Next week, on January 29th, Koreans will celebrate 설날 (Seollal), the Lunar New Year. While it typically falls in February, this year it’s arriving a bit earlier. Seollal is a three-day holiday, but the Korean government has designated the Monday b…
In recent years, the price of gold has skyrocketed, reaching unprecedented levels. As of January 2025, the price of pure gold per '돈' (don, Unit of measurement for gold in Korea, 3.75 grams) stands at 538,000 KRW, a staggering 43% increase…
Recently, I came across an article about how several Korean words, including those featured in the hit Netflix series Squid Game Season 2, have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). This was news to me—I had no idea that Korean words h…
Hangul, the Korean writing system, is renowned for being scientific and systematic. One fascinating aspect is its clear and logical rules for pronunciation changes. While there are exceptions, most cases follow a predictable pattern. Today, let’s d…
Today marks the last day of 2024. Doesn’t it feel like time has flown by this year? For me, 2024 was a year of exciting milestones. I developed the Podo Korean app , launched the Podo Korean website and blog , and even restarted the Podo Korean In…
When is the most effective time to learn a foreign language? I recently read an interesting article about the best time to study languages. It’s not a topic I had thought much about, but the research results were surprising: studying in the evening …
Once again, I’ve brought some interesting and frequently used Konglish expressions to share! Sometimes, I mistakenly use Konglish as if it were real English when talking to my foreign friends. Surprisingly, there are moments when they understand wh…
Some of you may have seen the headlines. On the night of December 3, South Korea faced an unprecedented situation: martial law was declared. When I first heard the news, I dismissed it as fake. I imagine many other Koreans thought the same. But it …
A few days ago, I stumbled upon a fascinating interview on YouTube. It featured Dr. Ross King, a Harvard linguist, whose work I’ve admired for a long time. You might recall a previous post on my blog about “Lake of the Woods,” a language immersion…
BLACKPINK’s Rosé has teamed up with Bruno Mars for the song “A.P.T”, which has become a global sensation. The track debuted at #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, setting a new record for a K-pop female artist, and climbed to #2 on the UK Official…
If you’re living in Korea or traveling here for an extended period, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to buy and sell items locally. Among the many options, ' 당근 '(Danggeun, meaning ‘carrot’ in Korean) stands out as a leading app for loca…
Learning a new language takes a lot of effort and time. For Western learners, tackling Korean can feel even more challenging because it’s so different from their native languages. But don’t worry—I’ve got one simple tip that can make your Korean la…
Recently, a quirky drink trend has emerged among tourists visiting South Korea: combining banana-flavored milk with hazelnut coffee. While this may sound unusual to most Koreans, it's quickly gaining popularity, thanks to foreign influencers wh…
Delivery food in Korea has grown into a lifestyle trend that’s now practically inseparable from daily life. With smartphones and food delivery apps advancing rapidly, getting meals delivered whenever and wherever has become effortless, leading to r…
One of the trickiest parts of learning Korean is understanding the rules of spacing ( 띄어쓰기) . Many students, especially beginners, find it challenging. A common example of this is when learners write phrases like “저는 데니 예요” (I am Danny), with a spa…
Recently, I came across an article about a unique village in the U.S. where only Korean is spoken. This village, called " 숲 속의 호수 " (Lake in the Woods), is part of the Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota. Today, I'd like to intro…
Recently, the TV channel tvN started airing a unique drama titled " 정년이 "(Jungnyeoni), which features the lesser-known world of " 국극 "(gukgeuk), a traditional form of Korean opera. Like many viewers, I wasn’t familiar with gukge…
When looking for a place to live, most people either buy a house or rent one by paying a monthly fee. However, Korea has a unique rental system that goes beyond these two options—it’s called "전세"(jeonse). In this system, tenants hand over…
A few days ago, I came across some surprising news—there’s a K-drama made in Nigeria that’s creating quite a buzz. At first, I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of a K-drama being produced in Nigeria. But after watching a clip on YouTube, I was…
The Cia-Cia people, a minority group in Indonesia, may not be widely known around the world, but their unique decision to preserve their language has attracted global attention. They chose to adopt Hangul as their script. This fascinating story has…
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