Life In Korea (한국의 삶)
What to know about life in Korea from the places to shop to being pregnant in Korea. Here is everything you need to know to live in Korea. (쇼핑하는 곳부터 임신하는 곳까지 한국 생활에 대해 알아야 할 것. 여기 당신이 한국에서 살기 위해 알아야 할 모든 것이 있다.)
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Moving to Korea: 14 Things You Need to Know Before You Arrive
From getting lost just steps from the front door to signs in another language being of no use for navigation, moving to a new country can be daunting. There are a lot of things you learn AFTER you come to Korea and plenty of them are easy enough to figure out and a ton are definitely good to know BEFORE you get here. Here’s what you should know if you’re moving to Korea and there’s a nifty packing list at the end of this post too. Quick note on who this is for: most of what’s in here comes from my own experience moving to Korea originally to teach English,…
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Which Side of the Sidewalk Do You Walk On in Korea?
Have you ever gone to take a walk in Korea and come face to face with a local and wondered how that happened? I’m sure you’ve taken plenty of walks on plenty of sidewalks back home but wherever you came from, you walk, people walked, and you managed to pass each other. Why isn’t it so easy in Korea you might wonder. Why is there a weaving sort of system on sidewalks instead of a rule on which side of the sidewalk to walk on? There is a reason and one that you might not realize actually. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of…
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AXA Direct Is THE Car Insurance For Foreigners in Korea
AXA Direct has just launched a comprehensive insurance website entirely in English to help expat drivers out.
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Giving Birth in Korea: What To Expect as a Foreign Woman
Having a baby abroad can be stressful. With emotions that are already running rampant because of pregnancy hormones, adding a new stressor isn't ideal. There had been no Lamaze classes or lessons on what to expect prior to labor and there we were. Five hours of contractions in the hospital in a room with just my husband and me and some nurses that would come and go every thirty minutes or so was the set up. Here's a general guideline of what to expect that might be different when giving birth in Korea.
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Raising Kids In Korea: Blunt Comments From Ajjummas
It's often said that Koreans are blunt. I don't recall hearing any Koreans say that but plenty of foreigners that come to the Land of the Morning Calm do. I imagine if you grow up here, what we consider blunt is considered normal and what we consider polite and non-confrontational could be considered passive and aloof. Going out into public with the new baby is something I look forward to while at the same time brings a nervous jittery feeling I never had before when faced with stepping out my front door.
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After Giving Birth in Korea: Birth Certificates, Subsidies, and Vaccinations
We’d made it. We had our bundle of joy, gave birth in Korea, and were no longer the expectant couple. We were now a trio ready to face the world… well sort of. Giving birth in Korea can be daunting and there is so much going on from finding doctors, going to hospitals or birthing centers, to setting up the home to be baby friendly. It’s easy enough to think that once the baby comes, everything is done. But it isn’t! One of the first things to do is to get the birth certificate and yes, you should get both the Korean birth certificate and the English birth certificate. There…
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A Night Out In Korea: The 5 Rounds and How To Survive Them
Whether you’re looking for a riotous night out or just trying to keep up with Korean colleagues or friends, a Korean-style evening is a lot to handle if you don’t know what to expect. The basic plan for any night out in Korea is to last five rounds, five different locations, often five different drinks, and food at almost every stop. It may sound like your basic college bar hop, but it is significantly more structured. If you don’t know the expectations going in, you might go hard at the first venue, hit a wall, and end up home in bed before the night has even started by Korean standards.…
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Korean Post-Natal Hotel: What Postpartum Care Is Like In Korea
One of the first decisions Korean women make after having a baby is whether to stay in a post-natal hotel — referred to throughout this article as a PNH. In Korea, these are the standard postpartum recovery option. Most women attend for two to three weeks after birth to recuperate and learn to care for their newborn. Those who don’t typically stay with their mother or mother-in-law, or have an elder woman come to them. This is not something that exists in most Western countries, or if it does, it isn’t widespread. Most American women head home within a few days of delivery and begin caring for their child with…
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Pregnant in Korea: Superstitions, Benefits, and What to Expect
When I found out I was pregnant, excitement, joy, and a fair amount of nervousness all arrived at once. Being pregnant in Korea comes with real benefits, but being a foreigner navigating pregnancy abroad brings an entirely different set of questions on top of the usual ones. What are the benefits of giving birth in Korea? What pregnancy superstitions should I know about? Where do I even buy maternity clothes that fit? When I was pregnant, there wasn’t much English-language guidance available online, for any of it. My expectations for pregnancy came from movies and growing up and hearing stories. The stories were more about my grandmother rushing to the…
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The Military Invasion of Jeju Island
Most people that head to Jeju Island, known as the peace island, go with the intention of seeing the beautiful scenery from waterfalls and green tea fields to black lava sand beaches and palm tree lined lanes. Honeymooners go for romance and tourists go for scenery. With the tallest mountain in the country being the biggest draw by far for everyone from the avid hiker to the average Joe just out to get a jaunt and see some views, it’s a wonder that there hasn’t been more done to protect the island from military invasion. Though protesters in the small town of Gangjeong, meaning “Village of Water”, on the southern…
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How To Get The National Happiness Card For Pregnant Women In Korea
With becoming pregnant in Korea comes a whole new set of rules, information, Korean vocabulary lists, shops to find, doctors to meet and well, just a lot of stuff to learn about. One of those things is the Pretty Mom card (고운맘카드) or National Happiness Card (국민행복카드) which all pregnant women, foreign and Korean alike, as long as they’re paying into the National Health Insurance system can get. This card is a pregnancy benefit that pregnant women can apply for in Korea and if you’re wondering how, this is the guide for you. If you’re pregnant in Korea, one of the first things you have to do is get the…
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The Time I Mooned A Nurse in Korea Because I Couldn’t Speak Korean
One of the reasons I love living in Korea is because almost every day there’s something to chuckle at. It may be due to my own misunderstanding, a Konglish word I should have guessed, a spelling error that ends up being something totally different, or just a natural inclination of Koreans that is completely opposite of my own. There is just always something. Have you ever had to speak Korean at a hospital before? Well, I did and it didn’t end well suffice to say. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank…
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Couples In Korea & Money: Can We Open a Joint Account?
After we were married, we headed to the bank with the purpose of opening up a joint account in Korea. As newlyweds we didn’t really know what we were doing, but I was sure if we were married, we should have a bank account with both of our names on it. That would make it truly official, right? If anything, I thought, this would be important in case of an emergency or accident so that either one of us would have access to enough money if we needed it. Little did I know how silly it was to think opening a joint account in Korea would be so easy. (This…
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Tteokguk: The Korean New Year Soup That Makes You a Year Older
Happy Seollal, or Lunar New Year! 새해복 많이 받으세요. It is the Lunar New Year in Korea and people around the country will be eating tteokguk. If you’ve learned Korean or are learning Korean, this is a great time to learn a little saying that relates to tteokguk. Tteokguk is a rice cake soup that is a must eat this holiday in Korea and it also relates to your age… you’ll see. You probably didn’t know the tteokguk on the table meant more than just filling your belly: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking. Thank you…
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The Korean Karaoke: What To Expect In The Noraebang
A visit to Seoul is not complete without a Korean karaoke experience. Unlike the west where you find karaoke bars and you’ll be singing to a room of strangers, in Korea, karaoke, or noraebang is a much more intimate experience. Step into a private room with your friends, family, or go solo and sing all of your favorite songs. Korean karaoke has been a thing for decades and now it’s becoming a global trend. Find out why. From here on forward, we’ll be using the Korean term for karaoke rooms, noraebang. Learn more: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you…
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Why Korea Has Two Address Systems and How to Actually Use Them
Living in Korea as a foreigner can be amazing, until you need to send a letter, fill out your address on a form, or explain to a delivery person where you live. That’s when things get confusing fast. Why do you have two addresses? Why are there three numbers in one address line? And why does the street change names without warning? Living in a foreign country comes with a lot of new things to learn and the address system in Korea, is one of those things to learn if you’ll be living here. Here’s your no-fluff, updated guide to understanding Korean addresses: the two systems, how to read them,…
