they want to understand ingredients, techniques, and the story behind the food.

Cooking classes

This mindset starts at home. In Korea, many people take cooking classes to learn traditional dishes like kimchi, 된장찌개, or 잡채—especially younger generations who didn’t grow up cooking. Others learn through family, watching parents or grandparents prepare meals during holidays and daily life. Cooking is not just a skill; it’s a way to preserve culture.

So when Koreans travel to places like Bangkok, joining a cooking class feels natural. They approach it the same way they would at home—hands-on, curious, and focused on learning.

For many Koreans, food is not just something you eat. It’s something you understand.

A Korean traveler visiting Bangkok might sign up for a half-day cooking class instead of just eating at a famous restaurant. They learn how to make pad thai from scratch—cutting vegetables, balancing flavors, and cooking over high heat.

This mirrors what happens in Korea. A young professional in Seoul might take a weekend class to learn how to make kimchi or simple home dishes they never learned growing up. In both cases, the goal is the same: not just eating the food, but understanding how it’s made and why it matters.

Vocabulary

  • 요리 수업 (yori sueop) — cooking class
    체험 (cheheom) — hands-on experience
    문화 (munhwa) — culture
    재료 (jaeryo) — ingredients
    김치 (gimchi) — kimchi

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On arrival at Incheon International Airport, I picked up a T-money Travel Card+ at a convenience store on the first-floor arrivals level, and it quickly became one of the most useful tools for navigating Korea. Unlike a standard transit card, this upgraded version combines three functions in one: transportation, payments, and foreign-friendly money services.

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Tmoney Travel Card Plus from the Incheon Airport Arrivals Area Convenience Store
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Strawberry Nights & Street Bites: A Spring Walk Through Myeong-dong

Strawberry Nights & Street Bites: A Spring Walk Through Myeong-dong

Spring transforms Seoul’s Myeong-dong into a lively night market filled with bright lights, street food, and fresh strawberries. Vendors line the streets from late afternoon until around 11 PM, selling strawberry tanghulu, cream-filled waffles, and skewered meats. Dessert cafés and cat cafés stay open late, offering a break from the crowds. Seasonal strawberry treats are especially popular from March to April.

And with six Olive Young K-beauty stores, there’s plenty of health and beauty products to shop for too. (Pro Tip- use your home-country Costco membership to get K-Beauty products even cheaper than Olive Young.)

In-season Korean strawberries
Myeongdong Street with two rows of food carts
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Asiana Airlines Transitions with Korean Air — Lounge & Terminal Updates at Incheon Airport (ICN)

Following the merger with Korean Air (completed December 2024), Asiana Airlines has fully relocated its Seoul–Incheon Airport (ICN) operations from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 as of January 14, 2026 — a key step toward the integrated carrier launch in 2027. 

Incheon Airport’s Terminal 1 (T1) served as Asiana’s home for over 25 years, with four lounges — Business Suite, Business Lounge East, Central, and West — spread across the departure hall.  Terminal 1 remains a major hub for many other international airlines, including Star Alliance carriers like Air Canada, Air India, EVA Air, Lufthansa, and Turkish Airlines. 

With the move, Terminal 2 (T2) — modern, spacious, and opened in 2018 — now hosts both Korean Air and Asiana flights as part of the unified operation.  Korean Air is actively expanding T2 lounges (Prestige, First, Garden) to accommodate the increased network, nearly doubling overall lounge space and adding reservation systems to improve passenger flow. They’re a big step up from T1’s existing Asiana lounges.

Korean Air lounge at Incheon Airport (ICN) Terminal 2, now serving Asiana customers

Good news for United Airlines (UA) Star Alliance Gold members: you can still access the existing Asiana lounges in T1 as well as the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge before your move, even though main operations have shifted. 

Singapore Airlines – SilverKris Lounge at ICN T1, a Star Alliance member

There’s two shower rooms and an LG Styler (sanitize and deodorize) in the SilverKris lounge.

Showers and Sanitizing/Deodorizing applicance

Vocabulary

  • 이전 (ijeon) — relocation
  • 통합 (tonghap) — integration
  • 라운지 (raunji) — lounge
  • 제1터미널/제2터미널 (je1/je2 teomineol) — Terminal 1 / Terminal 2
  • 스타얼라이언스 (Star Alliance) — Star Alliance

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Fall.
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Discover the “Miracle of Moses” (모세의 기적)

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Jindo Island
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