Children's Day. May 5. Again with the Love Day reference, this holiday is dedicated to the cute little monsters that plague the countryside and cities. It was founded by the Korea's answer to Dr. Seuss back in 1923. Its fascination by well-written foreigners knows no limits. Pack up the aspirin because it's going to be a long day... Thought Korean kids were spoiled? Today you are so right. Today, Korean children are calling the shots. Highways packed, zoos overcrowded, ice cream screaming for its life...poor little vanilla never had a chance...there will be sweets consumed today. Oh yes. There will be sweets. Speaking of spoiled, it might benefit everyone to take a moment and analyze why exactly this is the case. I mean, by... Show more

Key Money. The Korean real estate system is tricky in and of itself, and the renting system alone is enough to pique your interest. Galbijim has a great writeup. Instead of paying a set monthly rent, apartment owners might ask for anywhere between half to two-thirds (or more) of the value of the unit for the year - all in one lump sum. Imagine paying a full year's worth of rent all at once. Now consider that standard rent is usually only 10-15% of the unit's market value per month - now try the 전세 rate of 50 to 75% of that same unit's value. Oh, and make it more than a year - typical contracts are for two to three years. Ouch. Want the key? Pay the money. Starting to see one of the many reasons why young Koreans stay at their... Show more

회식 Company dinner. Rule #1) count on 소주. Lots of it. Serious. Just look at what happens when I type "회식" into Google Image. Food and alcohol - get used to it. This cultural event of course has a deep cultural context that should never be ignored. I encourage those seeking to understand the Korean mindset to venture into the past. Either way, in the present, soju is plentiful, cheap, and widely available. Soju has been around for a while and there's no sign of it stopping - however it is getting weaker in alcohol content as the years pass. Soju is typically drunk at such company diners but certainly other spirits are involved, too. However, I get the impression that beer is not exactly a masculine choice for alcohol. I've been... Show more

Korea Train Express. Public transportation at a cool 186mph. Not bad. Thanks France. The official KTX website has some sweet animations (best viewed in IE - sorry world). It's an experience for sure. Kudos to 현우 for providing an overview. And here. He's awesome. Since 2005, daily commuters totaled a little more than 100,000. There were 450,000 more commuters in the second half of 2008 than of the first half due to rising oil prices (and thus higher ticket prices). The Korean government says there were about 38 million total passengers on the bullet train in 2008, a 1.9% increase from 2007. Apparently a lot of people like their speed. Now, not to freak out anyone, but some people think we should take things a bit slower if the... Show more

Politeness levels. 반말, 존댓말, 높임말. Essentially, this is the socially appropriate form of language that is used depending on the situation. Think "Please" and "Thank you" times a million. But if you think about it, we have this concept in English - just not as heightened. I feel that Spanish has a little more in common with Korean politeness levels. For that matter, dozens of other languages have this concept, right? Either way, it's not an easy concept to transfer. In all honesty, this was probably the most difficult transition for me when first actually speaking Korean. But like all things, I like to make a game out of it. Let's pick one of my favorite genres, the RTS. In Company of Heroes, if you want to decimate a wondering group... Show more