Meet the Korean Musicians who Rocked the PyeongChang Closing Ceremony
At the Closing Ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics yesterday, a wide variety of South Korean musicians showed off the breadth of Korean music.
Ten Useful Korean Dating Terms
If you’ve ever been in Korea around Valentine’s Day (or Peppero Day, or Christmas), you know that Korean dating culture is no joke. To help you navigate the world of relationships in Korea, we’ve compiled a list of 10 useful Korean words to describe different aspects of dating and relationships.
Presidential Puppies in the Blue House
South Korean President Moon Jae-in garnered attention last week with the announcement of the newest presidential resident, a rescue dog named Tory.
As Chinese Tourists Continue to Drop, Korea Turns to the Middle East
As several KEI analyses have shown, South Korea’s tourism industry has been one of the main casualties of China’s economic retaliation over deployment of the THAAD missile defense system.
Korean Summer Reads 2017
With summer already well underway, KEI staff members wanted to share a few books that are on our personal reading lists before autumn is on our doorstep!
Overcaffeinated? Korea’s Ubiquitous Coffee Shop Culture
One thing that shocks most first time visitors to Korea is the ubiquity of coffee shops. You can’t find anywhere in Seoul that isn’t a short walk to the nearest café. The sheer magnitude of Korea’s passion for coffee is best expressed through numbers: Korea boasts the highest per capita number of cafes in the world.
Netflix’s Korean Premiere Met with Controversy
By riding on the popularity of its original content (House of Cards, Orange is the New Black) and incorporating Korean media into their library, Netflix is now in a prime position gain a market share in the entertainment industry in Korea.
Chinese, English, and What They Might Mean for U.S. Influence on the Korean Peninsula
The increased popularity of Chinese is reflective of geopolitical shifts that were almost unthinkable even just a few decades ago. After all, English has played a linguistically unparalleled role in South Korea since liberation in 1945.
10 Useful Korean Slang Terms
These 신조어, or neologisms, allow people to squeeze a longer phrase into just a few syllables – perfect for texting or chatting online. Many of the phrases evolved from Korea’s gaming culture – try typing out full phrases to your opponent while simultaneously trying to direct a cyber army into battle.
Hallyu Sets its Sights on the Middle East
At the end of May, Korea’s largest media company announced it would be opening a Turkish unit to help create and promote local content for the Turkish market. They already have plans to film Turkish versions of popular Korean movies, and hope to move forward with more Korean-Turkish co-productions in the future.