Over the past decade or so, Korean culture has completely rebranded and taken the world by storm. They laid claim to one letter of the English alphabet and have owned it. K-dramas, K-pop, K-beauty and more. The strength of Korean culture is pervasive in every part of life, prominent as soon as you land. The political history, the cultural values, the collective memory shapes society, economy and the cityscape. In many ways, in spite of its success in exporting Hyundais and sheet masks and BTS to the western world, it is still a very insular culture and closed society bounded by the giants of Kakao, Naver, Samsung, LG. And in understanding Korea and appreciating what you experience on a visit to today’s Korea, you have to understand these nuanced tensions, recognize the visible signs of the invisible truths. 

Korea today is tumultuous. A never ending string of political shake ups, protest. Economic success and innovation that does truly make it feel like stepping into the future with just how technologically advanced it is. And terrifyingly effective consumerism, they’ve rewritten the playbook for experiential retail. Koreans love the internet, coffee and skincare, and when Koreans love something, they push it to the limits, making it inescapably appealing. There are entire itineraries that can be built around the things Koreans have perfected: aesthetic bakery and cafe crawls, art and history walks, medispa packages, and of course, so many shopping lists. Koreans put themselves on the map, and for that in itself, we have to give them credit.