Korean Culture

If you haven’t had much exposure to any of the Asian cultures, you will be especially fascinated by the Korean culture. Exciting and welcoming to travelers, South Korea impresses visitors with its stunning combination of the traditional and modern. This mix can be seen in the architecture, style and even fashion, especially in large cities like Seoul.

Like many other Asian nations, Koreans love food about food, and can spent hours talking about it. Korean cuisine is truly a pleasure for one’s taste buds. One cannot imagine Korean meal without kimchi, traditional marinated spicy cabbage. There are lots of varieties of kimchi, usually served as appetizers. Kimchi is also used as a cooking ingredient in a number of dishes. Historically, Korea was greatly influenced by Japan, and it shows in the cuisine, with Korean Ramyeon being almost the same as Japanese Ramen, with the popularity of sushi and sashimi, and many more. Many Korean restaurants offer open barbeque where customers grill their own meat. These lengthy meals are a favorite pastime for Koreans, with people talking to friends and family over the cooking meat and vegetables.

Korea is the leader in Asian pop culture, with Korean pop (widely known as K-Pop) and Korean drama shows being widely popular in Asia. Korean pop stars are international trendsetters, especially in Hong Kong, China, and South East Asia. On the global scale, PSY’s Gangam Style became a universal craze not so long ago.

With Korean brands like Kia, Hyundai, Samsung etc being global bestsellers, this technologically advanced country still keeps its traditional elements. Family is one of the main Korean values, and children are taught to respect and show respect to their parents and grandparents at all times. In a traditional Korean family, husband is an indisputable leader who makes all important decisions.