Korea, explained for curious Americans.
Plain-English guides to Korean food, everyday customs, and history. Checked by a Korean-born editor in metro Atlanta, with sources you can follow.
Browse the guidesBackground: a ramie jogakbo, the patchwork cloth sewn from fabric scraps. Drawn for Korea Primer.
Start with a topic
- 음식eumsik, “food”Food & GroceriesWhat to pick up at a Korean grocery store, how to use it at home, and what to expect at a Korean restaurant in the US.
- 예절yejeol, “manners”Everyday CultureAge, titles, polite speech, and table manners. The things K-dramas show but rarely explain, and when the rules bend.
- 역사yeoksa, “history”History & TraditionsHolidays, Hangul, and the history behind them, with clear dates and sources you can check.
Latest guides
The first guides are being written and checked now. They will appear here as each one is published.
How we write
Sources you can check
Dates, laws, and history come with a link to where we found them.
Korea and Korean America
We separate what is true in Korea today from what you will see at Korean businesses in the US.
No invented experience
We only describe a visit or a tasting when our editor actually made it.