Korea Unfiltered 
Yesterday was Gaecheonjeol (개천절), Korea’s National Foundation Day. While passing through the small town center near where I live in rural Korea, I noticed Korean flags hanging along the street. For Koreans, seeing the Taegeukgi on days like this is nothing unusual. But for someone visiting Korea, especially outside Seoul, it might raise a simple … 더 읽기
When you look across the Korean countryside, rice fields are usually the first thing that catches your eye. In late summer and early autumn, they can stretch across the landscape in shades of green and gold. But there is another part of this landscape that is much easier to overlook. Look beside the narrow farm … 더 읽기
Sometimes, going out does not need to be a big event. No long drive. No fancy restaurant. No carefully planned date. Sometimes, you put the children to bed, look at your husband, and decide to go watch a movie. That is exactly what we did one evening in Yeonggwang, the rural county in South Korea … 더 읽기
This is Part 1 of a two-part story about going to the movies in rural Korea. In this post, I’ll show you what our small local cinema is actually like. When people imagine going to the movies in South Korea, they may picture a huge multiplex in Seoul, surrounded by shopping malls, restaurants, and crowds. … 더 읽기
When people imagine rural Korea, they often picture rice fields, mountains, traditional markets, and quiet villages. Those images are real. But they are only one part of life outside Korea’s big cities. Drive from a small farming village into the center of a county town, and the scenery can change quickly. There are supermarkets, restaurants, … 더 읽기
Today, harvesting rice in South Korea is largely a job for machines. A modern combine can move through a rice field, cutting the rice and separating the grain as part of the harvesting process. But before machines took over this work, separating rice grains from harvested stalks required much more manual labor. One of the … 더 읽기
If you walk through downtown Yeonggwang in South Korea, you may notice something unusual beside the road. A narrow lane painted bright blue runs along the street. White arrows point forward, and a symbol on the pavement shows a person standing on a small electric mobility device. Nearby, a blue road sign makes its purpose … 더 읽기
When people think of Chuseok, one of Korea’s biggest traditional holidays, they often picture families gathering together around a large table filled with holiday food. And, of course, there is songpyeon. These small half-moon-shaped rice cakes are probably one of the foods most closely associated with Chuseok. But there was no songpyeon on our table … 더 읽기
When people imagine the Korean countryside, they may picture rice fields, mountains, small villages, and narrow farm roads. But there is something else that appears almost everywhere in this landscape: utility poles. Drive through rural Korea and you will see concrete poles standing beside rice fields, following narrow roads, and continuing toward small villages in … 더 읽기
In Part 1, I introduced a rural harvest festival held among the rice fields of Myoryang, a small countryside community in Yeonggwang, South Korea. But the landscape, the pungmul music, and the tractors were only part of the story. What made this festival special was the people. Elementary school children, parents, local residents, and elderly … 더 읽기