Presidential Yun’s impeachment.

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The world has been closely watching now-impeached President Yun Suk-Yeol since he declared martial law on December 3, 2024. As of 7:24PM on December 14,2024, Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo is the interim leader of South Korea.

President Yun was immediately suspended after a National Assembly vote. The Constitutional Court will now decide whether to reinstate him or to formally kick him out – this could take up to 180 days.

Yun is the third South Korean President to be suspended from duties by Parliament (National Assembly). More on impeached Presidents here.

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Korean Duty Free shops face heavy fees among sluggish sales.

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Korean Duty Free Shops complain of the hardships from revenue-based licensing fees. These fees are uncommon in Asian countries which more commonly use fixed annual fees.

Interested in learning about travel gifts?

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2nd day of heavy snow.

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We are back at Seoul’s Incheon Airport today and it’s super busy again due to all the flight cancellations/delays from the heavy snow yesterday. Thankfully it mostly stopped snowing in Seoul/Incheon around 10am today.

If you plan to travel to Korea, download and register yourself in the free ICN SmartPass app for Incheon International Airport. This app allows you to use skip the departure security line going into the secure area of the airport simply by using your Face (Face ID).

And for those shopping, the Duty Free Stores in Seoul and at the airport have lots of end of year sales, many 10-20% and sometimes more. For vocab, see our article.

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Record snow in Seoul

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Snow falls in Seoul. Caught in a four-hour delay to Seoul-Incheon Airpirt due to record snow.

Here’s our vocab on snow.

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Korean Gimbap takes off in US.

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Korean gimbap rolls have been trending in the U.S., specifically Trader Joe’s vegetarian type gimbap. Their frozen version is only $3.99 and contains vegetables and tofu. Videos and reviews can be seen in Reddit and TikTok. Continue reading →

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11/11 Pepero Day.

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November 11 is just around the corner. Often referred to as Pepero Day, young Koreans give Pepero (like Pocky) packs to friends, families, boyfriends, and girlfriends.

All of the “1’s” in the date 11/11 are similar in shape to Pepero sticks, hence the connection between the snack and the date. The day is a lighter and less serious version of Valentine’s Day. Large displays of this snack can be seen in convenience stores and supermarkets.

Learn dating vocabulary here.

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