From an 아싸 that keeps coming back
There are few countries where a school exam can change airline schedules, delay the opening of the stock market, alter commuting hours, mobilize police motorcycles and prompt thousands of parents to spend the day praying in temples and churches. In South Korea, that day is Suneung Day. Known formally as the College Scholastic Ability Test […]
There is a particular kind of social lesson you can only learn in Korea by sitting at a table long enough. It happened one evening at a language exchange in Seoul. The event itself was typical of dozens of gatherings around the city. Koreans came to practice English. Foreigners came to practice Korean, meet people, […]
One of the most important Korean words for understanding Korean social life is also one of the hardest to translate. 눈치 — noonchi, more commonly romanized as nunchi. It is often translated as “reading the room,” “social awareness,” or even “emotional intelligence.” All of these are partly correct, but none completely captures it. Noonchi is […]
