One of the best events each spring in Korea is coming up! An event for the wine lovers in Korea, the New Zealand Wine Festival hosted by the Kiwi Chamber of Commerce, which hosts an event in both Seoul and Busan each year, has tickets available now. Whether you’re a wine novice or a seasoned oenophile, you’ll find plenty of reasons to go to the wine festival. The choice isn’t really about whether to attend, it’s deciding if you should go to the festival in Seoul, Busan, or both! (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clic ..read more

As the spring air fills South Korea with its temperate embrace, a particular spectacle of nature, you know the one I speak of, draws both locals and travelers from out of their homes and into the streets. The light pink cherry blossoms burst into bloom and crowds rush to see them. While these iconic light pink cherry blossoms are gorgeous, there’s another cherry blossom that I personally look forward to – the double cherry blossom (겹벚꽃), or the King cherry blossom as some people call them. Distinguished from their single-petaled counterparts, King cherry blossoms boast lavish, deep pink petals ..read more

Whether you’re visiting Korea as a tourist or have moved to your first Korean apartment, you’ve probably run into the issue of how and where to throw away your trash. There are very few bins on the Seoul sidewalks, so from your first day in the country, you’ll soon find yourself carrying trash around for most of the day Whether you’ve moved into a Korean apartment, a university dorm, or you’re simply staying in an Airbnb in Korea, you’ll find that throwing out the trash isn’t quite as simple as putting your waste into a trash bag and throwing it into a large garbage bin. From buying the correc ..read more

The first time I tried a cleansing balm years ago, I didn’t really get it to be honest. It wasn’t my jam. It added a step to my skincare routine that I didn’t deem necessary. All the things. Pivot to a decade later and I’m now more knowledgeable of my skin and what it needs and I’ve realized finding the right cleansing balm is a game changer. That first one did NOT work for my skin and it put me off cleansing balms for a decade. Can you believe that? I was recently given the Korean beauty brand Purito’s From Green Avocado Cleansing Balm and with trepidation, I decided to give cleansing balms a ..read more

Whether you’re interested in reading some spooky tales before Halloween this year, or just interested in Korean folklore and mythology, there are some truly creepy and scary creatures you should learn about. From the vengeful spirits of the gwishin, who wander the earth unfulfilled, to the cunning dokkaebi, who navigate the moral compass of right and wrong with mischief, they are just the beginning to the lore you can explore in Korean history and culture. Korean mythology is fascinating… you’ll see. Find out about the creatures that will freak you out in Korea: *Images in this article were ge ..read more

When you look up bars in Seoul, you’re more often shown the newest and most modern spaces to enjoy libations. The thing is, the holes in the wall and the cozy wooden more traditional-themed pubs so so often provide some of the best places to drink in Seoul. Take Sanullim 1992 (산울림1992), one of the best bars in Hongdae, it’s cozy and rich with Korean culture not to mention it has a stunning menu of over 200 Korean traditional alcohols and delicious food to top it off. While the youngest of Hongdae’s visitors are headed to the clubs or watching buskers, the older or just wiser visitors are heade ..read more

It’s practically impossible to visit Seoul, Korea and not plan some sort of shopping spree. I was recently writing a shopping guide to Seoul for the Cathay Pacific Inflight Magazine and decided to expand on it here and focus on just the incredible shopping malls in Seoul. Whether you’re buying amazing Korean beauty and skincare products or stocking up on Korean food, Korean fashion, or the cutest stationary products in the world, there’s so much to want to take home with you. I visit the shopping malls in Seoul more often for the pop-up events and exhibitions. Suffice to say, there’s a lot to ..read more

Many people exploring Seoul picture gorgeous sights such as Korean palaces, beautiful hiking trails, street food, shopping in the hotspots, and gorgeous views from stunning rooftop bars. But none of these things are quite as much fun to do when it’s raining. Though Seoul doesn’t experience a huge amount of rain (except during monsoon season), it can really spoil an outdoor experience – whether that’s by cluttering your Instagram snaps with umbrellas and cloudy skies, ruining your shoes, or generally making you feel gloomy. There are plenty of opportunities to have fun indoors in Seoul, so when ..read more

After years of living in Korea, more than 15 in fact, I can say without a doubt one of the biggest lessons I have learned while living here is skincare and exfoliation is a major part of the Korean skincare regime and should be apart of everyone’s skincare regime. I didn’t know adults could have baby soft skin until I moved to Korea and was shown the err of my showering ways. Get ready to find out how to amp up your shower routine and why you really really need to. Meet the Korean exfoliating towel, or the Korean Italy towel. Step into any Korean jjimjilbang or spa or just in to most Korean ho ..read more

In yet another show of retro and traditional Korean products re-emerging and even trending in fact, yanggaeng (양갱) is hot! K-pop sensation Bibi’s latest hit, “Bam Yang Gang,” has stirred up a craze and yanggaeng, a traditional Korean jelly dessert, sales are trending up. First it was the newtro (뉴트로) trend and then the Halmennial, the combination of “halmeoni” (할머니), the word for grandmother in Korean, and “millennial” as younger connoisseurs were embracing all things nostalgic so it’s no surprise that yanggaeng is now reaping the rewards. Whether you want to try it because of the song, or are ..read more