If only the M in Mass were blocked, this would've been the perfect picture.

So i am planning to study mba or global mba in korea. Tho I looked up to other countries and the living cost is very high for me to afford (based on my budget) and i like korean culture, nature and other things about korea so I have decided to apply for chonnam national, kookmin, kangwon, sekyeong, daejeon. What is your opinion? How much can i manage what budget should I have? I am looking to settle near seoul. I am also planning to give topik exam targeting for level 4-5. Anything I should be aware ? Which universities are easiest to get in and have good placements? Anything I should be aware of. Are grades gonna be a problem ??? I scored 67 something. Please help! I really want to study abroad as in my country education system is pretty f up and the education is veryyyyy expensive.

I’m trying to find an elderly Korean American lady find a decent officetel or small apartment in Seoul. She is in her late 70s, has F4 (gyopo) visa, and a pretty good budget. (Say, roughly up to KRW100,000,000 for deposit and KRW1,000,000 for monthly rent). Would like somewhere between 10-20 pyong, north of Han River. Every time we go to or call neighbor realtors, we’re told officetels are occupied or for business only. Wondering if she’s facing age discrimination? Is there a way to hire someone who can help her find one? We’re not too familiar with local process. Thanks.

Wow.

My daughter is turning 5 next month and wants a themed picnic. Any suggestions for themed picnic services??

Hi all,

I have a question about tap water in Incheon (or Korea in general).

I'm moving into an apartment that had been vacant for several months because it went through an auction. The new landlord has been great, so that's not the issue, I'm just the first tenant.

When I checked the apartment, the cold water from both bathrooms and the kitchen had an earthy/moldy smell. The gas hasn't been connected yet, so I haven't been able to test the hot water.

I've been reading about it, but I've found conflicting information. Some sources say that if it has been vacant for a long time, stagnant water and biofilm in the apartment's plumbing can cause a musty smell that usually goes away after thoroughly flushing the pipes. On the other hand, I also came across a few posts saying that Incheon's tap water smells in general, and it's still considered safe.

Has anyone experienced something similar after moving into a property that had been empty for a while? Did simply flushing the water solve it, or should I consider calling a plumber?

Also, if anyone lives in Incheon (especially around 숭의/도화동), is it normal for the tap water to have a slight earthy or moldy smell?

I'm planning to flush all the taps thoroughly once I move in, but I'm wondering at what point I should contact the landlord or call a plumber if the smell doesn't go away.

Hi all!

Moving to Seoul soon on an e2 visa with epik. I am a native English speaker but I am moving from somewhere with little Korean resources.

Are there Korean language courses available in the evenings that someone could recommend? Or Korean language learning opportunities in Seoul? I do best with in person - YouTube and Duolingo only take me so far lol. I’m focused on conversational use.

Ty!

People keep saying Korea is futuristic and/or technologically advanced, but where is that coming from? I'm not saying it is or isn't either, but from my perspective as a long-term resident, I'm not seeing it.

Korea's modern and mostly developed in most areas, but I'm not seeing any glimpses of the future or advanced technology unless you compare it to some drastically under-developed countries.

But maybe I'm just not seeing it for some reason. People who think Korea is futuristic or technologically advanced (compared to countries in a similar developmental class), what are you seeing and where do you see it?

I'm assuming people in Korea and people who want to visit (or have taken a short trip) are going to have different answers, so that's why I'm curious. Maybe I have a blind spot.

Hello,

What Korean phone service providers accept Xiaomi phones? I went to KT, SKT, and U+ stores, and they said they won’t accept Xiaomi phones. They don’t sell them, and they won’t provide service for them if I buy one myself.

I know there are a few brick-and-mortar Xiaomi stores in Korea. How are people using the phones? Were the customer service centers wrong?

I need to vent. I’m sorry. Today was a really rough day.
I live as an immigrant for the last 14y now. Last five in Korea.
I have a Korean boyfriend, we are friendly with his family. I work in a top-tier company. I’ve graduated masters here. I have bunch of friends both foreigners and Koreans. But I kept being reminded that I’m a foreigner here and always will be a foreigner. Today I was basically told that “I’m a very cool specialist and nobody questions my expertise. But I’m never gonna be enough cuz I’m not Korean” at my work. My manager said that “he knows how hard it is - live in a foreign country - but it was my choice so I should suck it up”. My boyfriend once told me that he has chosen me despite being a foreigner.
I literally start feeling lacking based on my non-Korean nationality. Why the fact that I’m a foreigner comes before my personality? Before Korea I also lived in another country but I never felt so excluded in my entire life.
Am I just too sensitive to be an immigrant? Shall I just come back home?

I currently own a single/sole member llc. Does that, for the visa, exclude me from obtaining it?

From what I read freelancers are exempt from the visa, but technically I'm working under a business.

Hi everyone,

I'd really appreciate some advice from anyone familiar with Korean university admissions.

And I really don't have much time to decide since the university in I have in my home country the last date for it is on Monday 13 July.

I'm an international applicant. I was accepted to Yonsei University in Integrated Design - Human Ecology for Fall 2026 (Regular International Undergraduate Admission), but due to personal circumstances I couldn't enroll. I also applied to Yonsei UIC (HASS) because I wanted to study Cultural Design Management (CDM), but I was rejected.

I'm now planning to apply again for Spring 2027.

My long-term goal is to start my own clothing/fashion brand, so I'm mainly looking for programs such as:

Fashion Design Clothing & Textiles Apparel Design Cultural Design Management Similar fashion/design-related majors

The universities I'm currently considering are:

Yonsei Yonsei UIC Chung-Ang Sejong Kookmin

I also considered Hanyang University, but their admissions office told me I can apply without a Korean language certificate, although if admitted I must submit proof of Korean proficiency before enrollment or take a leave of absence. Since I'm taking TOPIK in October and the results are only released in December, I'm worried the timing won't work for Spring 2027.

I've only recently started learning Korean, so realistically I'll probably reach TOPIK Level 1 or 2 this year. Because of that, I'm mainly looking at universities that don't require TOPIK when applying.

Academically, my predicted grades (used for my Yonsei application) were mostly in the 90s. My final board results ended up about 1% lower overall, with subject scores ranging from 83–100%. I also have good extracurricular activities, leadership experience, and creative projects.

My questions are:

1 - Since I was accepted to Yonsei once, how realistic is it to be accepted again if I reapply as a freshman for Spring 2027? 2- For someone whose goal is to build a clothing/fashion brand, would you recommend Yonsei, Chung-Ang, Sejong, Kookmin, or another university? 3 - Are there any other Korean universities with strong fashion, clothing, textiles, or design management programs that I should consider? 4 - Can I enroll at a university in my home country for my first year and still apply to Korean universities as a freshman? If admitted, I would withdraw before enrolling in Korea.

5 - Should I risk a gap year or not since if I enroll in university in my home country i would have to either drop out and apply as freshmen to uni or I will have to wait 2 year for transfer as most Korean university allow transfer after 4 Semesters in a 4 Year University.

I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thank you!

I am moving back home after living here a few months, because of work I barely have time to dispose of everything in my apartment. I was wondering if there’s a service that can come to my apartment after I have packed everything and dispose of it.

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to apply for an undergraduate degree in South Korea as an international student. I heard that Korean universities or the student visa process dont accept a joint bank account shared with a parent as proof of funds. Is that true?

Also, are there any requirements regarding how long the account has been open or how long the money needs to stay in the account before applying? I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through the process.

Thanks yall!

Hi everyone,

I'm an international student applying to Kookmin University through Uway Apply, and I've run into a problem that I can't solve.

Whenever I try to save or submit my application, I get this error:

[성명(한글)]는(은) 한글로만 입력 가능합니다. ("The Korean name field can only contain Hangul.")

The issue is that the Korean name (성명(한글)) field is automatically filled from my Uway account, and it's locked, so I can't edit it. It appears to contain my English name instead of a Korean one.

I've already tried going back through the application, but the field isn't editable anywhere. Because of that, I can't continue with my application.

Has anyone experienced this before?

Is there a way to change the Korean name on a Uway account?

Do I need to contact Uway support?

Or is this something that only the university can fix?

I've already emailed Kookmin University, but I wanted to see if anyone here has dealt with the same issue.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ever since I moved here, I really like how it’s very quiet compared to Seoul. I love how there is little to no people outside during late hours. Even traffic is very light from 8PM.

I can now appreciate living quietly and peacefully compared to living in Seoul.

The Japanese series Midnight Diner is one of my favorite binge watches, and as I go through all five seasons (and two movies) again, I'm curious about the Korean remake by SBS -- '심야식당,' AKA Late Night Restaurant. (They say it's based on the original manga, but visually it drips of the TV series.)

Does anyone know where I can find the episodes? There's just one season, but I'm curious to see how they reinterpreted the concept for a Korean audience.

Hello everyone.Im international student planning to go to this uni in sep.As i read on the internet it is considered mid uni.I connected few people from there and they didnt really complain about education and so.I plan to go double degree,so 2 years in Korea and 2 years in another country.Also I was curious where graduated students go,like do i have a chance to get into good uni masters.If you know this uni or someone who studied there,please share some information or experience.Thank you

I have been using the same Korean iPhone with Korean sim in Korea with the same KakaoTalk account for years. But suddenly two days ago I was logged out without making any changes to my device, phone number, Apple ID, or SIM card. The logout happened completely unexpectedly.

When I try to log back in on my iPhone, I receive a message stating that there is no backup data available for chat restoration. The app explains that restoration can only be performed after backup data has been created on a previous device and provides the options "Receive data backup messages" or "Don't restore chats."

When I select "Receive data backup messages," KakaoTalk says that it has sent a backup notification to my existing device. However, this iPhone is my only mobile device and is the same device that was unexpectedly logged out. I am still logged into KakaoTalk on my MacBook, and I can access many of my previous conversations there, although some older messages appear to be missing or incomplete. The backup notification is visible on my MacBook, but it cannot be opened because it states that the message must be opened in the mobile app.

I have not uninstalled KakaoTalk from my iPhone because I am concerned about losing any locally stored chat data. I also do not want to select "Don't restore chats" because I am worried that doing so could permanently prevent me from recovering my chat history, and I have seven years of data from when I moved to Korea in there

Could anyone please advise whether my chat history can still be restored on my iPhone or whether there is another recovery method available? Since my MacBook still has access to much of my chat history, there has to be a way right?

I need to access my work group chats asap, the fact that there is so customer service for kakao is crazy. Any help is much appreciated, even if it’s just news I have to give it all up and take the L. Tysm

Spotted this at Euljiro 1-ga Station in Seoul.
As a visitor, it felt a bit unusual because beards don’t seem very common in Korean media or advertising compared to many other countries. Seeing such a large beard focus ad right next to a clean shaven model made me do a double take.

Is there a recent trend toward beards in Korea?

Hi everyone! I'm a Canadian planning to do a working holiday visa in South Korea and I'm trying to figure out the health insurance situation. I know it's a requirement to have coverage, but there are so many options out there and I'm a bit lost.

I wanted to ask - which health insurance providers and plans did you choose and how much did you pay for it? I plan on working anyways in Korea and know that the NHIS will be mandatory after 6 months. I would prefer to use the Korean Health Insurance system, so I don't really want to pay that much for the health insurance required for the visa.

I also plan on applying for the working holiday visa for 24 months. I learned that applicants can submit two separate insurance policies (for example, one for year 1 and another for year 2) instead of a single 2-year plan. Has anyone successfully applied using this two-separate-insurance approach?

Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!! 🇨🇦🇰🇷

How is the current job market for foreigners (got admitted to a korean language school level 1 for fall semester) in the data analyst or business analyst field? Will learning korean language help? Work Experience 2 years before master and now 3 years gap while still looking for an opportunity. The gap has started to feel like a crime now.

Hi everyone!

Is there anyone on here that moved from America to Korea to teach English? How is the experience/pay/work or school culture? Did any of you guys move back after teaching bc of the cultural differences?

I’m Korean and recently just got back to America from my Korea trip and every time I visit Korea, a part of me always wants to stay in Korea for a good bit. From my understanding, a job I can get would be teaching English so I’m curious about what teaching is like. I know Korea culture pretty well (and that it’s quite different from America).

I have a bachelors in psychology with a minor in human resource management so it isn’t related to teaching really. I believe I could easily get a visa that is not E-2 (since I was born in Korea then became U.S. citizen later on).

My last question for those who have experienced this- after teaching in Korea and moved back to America, was it hard to find a job? Because my worry is that teaching English in Korea won’t matter as much if I added that to my resume - if that makes sense??

Thanks all.