Culture
Etiquette, Korean age, holidays, situational phrases and how things work — for visitors, not language students.
Latest guides
Culture · 9 min readConcert and Sports Tickets in Korea for Foreigners (2026)K-pop seats ₩154,000–198,000 (BTS to ₩264,000), KBO ₩8,000–50,000. Book on NOL World in your passport name; ID-verified shows add ₩8,000 a ticket. Calculator.
Korea Public Holidays 2026–20272027 has 13 holidays plus 7 substitute days: Seollal Feb 6–9, Chuseok Sep 14–16, Buddha's Birthday May 13. No election in 2027. What closes, long weekends. · 8 min read
Korean Age Calculator (2026)Since 2023-06-28 Korea uses international age by law. Alcohol, tobacco, military and school still use year-age: born 2007 can drink in 2026. Calculator. · 9 min read
Korean Dining and Drinking Etiquette (2026)Elders start first, never pour your own glass, turn away to drink, no chopsticks upright in rice. Soju is 15.7% (Chamisul, June 2026), ₩5,000–6,000 a bottle. · 7 min read
Korean Names and Honorifics (2026)Kim, Lee and Park cover 44.6% of Koreans. Use given name + 씨 for peers, never surname + 씨 to a boss; 사장님 for shop owners and taxi drivers; 오빠 only when close. · 7 min read
90 Korean Survival Phrases (2026)90 Korean phrases by situation with Revised Romanization: ordering, taxis, pharmacies, 119/112, transport, rent words, allergy lines. Build a printable card. · 12 min read
Noraebang and PC Bang Guide (2026)Coin noraebang ₩1,000 = 2–3 songs, rooms about ₩20,000–30,000/hour; PC bang about ₩1,300–2,000/hour prepaid, non-smoking since 2014; minors out by 22:00. · 7 min read
Tipping in Korea (2026)Korea has no tipping: restaurants must show one final price (since 2013), tip jars drew backlash in 2023–2025, and Baemin's '배달팁' is the delivery fee. Table. · 7 min read