You might assume that most global citizens have had enough of Psy, the infamous rapper who, if he didn’t invent his signature “gallop” dance, certainly resurrected it. You may think this genius of a man has been transformed into something even more obsolete than a teeny-bopper’s “so over” description: gasp, [...]

Travelers often feel a certain pressure to see everything of historical and cultural significance when they visit a new city or country. They frantically rush from museum, to monument, to palace as if they are writing a guidebook, and before they know it, the trip is over. They return home [...]

Quite simply, it rocks and will probably suck you in. On a recent trip to the Korean capital, my friends and I found it utterly impossible to break the cycle of pre-dinner drinks, delicious Korean food, bars and street food, followed by an early afternoon wake-up call. We had every [...]

South Korea, my Asian home away from home where I experienced my first living abroad experiment, is an anomaly of sorts, really. There are aspects of the culture I will never comprehend, nor should I. There are things in which I tilt my head in confusion, which is fine. There [...]

Korea, like an onion (or Shrek), is steeped in layers. Ancient history and tradition hold fast as trendy and progressive thinking prevail. It has an interesting dynamic of old and ultra-modern, most likely due to an age-old history of invasion. The fiercely held traditions are entwined within a country that is, literally,  freshly built. Nowhere is the gap more dramatic than in the [...]

Jirisan, one of South Korea’s highest mountains, is a favorite hike in the country. But come prepared, it’s not as easy as you’d hoped. By Andrew Post Jirisan, the highest mountain in continental South Korea, is a 6,284-foot-high pile of rocks, trees, rivers, bushes, flowers, black bears, Buddhists and backpackers, [...]

We all know different cultures have their specific intricacies, and it takes a little research to become aware of them when traveling. Even I remember a friend of mine in Korea, very politely saying, “Jon, ah . . . that is, maybe, a little bit rude.” After a thousand apologies [...]

A trip to the DMZ only heightens the wish that one day, unification for the Koreans will no longer be a dream. By Jon Wick 3/29/09 2:42 p.m. Dora Observatory, DMZ Razor wire surrounded us as soon as we reached the northern border of Seoul. Manned watchtowers lined the rivers [...]