Korea, as told by a Korean
I grew up with these stories — the history, the myths, the places most people never find. This is my way of sharing them
What I Write About
History, myths, language, and the places in between. Told by someone who actually grew up in Korea
There’s a side of Korea that doesn’t make it into guidebooks. That’s what this is about
Korean CIA: Why the KCIA Was Scarier Than the Real CIA
If you visit Seoul, you’ll probably end up on Namsan — the green mountain in the middle of the city with N Seoul Tower on top. Couples hang “love locks” on the railings. Tourists ride the cable car up for the night view. It’s one of the most romantic spots in Korea — and very…
Korean School Ghost Stories: The Graveyard Rumor That Turned Out to Be (Partly) True
I don’t remember who told me. Maybe an older kid. Maybe a friend who heard it from an older kid. But at some point in elementary school, I learned the fact that starts almost all Korean school ghost stories: our school was built on top of a graveyard. That was it. No ghost. No girl…
Korean Exam Cheating Is Centuries Old: Nose Notes, Buried Ropes, and Hired Brains
Every student on earth knows the classics. Answers inked on your palm. Formulas scratched into the side of a pen. A cheat sheet hiding under the label of a water bottle. Korean exam cheating has used every one of those tricks — it just started using them a few hundred years before anyone invented the…
See what catches your eye
Begin with what draws you in: a forgotten story, a local saying, a hidden place, or a piece of Korean history.
