#south korea living

[koreaguides]

5 Essential Items For Visiting Korea

1. T Money Card 

A T Money Card is a rechargeable card that travelers can buy to make journeys extremely convenient. It can be used to pay for all your transportation fees including buses, subway, taxis, and even as one of the method of payments at affiliated stores. 

2. Naver Map 

This Naver Map is a navigation tool that Korean uses to search for the locations they want to go to. It shows all the best route travel durations and other information. It also shows restaurants that are nearby. You can either use the Naver website or download the app to access it as both are convenient and precise. 

3. Papago 

Papago is a web translation app that was developed by South Kora’s largest internet company, Naver Corporation. It is popular for its artificial intelligence developments. It can translate texts and speech from a language to another. One good thing about Papago is that it’s free to use as well. 

4. Airvisual 

South Korea is known to have hazy weather from time to time. Airvisual to provide the real time data of the air condition at your area. So basically, Airvisual will actually help during your trip to Korea as you can check the weather to see if it is hazy or not. By knowing the condition, you can also prepare a mask just in case. 

5. Kakaotalk 

As everyone knows, Kakaotalk is a mobile messaging app which was operated by Kakao Corporation and often referred as KaTalk. It is an app that you can’t miss out on using as it is an app that almost all Korean use to message. 

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023)

[artfilmfan]

Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023)

[filmncolor]

Past Lives (2023), dir. Celine Song

[gentlemanmotorslifestyle]

[matyas-ss]

Past lives (2023)

Direction: Celine Song

Cinematography: Shabier Kirchner

[filmap]

Past Lives Celine Song. 2023

Date 579-1 Makgye-dong, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea See in map

See in imdb

[maepersonal]

y’all istg if Anton and Sohee get Seunghan’d I’m LEAVING

[itstokkii]

issues with calling or headcanoning sk as america’s child

 or, a deep dive and evaluation of sk-us relations over the years as a south korean

Recently, I saw a post where someone gave their hcs of america pursuing a relationship with nk, which resulted in sk’s “birth.” then nk was afraid this new child would usurp their title and basically cause them to die, and so wanted to kill this new child before that happened. then america intervenes and “saves” sk. I believe this is the quick version of that headcanon. 

I’m not trying to make this a callout post, I’m just giving my own thoughts based on experience living around US bases(Yongsan specifically)

As many have pointed out, this reeks of stereotypical “evil asian mom and chill/cooler white dad,” as well as us imperialism apologia. It also reminds me a lot of madame butterfly in a way? Additionally, it basically ignores the fact that South Korea has its own culture and existence long before US imperialism. 

If the US is like sk’s “dad” in a sense, then wouldn’t that ring true for other cold war states, like south vietnam, or west germany? 

I’ll leave my thoughts under the cut. This is the longest thing I’ve ever written.

CW, TW: war, colonialism, imperialism, SA, rape, murder

Primary issues with the headcanon

Throughout Korea’s history, there were times where Korea was unified, and times where Korea was not. There have also been splits of different states, north and south. I point to the Kingdoms of Goguryeo and Silla during the Three Kingdoms Period, and even before then with Gojoseon and Jin. So this split is not exactly new, and this is why I personally disagree with the headcanon that North and South Korea were babies around the time of the split, and rather that they represented Goguryeo and Silla. 

The Korean War had stemmed from a desire to reunite the two states. Kim Il-Sung had pursued this and that started the war, and even Syngman Rhee pursued this ideal as well after the UN forces recaptured Seoul, resulting in that further push to invade North Korea. But this desire would have never existed if they weren’t split to begin with and remained whole as they did since 700 years ago with the establishment of the Joseon Dynasty. The Korean War was not willingly fought by both South and North Koreans. 

It was a result of imperialist states splitting us up and then pitting us against each other(even the split was quite hasty, with families being split across the border), so it’s also wrong to draw parallels of SK fighting for its existence in the Korean War and the US during the Revolutionary War. One was fought to stay alive as a nation, and of which can be traced to outside forces laying their influence on the Peninsula, and one was fought willingly and of their own accord. 

So it’s important to remember that the War was not because of an attempt to kill a “child” made by North Korea and America, it was the result of a nation that has been unified as one for 700 years being split suddenly, and the desire on both sides to reunify, albeit under their own management. Additionally, the idea of South Korea being “a child” of the US ignores the centuries-worth culture and history that was not influenced by the US and propagates the idea that we belong in the US’s shadow, and that without them, we have no identity. 

South Koreans affectionately refer to the US as our “brother state,” but never think of the relationship as a parent and child. Remember that.

Next, we’ll talk about the role of the US in this. 

While doing some research into the split, I found that after Korea was liberated in 1945, a socialist government(People’s Republic of Korea) was organized and supported by the majority of the population. This made the most sense. There was a vast gap of inequality between the Korean peasants, and the Korean nobles(who were given/maintained that power by betraying their Korean identity and working with the Japanese), so they advocated for social reform, such as land reform. However, the US wanted to set up their own military government(which for some time had actually supported the Japanese colonial government). So the US censored and then outlawed the popular government, putting themselves in charge and keeping advisors such as former Japanese colonial officers, wealthy landowners, and businesspeople. You know, the exact people the popular government was against?

This government then set up elections. The majority of Koreans didn’t want that, because they knew that these elections would divide the country and leave no hope of unifying. So they protested, but they were put down by police and the US military. It might also be worth it to read about the Jeju Massacre, in which Jeju people protesting the UN-backed elections were brutally suppressed by Syngman Rhee and the US Military. This killed about 10% of Jeju’s population. Though the South Korean government has issued an apology, we have yet to hear from the US. 

So the US set up a government that supported a military dictator(it started with Syngman Rhee) and continued to support a long chain of these military dictators(who sent pro-democratic people to concentration camps) even during the Gwangju Massacre, when many pro-democratic students protested against the dictatorship and the then-president Chun Doo Hwan responded by commanding the military and police to fire on citizens. Though official government figures place the deaths at 200 people, citizens of Gwangju say it’s closer to 2000 people. 

I only found out about the concentration camps this year, and it’s because the South Korean Government, who wants to stay on the US’s good side, actively represses the role of the US in the military dictatorship. I’m pretty sure the US’s role is also barely taught in Korean history textbooks, since the government has tried to rewrite and issue textbooks themselves. 

Recently, the grandson of Chun Doo Hwan(the president that ordered the military to shoot on the protesters, and also was supported by US Presidents Carter and Reagan), apologized on behalf of his grandfather and family, who had constantly told him it was just a riot when he was a kid. He also took the time to expose his family, friends, and even his own money laundering crimes. He personally visited Gwangju and gave a full floor-level bow in apology. This was a first step in the correct direction. However, the government, especially with Yoon Seok Yeol’s pro-US and anti-NK sentiment, is trying not to shed light on these issues, and it’s why I believe a lot of people tend to continue to favor the US, because they don’t really know or are aware of the US’s full part in our military dictatorship. 

Another interesting read would be the Namyeong-Dong Anti Communist Investigation Office, a former prison facility and torture room for pro-democracy protestors.

Now for the existing US impact on South Korea: The USFK

The USFK(short for United States Forces Korea) is the Korean branch of the US Military. They have an active presence in South Korea since 1957, which is about 65 years ago. 

Not many Koreans have an Anti-American sentiment, but the USFK has consistently caused it to resurge throughout the nation. 

In 2000, it was found out that the US military had dumped about 20 gallons(75L) of formaldehyde into the Han River, which at the time was a main drinking source for about 12 million people in Seoul. 

They carelessly ran over two 14-year old girls(Shin Hyosun and Shim Miseon) with one of the US military’s armored vehicles in 2002. What made things worse was that the US Military Court found them not guilty. In response to the incident and other grievances with the US military, PSY actually rapped a song called “Dear American” written by a South Korean band criticizing them, mostly regarding the US military and their involvement in the Iraqi War, which he later had to apologize to the US military for rapping after he got famous singing Gangnam Style.

The US military was also involved in forced prostitution and human trafficking. In 1992, Yoon Geum-i, a military sex worker, was raped and killed brutally by Private Kenneth Markle. He was tried and initially received life in prison, but then later his sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison after Yoon Geum-i’s family received $72,000 as compensation from the US government. In 2006, he was released on parole and then deported to the US. @tianshiisdead further goes into detail on this on her post about these headcanons.

In 2020, it was found that the major camp of the USFK, Camp Humphreys, was hosting a no mask COVID party while the Korean government was urging locals to limit in person gatherings as the cases were surging. The party was on a Friday, and on Monday it was found that 408 USFK-affiliated individuals tested positive for COVID.

The South Korean government pays them to stay here... and do what? Cause trouble? 

The USFK and US funding the ROK military has led to the ROK military being one of the strongest. However, we are not allowed our own weapons, and the US constantly attempts to provoke North Korea through any presidential remarks, or actions. This keeps South Korea reliant on the US, and allows for a continued presence in South Korea.

Conclusion

All of this is why it’s so important to keep checking back on how you see Korea and America’s relationship in Hetalia. As positive as current relations may be, it’s important to remember the many failures on the US’s part to keep their military acting like decent human beings at times, and that they literally caused the split along with the USSR, and made it permanent through the suggestion and implementation of elections, which Koreans on both sides largely did not support. 

South Korea has one of the highest positive perception rates towards the US. This may be due to their hand in helping us develop as a nation and also providing aid during the Korean War, but it may also be due to the suppression of the full extent of activities the US has partook in South Korea, and due to the Anti-North Korea sentiment that was also propagated by the US. 

Also, the fact that Americans also call the Korean War “The Forgotten War” is so frustrating to me. Did we just... not matter in the long run? We’re just a pawn, or a strategic location, right? The separated families, the civilian casualties(which was a higher rate than WW2′s and the Vietnam War), the devastation of so many cities... just didn’t matter? Maybe you forgot, but it’s impacted us and our decisions for years. Just goes to show how selfish the US can be...

As much as I do wish one of my favorite ships were one of complete happiness where nothing is wrong, this is not the case, and I am trying my best to express that in art or headcanons. It is important to acknowledge that the 70-year long relationship, though sharing some positive, unproblematic moments through cultural exchange and joint collaboration in the modern era, is characterized by a lack of trust on South Korea’s end, largely due to how the US has wronged us over the years. 

[chaoticpersontale]

Kdrama: a good day to be a dog

[satans-knitwear]

Uplifting indeed. ✨

Treat me ~ Tip me

[koreaguides]

6 Shocking Korean Cultures For New Foreigners In Korea

1. Weddings 

In Korea, most marriage go through a company where they schedule weddings. when you go for a wedding and you see people from the wedding before still eating in the wedding hall, the worker will request the guests to get going before the next wedding starts. At the post-wedding dinner, you can see different other wedding parties eating at the same buffet. You can think of it as a restaurant of wedding parties. 

2. Motorcycles On Sidewalk 

Motorcycles on sidewalks are very common in Korea especially if one is trying to avoid traffic or if they’re getting late for a delivery. Even taxis have a specific mirrors to check if there are any motorcycles at the back before dropping off a customer, in case if a random rider was speeding through on the sidewalk. 

3. Hospitals 

In most place, one only goes to the hospital during an emergency. However, in Korea, even with just the slightest flu, people go to the hospital to get an vitamin IV drip. 

4. Very Straightforward 

A thing you need to know is that Koreans are very direct, be it about one’s feelings, looks, and status. If you lost weight, they’ll point it out. If you gain weight, they’ll also point it out; doesn’t matter if you haven’t met in a long while. If they think you look sick or good looking, be prepared to also have them point it out. However, you shouldn’t be offended if you hear any of these because they don’t mean those words in an offensive way. 

5. PC Bang 

Sure, it may be just a regular internet cafe for most foreigners but once they experience Korea’s internet cafe, they realize that the accessibility of ordering food there is endless. They have meals, snacks, desserts, you can even have a whole dinner a PC Bang if you wanted to. 

6. Umbrellas 

For many us, a slight drizzle doesn’t matter. We can just put our hands over our head and run quickly to wherever we need to be. However in Korea, even if it’s a small amount of rain, Koreans will still use an umbrella. With that being said, as rain is unpredictable, umbrellas are available at every convenience store for purchase if one ever forgets to bring their own. 

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023)

[youjustdontunderstandmymusic]

past lives (2023)

[shimenchus]

it's so telling when someone says radical feminism is "white woman shit" and you bring up the fact that in many places such as africa or asia, the only feminism that prominently exists is radical feminism, and for those places it's just considered regular feminism that you get told those women live in places that aren't progressive enough for them to understand their actions properly. to say these women are too dumb to realize that their beliefs are "bad" simply because they don't align with western mainstream liberal feminism is rooted in xenophobia and racism, not to mention a lack of understanding of the struggles and violence women from these countries regularly go through, which can range anywhere from fgm to men rubbing and wiping their cum on the back of women's clothes in trains. but of course, as usual, there's no intelligent response to this so you just end up getting blocked or get rape wished on you.

[hayabs]

It is your voice that is likely to reach people who have not considered what Palestinian occupation really means.

And realistically, it is your solidarity that can help shift public opinion in the west.

Please watch Born in Gaza on netflix or motaz_azaiza on instagram 🙏🏼