Culture in South Korea

It’s a small country with an extraordinarily global reach and a capital that makes Tokyo look retro; but what is South Korean culture really like, and how can you experience it on holiday?

Gangnam Style, Korean fried chicken, Samsung tech, soju, snail cream… if you think you know South Korean culture, but you haven’t been to South Korea, it might be because of hallyu – Korean Wave. Since the 1990s K-cultural exports, from pop to beauty products, have taken the world by storm.

Hallyu’s heartland is surely Seoul, home to a quarter of the country’s population, plus the agent offices for K-pop stars and the settings from K-dramas. But the capital is also full of ineffable city buzz impossible to export – like the dining culture, the late-night cafes, the drinking games happening around tables in buzzy bars, and streets basking in the cold glow of neon signs and LED displays.

“I fell in love with the city on sight,” says Nicole Stirling, from our partner, The Dragon Trip, who lived in South Korea for two and a half years in her twenties. It all started in Seoul. “I honestly still remember coming up out of the subway in Hongdae and immediately thinking: ‘oh my god, I love it here’. I had no idea what to expect apart from K-dramas, but I fell in love with the city.”

For all its global reach, you really need to go to South Korea to see it for yourself. Seoul is the starting point for many of our Korea culture tours. For fans of the culture already, it’s familiar yet strange. For those less familiar, it’s a bombastic introduction.

“I liked the 24/7 nature of Korea – especially in the bigger cities,” says Rhian, from our partner InsideAsia Tours. She studied Korean before living in Korea for three years. “Café culture is really good and they’re open really late. You can go to a café, not a bar, and stay until 10pm. I enjoyed that as a student studying late into the evening.”

All-night cities are emblematic of a country on the go. South Korea’s economic boom came after the Second World War ended in 1945, and partition in 1948. Invasion from North Korea in 1950 was set back with American intervention. American culture left its mark – a taste for aggressive capitalism, and delicious fried chicken.

South Korea leapfrogged much of the world to become decades ahead in its technological development – helped by innovations such as fantastic internet connectivity (the country has the highest smartphone use in the world). It’s a competitive place, where social status plays out everywhere from school to the workplace. South Korea has some of both the highest suicide rates and highest rates of cosmetic surgery use in the world.

Life is fast paced. “You see people the next morning clearly coming back from a night out but still in their suits,” says Nicole. On the weekend, hiking is very popular – as you might expect in a country that is 70 percent mountainous. Walkers will find keen hordes of hikers in all the gear, beating them up the hills.

South Korean culture is work-hard play-hard. The good news is, if you’re there on holiday, you’ll only experience the play-hard part.

On our South Korea culture holidays that can mean a whistle-stop tour between activities. There’s karaoke (loved by Koreans) and then a Korean spa – bathing culture, from simple mogyoktang (public baths) to more elaborate jjimjilbang bath complexes, where you could happily spend a whole weekend, is a big part of life. There’s soju tasting (the spirit was once responsible for the country’s high rates of binge drinking – now falling), and K-pop dance classes. You can even rent a hanbok for your time walking around more historic areas of Seoul. This traditional Korean dress – the women’s featuring a colourful, full skirt and decorative ribbons – has endured through its 5,000 years of history in varying forms.

Under the rapidly modernising and re-modernising cities, there’s another side of the country. Lots of tours include a Buddhist temple stay – a far remove from the buzz of the capital, you can reset with a 4am meditation session and a plant-based dinner, and discover the older traditions of South Korea culture.

Going in a small group means sharing the services of a guide with a group of like-minded travellers. Your guide can bridge the communication gap between you and local people, and introduce you to the culture. “We use all local run accommodation and we use all local guides,” says Nicole.

Passing objects with two hands, bowing, and waiting for the oldest person at the table to drink first – it’s useful to familiarise yourself with cultural customs which you may notice at play as you explore the country. They’re also a great argument for going with a guide.

There’s another good reason to go in company: “Solo travellers can’t try Korean barbecue –– you have to share with three to four people,” explains Rhian. You might even find that some restaurants won’t let you in alone.

We have special interest tours for small groups – such as our South Korea K-pop tour. You could also adapt a tailor made tour to your interest.

“I’ve definitely been asked, ‘will we get to see this K-pop agency?’” says Nicole – people want to see the buildings of the YG company, one of the biggest entertainment agencies, and some even structure their tours around their interest.

“We had a group book last year who were just going because they loved K-dramas,” says Nicole. We helped them create a tour that was on theme, including filming sites. “They loved it and had a great time!”

As for K-beauty, that’s covered, too, “People always ask, ‘what if I want to do some shopping?’” says Nicole. A good peruse of the beauty counters is one thing, but you could also tweak a tour to include a makeup masterclass, and more treatments. “Sometimes people want a spa treatment and a facial when they’re out here,” says Rhian.

Many of our South Korea culture holidays visit the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea and take in one of the world’s most heavily defended borders. “It’s not even history, it’s the now – it’s a really cool, unique moment in the trip,” says Nicole. Some of our holidays include the opportunity to talk with a North Korea defector.

Beyond the north-south divide of the Korean peninsula, history buffs interested in seeing how Korea’s past shapes its present might be interested in the cities of Jeonju, with its hanok (traditional Korean house) village, and Gyeongju, known as ‘the museum without walls’ for all its historic artefacts. Lots of South Korea’s historic buildings were razed by Japanese occupation, and by war, but you can still see many beautiful temples, such as Beopjusa temple – one of a number of temples and shrines that is UNESCO-listed in the country.

Just as North Korea throws the preoccupations of South Korea into sharper relief, so does near-neighbour Japan, which colonised Korea in the early 20th century after centuries of wars and repeat invasions.

Lots of travellers might find themselves deciding between Japan and South Korea. “Japan just has a more familiar feel,” says Nicole, who really wants to get people thinking about Korea. “People think ‘what’s in Korea?’ – but they are so pleasantly surprised when they go of how much there is there and how amazing it really is.” Seoul is so modern it can make Tokyo look retro: “When I did go to Tokyo it was after being in Seoul, I was surprised – it felt much older,” says Nicole.

Korea presents a more relaxed travel pace. It’s a smaller country, whilst Japan is more spread out, and there’s more time travelling. Both celebrate the incoming cherry blossom: “local Koreans love going out and experiencing the blossom,” says Rhian; a curious ephemeral experience in its glassy cities.

Rather than deciding between the two, why not take more time and visit both? You could fly from Seoul to Osaka – or take a boat. The ferry between Fukouka, Japan, and Busan, South Korea, takes six hours. Alternatively, consider a Japan and South Korea cruise between the two destinations that hops over the Sea of Japan.

You hear travellers back from South Korea talking about how they were able to leave laptops and phones untouched on cafe tables and enjoy the cities at all hours, “I think you can take younger children to Korea. It’s a safe and welcoming culture – but it’s more fun for teenagers and up,” says Rhian. She also sees a lot of mother-daughter trips, “covering all the fun girly experiences – beauty, K-pop, and fashion.”

It's safe to say families who go to South Korea are relatively intrepid – for all South Korea’s familiarity on the world stage, people aren’t going in huge numbers. “You won’t meet many Western tourists who have been but that will increase in the next 5-10 years,” says Rhian “We say, ‘get in there now, before everyone’s been and everyone’s going.’”