[HanCinema's Digest] Culture Corner

Learn 8 ways to make a great first impression in Korea, The Grand Narrative looks at Korean culture around contraceptives, the Seoul Hanok Expo is almost upon us, and find out more about Yoon Mee-hyang book on Korea's 'comfort women' and the rally that inspired it.

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"8 Ways to Make a Good Impression in Korea"

Exploring a new country and culture is an adventure, something new that you'll learn and grow from, and it's important to start things out on the right foot. On that note, Seoulistic has some tips on how to impress the locals with your good manners by showing some culture sensitivity. Most of these are universal, but you may be surprised to find a few things that you didn't expect to make you stand out.

...READ ON SEOULISTIC

"(Still) Empowering Korean Women: Over-the-counter contraceptive pills"

Feminism is visibly and rapidly on the rise in modern South Korean culture, but there are still many areas where Korean women are limited in their freedoms. In this post, The Grand Narrative takes a closer look at over-the-counter contraceptives for women: "[O]nly 2.5 percent of Korean women actually use the pill. Probably, due to a combination of aggressive sterilization programs in the 1970s and '80s, a knock-on tendency to leave contraception in men's hands, and because of scaremongering by the Korean Medical Association".

...READ ON THE GRAND NARRATIVE

"Seoul Hanok Expo 2016"

The popular Seoul Hanok Expo will take place this coming week so take note if you're in town and looking for a fascinating way to learn about Korean culture: "Learn more about the house in which Korean history and architecture converges this February at the 20156 Seoul Hanok Expo-a traditional housing fair in Korea that sees over 300 companies come together to exhibit everything from traditional building materials, interior design, traditional construction mythologies and more".

...READ ON 10 MAGAZINE

"Activist remembers WW II 'comfort women'"

Not long ago South Korea and Japan finally came to an agreement over the controversial issue of Korea's 'comfort women' that were abused by Japanese soldiers around the beginning of the last century. But for the past 25 years there has been a weekly rally held to ensure that those women (there are 46 known survivors living today) and the atrocities made against them are not forgotten, a tale documented in Yoon Mee-hyang's timely book: "Every Wednesday for 25 Years ― A Story of the Bold Hope of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery Survivors"

...READ ON KOREA TIMES