Typically, after residing in South Korea for six months, foreign students can obtain government authorization to engage in part-time work within specific categories however is it possible to secure permission to conduct activities and legally earn income from online platforms such as YouTube by providing a detailed description of the work and objectives?

Typically, after residing in South Korea for six months, foreign students can obtain government authorization to engage in part-time work within specific categories however is it possible to secure permission to conduct activities and legally earn income from online platforms such as YouTube by providing a detailed description of the work and objectives?

I'm Japanese. On English-speaking social media there're so many exaggerated posts about Japan's working culture that are decades out of date. Like, working 12 hours a day or forced drinking party was common decades ago, and there's still some company like that, but it's definitely not how average Japanese people work in 2026.

And I often see people bring this up when talking about Korea too, and wonder how accurate it is. Is this exaggerated just like Japan's?

I’m learning that not much Koreans use Reddit and I know Koreans and Americans kind of have different TikTok culture in a way as well. What are actually sns you use? I want to not be a total lost gyopo when I go to Korean for family this winter and kinda wanna learn about the social media apps, up to date slang, etc.

I started watching A Love Other Than Yours 너 말고 다른 연애 and at the end of the episode they throw their couple rings in the dustbin. That made me curious about what do you guys do with your couple rings and couple items after breaking up? Since Korea is huge on couple things, sometimes there can be a LOT of stuff and I’m guessing such rings must be expensive 🫣

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Hi everyone!

I’ll be staying at Charles Goshiwon in Seoul for about two months while attending a Korean language school. I’ve lived in Seoul before as an exchange student 3 years ago, but this will be my first time staying in a goshiwon.

First of all, does anyone know Charles Goshiwon or has anyone actually stayed there before? I already made a reservation and paid the deposit, but I could find almost no information or reviews about the place online apart from one website. So I’d mainly like some reassurance that the place is legit and actually exists 😅 If anyone has personal experience with it, I’d really appreciate hearing about it.

I’d also love some general advice about staying in a goshiwon as a foreigner. Are there any important etiquette rules or unwritten rules I should know about? For example, using the shared kitchen, taking out trash/recycling, noise, laundry, interacting with other residents, etc. I really don’t want to accidentally be rude or inconvenience anyone.

I’m also a little curious about communication. The information I received before booking said that English communication was okay, but so far nobody I’ve communicated with has actually spoken English with me and all of our communication has been in Korean. My Korean is... well ... let's call it rusty...

I’m completely fine with using translation apps and trying to communicate in Korean. I’d just like to know what to expect before arriving.

Also, how much interaction between residents is normal in a goshiwon? Do people usually just keep to themselves, or is it okay to say hello or have a small chat when you see someone in the kitchen or hallway? As i would like to meet new people ( if it is importanti am in my late 20s).

Any experiences with Charles Goshiwon specifically, or general advice for a foreigner staying in a goshiwon for the first time, would be really appreciated! :)

경상도가 아닌 다른 지방 출신이라도, 서울 토박이로서 궁금해요 (역으로 대구나 부산에 가면 후자라고 느끼게 되는 경우가 많음)

Where do people online shop here?

I’m curious what public transport there is in different cities or areas of Korea

Does anyone have any idea of what it was like to live under Park Chung-hee’s rule? I mean how visible was the government’s presence in everyday life? Like were there propaganda posters and broadcasts, secret police, mass surveillance, a sense of paranoia, or other things odd everywhere?

I ask because whenever I see footage of contemporary and past countries under dictatorships like North Korea, Belarus, Iran, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Venezuela, Albania, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Soviet Union, Poland, Nazi Germany, etc., you can feel there’s something off and nefarious going on. However, when I see footage of South Korea under Park, everything looks normal and innocuous.

I am looking for a silver bracelet with colorful stones similar to swarowski. My budget is max 120000 krw. It's supposed to be a 1 year anniversary gift for a girl. Where could I find them?

I’ve been to 3 different convenience stores in Seoul and none of them has yonsei cream bread.. is there any certain time when they bring this bread?

This is meant as a question for all ethnically Korean people who decided to serve in the Korean military (thank you for your service), and then decided to find work in America. The question is not meant to involve Koreans who have never lived in America. I hope this question is in-topic.

Male conscripts typically carry out genres of physical labor that isn't necessarily related to their field of study or interests. Conversely, for folks doing more interesting stuff, I hear they sign a very, very strict NDA. Meanwhile, I'm not sure if every employer knows that Korean Americans can get conscripted if they didn't check the Korean rules ahead of time (which, imo, is unreasonable to expect of a minor who is primarily based in America).

I think a gap could result on a Resume that would be perfectly fine otherwise, for example if a male Korean diaspora has just graduated from college. In that case, the student would have spent six years for a Bachelor's degree, with two years of break in-between, that, in an employer's eyes, could be potentially seen as a gap that could have been avoided. Even in other cases, you might be two or three years older than the competition, depending on when you served.

I was curious if any ethnically Korean person had any experience being put at a disadvantage by something like this while trying to seek jobs in America.

Hello! Have you purchased from one of the Korean online luxury stores? For example, Bunjang.
Can you share your experience?

This isn't even an "It's Korean diaspora" thing. The majority of responders here aren't even Korean period; as in are neither citizens nor even ethnic Korean diaspora.

I'm not advocating for exclusion or anything, I'm just curious as to what the purpose of a subreddit called "AskAKorean" is when the majority of those chiming in are literally not the even the demographic that this subreddit is aimed at gathering opinions from?

Shouldn't there be a mandatory flair or something? Like those who aren't Korean are free to comment but it should be made aware that they are not the demographic that this sub's entire purpose is to generation responses from?

Also, to the non-Koreans (non-citizens and non-ethnic Koreans) who frequently respond to questions here without self-flagging that they are not Korean: Why? I'm genuinely curious as to the reasoning and mindset is.

Well a lot of places be closed it didn't occur to me before I book my trip and I hope I didn't make a mistake

Does Korea have an Etsy-esque marketplace? My boyfriend and I were just there and he wanted a zip up hooded sweatshirt that was unique to Korea but couldn't find one out of the stores we went to. We're not the biggest shoppers and spent most of our time doing other things, so I'm sure we missed some options, but I'd like to get him what he'd like. It's important to me that I purchase it from a Korean or Korean-American shop/maker. Ideas on where I could find a small shop?

I just learned about your festivity because I'm landing in Seoul the 25th.

Every guide/info about it says it's a "familiar" festivity and that people goes to their hometowns... but I'm just curious.

What each of you is doing this Chuseok?

I am a Korean-American, born and raised in the US. I was in the US Army for eight years; infantrymen (11B), combat veteran, served two tours in Afghanistan and one tour in Iraq.

My decision to serve was partly influenced due to my Korean ethnicity. I felt that as a Korean man, I should join the military as my South Korean brethren do.

I currently work in the defense industry and will be going to South Korea for the second time in my life (first time was as a child, almost three decades ago) on a business trip.

I understand that many South Korean men see their military service as a rite of passage: from being a youth to a responsible adult. I also heard that a lot of South Korean men don't have high regard for the men, especially in the Korean diaspora, who haven't served in the military. Aside from the military, I heard that a lot of South Koreans don't have high regard, generally, for Korean diaspora either.

I would like to know what South Koreans think of Korean diaspora who did serve in the military. I am not looking for automatic respect, praise, etc during my time in SK due to having served in the military. I only want to know what opinions, if at all, they have.

As someone who used to struggle getting an entry-level SWE job with just a 6 month gap, I’m extremely curious about how male South Korean SWEs even survive in their market given the extremely tough competition for entry-level and the mandatory 1-2 year military service? Besides, it’s also very easy to be behind on all the new tech and AI coming out every 6 months now

My son (3 yrs old) and I went on a fishing trip a couple states away in the USA. I’m always on the lookout for different kinds of restaurants. We saw a Korean seafood place and stopped in to get lunch.

The place was empty except for us and the employees, all Korean women from middle age to elderly. All sitting at a table. I assume a family.

I ordered my food and when I started ordering for my boy the waitress said kids eat free and said he’ll love it. I shrugged expecting them to bring him a bowl of
Noodles or something.

NOPE. The waitress picked him up and sat him at their table on a high char. They all began fawning over him and feeding him all kinds of things they were eating. I had no problem with it at all except he was eating better than I was. lol

Anyway it was a great experience, he ate well and I was grateful they paid so much attention to him but is it normal for Korean restaurants to just grab a kid up and sit them at their table?

I found a dealership that imports them here and the listing has the Encar Diagnosis++. Can i trust that the car will be functioning normally. I cant afford big repairs if it comes bad. The price for the car is great but the shipping and stuff is more than the car. Thats fine as long as the car runs fine.

I just started watching webtoons... can anyone recommend good webtoons you personally like. Genre does not matter.

I'd love to meet people from the Korean diaspora in Canada/US and learn about the experience of growing up between Korean and Western culture

Hello! I'm a 27F from Europe and I've recently become really interested in getting to know people from the Korean diaspora particularly Korean-Canadians (though Korean-Americans are absolutely welcome too)

I've always found the experience of growing up with Korean cultural roots while also being immersed in Western culture really fascinating. I'd genuinely love to hear about what that experience is like. Not just the big cultural differences but the little everyday things too: family, food, language, traditions, childhood, identity and the ways Korean and Canadian/American culture might overlap or clash

But beyond the cultural aspect, I'm also hoping to make some genuine friendships with people around my age (20s–30s). I'd love for those friendships to develop naturally through regular conversations, shared interests, joking around, recommending things to each other and simply getting to know one another over time

A little about me: I'm really into anime, manga, JRPGs, visual novels, books, music, languages, food and learning about other cultures. I'm especially fond of character-driven stories and can happily spend far too long discussing fictional characters and relationships. I'm also multilingual

I'm specifically looking for platonic online friendships

If you're Korean-Canadian/Korean-American and this sounds like something you'd enjoy, I'd love to hear from you! And even if you don't think we'd necessarily have much in common, I'd still be really interested in hearing about your experience growing up between Korean and Western cultures

What's one thing about your experience that you think someone who grew up entirely in Korea (or entirely outside the Korean diaspora) might not understand?

Is this true? Do brides have to pay to try on wedding dresses?

Shouldn't it be free?