#traveldiaries

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we leave the royal palaces behind and step into the village '마당', where ordinary people sang, danced, played games, and sometimes put on masks to laugh at the people above them. We'll look at why masks could be sacred, funny, and surprisingly critical of society; experience some of the most memorable characters from Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori; and...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we celebrate Hangeul Day by going back to the surprising story behind Korea's alphabet. In 15th-century Joseon, King Sejong decided that ordinary people needed a writing system that actually matched the Korean language; then faced opposition from scholars who thought creating easy new letters was dangerous. We'll look at how the original 28 letters work...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we finish our four-part King Jeongjo series in the place where his personal history became a physical landscape: Suwon Hwaseong. It began with the memory of his father Crown Prince Sado, grew into a new city built with scholars, soldiers, craftsmen and new technology, and became the stage for Jeongjo’s extraordinary 1795 journey with his mother Lady Hyegyeong....

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we leave King Jeongjo’s private life and look at how he actually governed. Jeongjo had ambitious ideas, but being king did not automatically give him loyal officials, trusted soldiers, or the power to change old economic privileges, so he built institutions to do it. From 규장각 and 초계문신 to 장용영 and 신해통공, today we look at the machinery behind the refo...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we leave King Jeongjo’s private life and look at how he actually governed. Jeongjo had ambitious ideas, but being king did not automatically give him loyal officials, trusted soldiers, or the power to change old economic privileges, so he built institutions to do it. From 규장각 and 초계문신 to 장용영 and 신해통공, today we look at the machinery behind the refo...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we begin our new history and folklore chapter with King Jeongjo — not as a distant textbook figure, but as a prince shaped by family trauma, palace pressure, and survival. Through Lee Joon-ik’s film The Throne / 사도, we’ll look at Yeongjo as the ultimate “tiger parent king,” Sado as the son who broke under impossible expectations, and Jeongjo as the child who...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we close one chapter and prepare for the next with our final classic travel segment before next week’s renewal into Korean history, folk history, and lore. Our listener survey answers traveled a little farther than expected – from Canada to Uganda to Japan, and even back to our Sky Castle episode – reminding us that travel is really about memory, mood, and stor...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we’re going back to school: new semester, new notebooks, same old anxiety. We’ll look at Korea’s latest school debates, from phone bans and AI textbooks to hagwon pressure and “friendflation,” then visit two very different school stories: the teacher drama Black Dog and the wonderfully strange indie film 막걸리가 알려줄 거야. Finally, we’ll head to Sinchon, Seo...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we return to the KOSPI chart — because apparently the market heard our July episode and chose violence. On July 16, we talked about KOSPI fever: AI, semiconductors, retail investors, leverage, FOMO, and the emotional life of Korean “ants.” But just two weeks later, the market gave us a historic roller coaster: a brutal late-July selloff, a shocking rebound on J...

On this week’s Arirang Travel Diaries, we honor Liberation Day in Korea—Gwangbokjeol—the day light was restored after the period of Japanese colonial rule. But today, our core theme is resistance. We remember not only the moment of liberation in 1945, but the decades-long resistance of Koreans who refused to fade away: those who organized, fought, wrote, taught, and marched. Afterwards, we’ll dive...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we step into Korea&s record-breaking heat wave – the kind of weather where corn visits Busan and comes back as popcorn, but visits Yangsan and comes back burnt. We&ll look at this week&s extreme 폭염, from Yangsan&s 42.5°C record to severe heat alerts in Seoul. Then we slow down with Yoon Dan-bi&s Moving On, or 남매의 여름밤, before cooling...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we continue our 납량 특집 with two Korean horror films that turn modern media itself into a source of fear. We look at 더 웹툰: 예고살인, or Killer Toon, where murders happen exactly as drawn in a webtoon, and 씬, or The Sin, where a film shoot in an abandoned school turns into a ritualistic nightmare. Then we explore ghost-repelling traditions and the very mod...

On this week’s Arirang Travel Diaries, we’re beating the muggy summer heat with a classic Korean tradition: a chilling Nablyang (납량) special! We’ll explore the true meaning of Nablyang—literally 'inviting in the cool breeze'—and look into Korea’s long-standing tradition of summer horror stories. Then, we’ll step inside the haunted palace and dark curses of Netflix’s new series Donggung,...

In this week's Arirang Travel Diaries, we are unfolding stock charts instead of travel maps. We’ll dive into the KOSPI—Korea's benchmark stock index—and the unique trading culture of Korea's retail investors (locally dubbed "ants"). We'll also examine the recent market shocks triggered by leveraged ETFs and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in the wake of the AI and semiconducto...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we discuss the onset of the intense summer heat, 'Sambok,' which arrives following a brief rainy season. We explore the meanings of 'Chobok,' 'Jungbok,' and 'Malbok,' and delve into Korea's summer culinary culture for restoring vitality in the sweltering heat. We then focus on the summer scenery, seasonal vegetables, and refr...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we are heading back to school to mark the end of the spring semester and the start of summer vacation! We will look back at school memories—from report cards and hagwons (cram schools) to emailing professors about grades, and the nostalgic snack shops right outside the school gates. Next, we will dive into the hit Netflix series Vigilante (True Education) to ex...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we take on the Korean War through Park Chan-wook’s JSA – a film that proves sometimes the most dangerous thing at the border isn’t a weapon, but friendship. We’ll talk about 6.25, separated families, televised reunions, and why Korea’s unfinished war still lives in memory, media, and everyday life. Then we head north of Seoul for a DMZ day trip through Imjingak...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we kick off a World Cup-themed journey through Korean soccer culture, from the Red Devils, street cheering, “대한민국!” chants, and chimaek to the unforgettable legacy of the 2002 World Cup. Then we look at the film Dream, before revisiting Reply 1997 and Cynthia’s memories of cheering for Korea in Tokyo’s Shin-Okubo Koreatown. Finally, we head to Sangam-dong f...

Pueyong, the newest member of The Kulture Inc., brings a fresh perspective on Korean culture. With bright energy and infectious enthusiasm, she explores World Cup cheers and the Rising Sun Flag controversy, all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee.

Murky Waters, River Gangsters, Merchant Dreams, and a Sunset Ride on Seoul's Han River This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we explore the river that made Seoul possible—the Han River. From Joseon-era ferries, merchants, and river gangsters to Disney+'s historical drama 탁류 (The Murky Stream), we examine a side of Korean history rarely portrayed on screen. Then we return to present-day Se...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, Korea’s June 3 local elections shift our focus to campaign trucks, city halls, local councils, and the power of the voter on the street. We look at Kingmaker, a sharp political drama about the strategist behind the candidate, and Honest Candidate, Ra Mi-ran’s comedy about a politician who suddenly cannot lie. Then we head to Daejeon, the symbolic heart of Chung...

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, Samsung’s labor talks put Korea’s office culture–wages, unions, shareholders, and all–in the spotlight. We look at On the Verge of Insanity and The Dream Life of Mr. Kim, two sharp stories about surviving corporate life. Then we head to Dongtan and Gwanggyo, where tech campuses, lake parks, cafés, and after-work dinners shape the “company town” lifestyle.

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, Seoul lights up for Buddha’s Birthday with lotus lanterns, temple visits, and a long weekend made for wandering through Jongno. We explore Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring and Move to Heaven – two screen stories about karma, grief, compassion, and letting go. Then we walk from Jogyesa to Insadong and Cheonggyecheon for temple food, coffee, and lantern...

This week, Family Month in Korea gets a little complicated. We talk carnations, unconventional movie families, and the people who become family without sharing DNA. Then we walk it off in Euljiro with ramen, retro cafés, nogari, and 20,000 steps of Seoul chaos.

This week on Arirang Travel Diaries, we head to Busan — where family introductions, sea views, and strong opinions about livability all happen in the same weekend. Expect gangster cinema, ‘90s nostalgia, Busan satoori, and enough good food to make Seoul feel briefly negotiable. Because in Busan, even a family trip can come with dialect lessons and excellent coffee.