The haenyeo are female Korean divers, who for centuries have been going underwater without breathing apparatus, in search seafood and seaweed. They stay under for a period of up to 2 1/2 minutes. It’s a tough job and a tough life. There are few books written in English about the haenyeo, and one of them […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Korea' Category
WoWasis book review: ‘The Two Koreas: a Contemporary History,’ by Don Oberdorfer
Veteran journalist and Korea-watcher Don Oberdorfer’s revised edition of his classic The Two Koreas: a Contemporary History (2002, ISBN 0-465-05162-6) remains an essential text on 20th century Korean history. Revised shortly after Kim Jong Il took power, the book traces the histories of North and South Korea, focusing on the Korean War and post-war years. […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘The Korean War: a History,’ by Bruce Cumings
There are an awful lot of books on the history of the Korean War. So many, in fact, that it’s confusing determining which one to pick. The best we here at WoWasis have read, as well the shortest (at 243 pages of text), is Bruce Cumings’ The Korean War: a History (2010, ISBN 978-0-679-64357-9). The […]
Read the rest of this entry »The Korea Furniture Museum: a world-class museum in Seoul that for westerners, is nearly impossible to visit (but worth the try)
The Korea Furniture Museum is world-class, but not that easy to visit
Read the rest of this entry »Korean Hahoe Masks and Theatrical Performances
Hahoe masks and performances offer a rich cultural experience to travelers visiting South Korea
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Boye de Mente’s ‘Etiquette Guide to Korea’ and ‘Korean Business Etiquette’
Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been writing books on Asian themes for decades. And not just books on Asian etiquette, either. He’s written on Asian women, Hawaiian culture, and Japanese Geisha. He certainly qualifies as an old Asia Hand. So it shouldn’t have surprised us here at WoWasis that Korea’s been on the Korea beat, as […]
Read the rest of this entry »Visit Korea’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) for a Cold War historical experience that remains alive today
The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) separating South Korea from North Korea remains open to visitors on security-enabled tours, despite continued action in the area
Read the rest of this entry »Seoul’s Royal Donggureung Tombs are a historical treasure and a break from the noise of the city
The Royal tombs of Donggureung are a great respite from the noise of Seoul
Read the rest of this entry »Jeju island’s spectacular ‘Spririted Garden’ of bonsai (bunjae) trees
Sung Bum-young’s bonsai garden is a “can’t miss” experience on Korea’s Jeju island
Read the rest of this entry »Visit South Korea’s information kiosks and they’ll help with just about everything
The modern, industrialized nation of South Korea is a wonderful place to visit for the westerner, with loads of historical places, museums, and geographical treasures. One challenge for the traveler is that many Koreans don’t speak English. This can present problems for westerners ranging from trying to find a particular business, to renting hotels and […]
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