Community
Skin, K-beauty, Korea trips and the beauty industry — ask and share
K-ETA exemption runs to Dec 31, 2026: do you still need to apply?
Good news if you are planning a Korea trip before the year is out: the temporary K-ETA exemption has been extended until December 31, 2026, according to Visit Korea. What that means in practice Nationals of the visa-free
0 0Japanese visitors to Korea hit a record in 2025: the "go to Korea today" era
According to the Korea Tourism Organization, 3.65 million Japanese travellers visited Korea in 2025, a new record. The 2026 target is 4.5 million (up 23%). Here is what Japanese travel trade site Travel Voice reported ab
0 0A good-value dermatologist with no English: has anyone brought an interpreter?
This thread is a few years old, but the question keeps coming up. On the Tripadvisor Seoul forum, a traveller said a friend had recommended a reasonably priced dermatology clinic with no English-speaking doctors. Clinics
0 0Euljiro's 'Hipjiro' alleys: printing shops by day, hidden bars by night
Euljiro doesn't look like a nightlife district at first glance. By day it's still full of small printing shops and metal workshops that have operated there since the late 1960s — paper stacked on the pavement, delivery c
0 0Olive Young Gangnam Town: shopping the big-format store near Gangnam Station
If the only Olive Young flagships you know are Myeongdong or Seongsu, you might miss that Gangnam-daero has its own large-format branch: Olive Young Gangnam Town, at 429 Gangnam-daero, Seocho-gu, within the Gangnam Stati
0 0Gyeongui Line Forest Park, Yeonnam-dong: how to walk it and where to stop for coffee
Gyeongui Line Forest Park is what Seoul built after burying an old railway line underground: a roughly 6.3-kilometre green corridor running from Mapo-gu into Yongsan-gu. The Yeonnam-dong stretch near Hongdae is the most
0 0Samcheong-dong Street: an old-meets-new gallery walk from Anguk Station
Samcheong-dong Street runs for about two kilometers between Anguk Station and the northern edge of Gyeongbokgung, and it's the easiest way to see Seoul's old-meets-new look in one walk: hanok roofs, low stone walls and n
0 0Myeongdong Cathedral and the night food alleys: a quiet stop before the street snacks
A few minutes off Myeongdong's main shopping street stands a red-brick Gothic building that feels like a different pace entirely: Myeongdong Cathedral, completed in 1898 as Korea's first Gothic-style brick church, offici
0 0Shinsegae Department Store Myeongdong Main: how to work the duty-free floors and food hall
If you only have half a day and want a department store, a duty-free floor and a proper Korean food hall in one stop, Shinsegae's Myeongdong main building is the easy pick. It sits right by Myeongdong Station, and floors
0 0Seochon and Tongui-dong: wandering Seoul’s quietest historic alleys
Seochon, tucked against the western wall of Gyeongbokgung, is one of Seoul's oldest neighborhoods, and unlike Bukchon it hasn't turned into a tourist set piece. People still shop and walk their dogs among low hanok house
0 0Hanbok rental near Gyeongbokgung: 2026 free-entry rules explained
Walk around Gyeongbokgung and you'll pass plenty of visitors in bright hanbok. It's not just for photos: wearing proper traditional hanbok has earned free entry to Korea's grand palaces since 2013, and the rule applies e
0 0Namsangol Hanok Village: five free Joseon-era houses and a hanbok photo stop
At the foot of Namsan sits a hanok village established in 1998, gathering five relocated Joseon-era houses that once stood elsewhere in Seoul — spanning everything from a middle-class home to residences of yangban aristo
0 0Osulloc Tea Museum & Innisfree Jeju House: how to visit both
In the green-tea fields of Andeok-myeon on western Jeju sit two Amorepacific-family spots side by side: Osulloc Tea Museum and, just up the path, Innisfree Jeju House. Seeing both back to back is the appeal -- Jeju's tea
0 0