Ahn Jung-geun's calligraphy work "International Law is No Match for Cannons" is unveiled to the media on Aug. 13 at Jungmyeong Hall in Deoksu Palace, central Seoul.NEWS1
Happy Liberation Day, readers. I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend.
In this weekend’s longer reads, we'll examine the frustrations of many young Koreans with the country's tighter mortage rules and slumping stock market, learn why more and more older Koreans are getting divorced and visit some of the coolest (literally) valleys in the greater Seoul area.
We'll also hear from actor Kim Hye-soo about her inspirations for her role in "The Affair Was Just the Beginning" and see why tourists can't get enough of fresh sesame oil in Korea's markets.
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Kicking away the ladder: Housing curbs, stock slump derail young Koreans' wealth plans
Hwang, a 34-year-old office worker, spent years following the path many young Korean couples used to take to build wealth: buy a starter home, invest in stocks and gradually build enough wealth to move up the property ladder.
Recently, however, Hwang, the mother of a newborn baby, watched both pillars of that plan crumble.
Why more older Koreans are ending marriages they once felt compelled to endure
More married couples in their 60s and older in Korea are achieving something they waited decades for — a divorce.
A couple in Seoul ended their marriage earlier this year after being together for nearly 60 years.
“My client in her 80s told me that she had experienced her husband's delusional jealousy since she was young, but she put up with it because of their children,” Kwak Yoon-seo, a divorce attorney from law firm JR LLC, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.
Forget the beach: These valley streams in Korea are colder than your fridge
Though the worst of the summer heat has passed, stepping outside can still feel like walking into a sauna.
To escape the sweltering heat, many are heading to mountain valleys, summer retreats Koreans seem to love just as much as beaches.
With this year's unprecedented heat wave, which hovered over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions, the oases have seen even bigger crowds.
With ‘The Affair Was Just the Beginning,’ Kim Hye-soo channels Kim Kardashian
For Kim Hye-soo’s flashy social media influencer character in Coupang Play’s “The Affair Was Just the Beginning,” one reference point was hard to miss: Kim Kardashian and her camera-conscious clan.
“Kyung-hee is someone who doesn’t simply blend in,” Kim said in a roundtable interview with reporters on Thursday. “Think of someone like Kim Kardashian. The Kardashian family — they’re all different, of course, but they all have that kind of image — very trendy and chic, but also bold and attention-grabbing.”
Aroma, health benefits have tourists going nuts for fresh sesame oil at Korean markets
Central Seoul's Jungbu Market has long been known for its dried seafood. But these days, one of the market's busiest alleys smells less of anchovies and pollock than of freshly roasted sesame.
The nutty aroma leads tourists to family-run oil mills that line “Sesame Oil Alley,” as the area is locally known, where freshly bottled sesame and perilla oils fly off the shelves almost as soon as they're made, having become one of Korea's newest culinary souvenirs.
