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As the Coronavirus progresses in South Korea, this article lists vocabulary and resources in English and Korean to stay on top of the infection if you are currently in South Korea. This page will get updated as more information is available.

What To Do

According to the CDC of Korea, for the general population (translated by KoniKorean):

1. Wash your hands meticulously with soap under running water.
2. When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with your sleeve.
3. Do not touch your eyes, mouth, and nose with unwashed hands.
4. Wear a mask when visiting a medical institution
5. Refrain from visiting places with many people

More instructions forthcoming.

The call center number is 1339 if you have any fever or respiratory symptoms such as cough or sore throat and after staying in self-quarantine at home for 3 to 4 days or if symptoms are severe (such as temperature above 38 degrees).

Coronavirus-related Korean Vocabulary

More vocabulary and resources about Coronavirus here

Want to gift your friends or close ones some Korean-inspired gifts this Christmas? KoniKorean has compiled a list of South Korea-inspired gift ideas for Christmas 2019 based on current trends in Korea and popular Korean items overseas.

For Technology Enthusiasts: Image and Sound

With many domestic technology brands like Samsung and LG, South Korea is home to many innovative products. The items below have been especially popular in the country over the past year.

Korean Pico Projectors: LG PH550 CineBeam LED Projector

This LG projector and similar projectors have been very popular for the past few years in South Korea. This LG projector is tiny and can fit easily in a backpack, comes with a travel cover, can connect to a smartphone wirelessly, and has a 2.5-hour battery to watch movies while traveling or quickly show PowerPoint presentations during business meetings. The main drawback with projectors this size is that they do not have very powerful lamps and can therefore only be used in very dark rooms or very close to the wall (thus reducing the image size).

Buy the LG PH550 CineBeam LED Projector ($350-$400) on Amazon

Kakao Friends AirPods Case Cover

Join useful with cute by offering an AirPods protective case cover with a Kakao character! These covers, available with different characters, are made of silicone and will protect your AirPods case with style. $15-$20 on Amazon.
Kakao Friends is one of the most recognized consumer brands in South Korea, and has a lot of merchandise ranging from notebooks to travel accessories. The company has started to sell some of their merchandise on Amazon for international customers (link to their official Amazon page).

Buy the Apeach Airpods case cover ($15-$20) on Amazon

Going to 노래방 (Norebang, Korean karaoke) is a daunting experience for many. From the complex remote to the big songbook, finding the right song to play can be challenging. "Popular Songs for 노래방" is a series of posts listing the most popular songs of an artist or theme, along with their track number for both TJ and Kumyoung (KY) machines. YouTube Karaoke videos are provided when available so that you can practice before heading to a real 노래방! 

Sing Red Velvet (레드벨벳)'s most popular songs next time you go to 노래방 (norebang, or Korean karaoke)! Red Velvet (레드벨벳) songs in the table below are ordered from most to least recent. Recent songs may be unavailable at your local 노래방 if the machines have not been updated. To determine the column to use for your karaoke session, look at the manufacturer of the karaoke machine either on the machine itself, on the remote, or on the interface. You should see two letters, either TJ or KY; use the corresponding column in the table below to add the song to the queue and start singing! See more detailed instructions on Korean norebang machines.

Song Title (Korean)	Song Title (English)	TJ #	KY #
2019
음파음파	Umpah Umpah	91897	21021
짐살라빔	Zimzalabim	91570	79944
2018
릴리배드보이	RBB (Really Bad Boy)	98909	92598
파워 업	Power Up	98257	92160
배드보이	Bad Boy	97231	90924
2017
피카부	Peek-a-Boo	96836	49737
환생	Rebirth	96331	49642
빨간 맛	Red Flavor	49930	90338
우드 유	Would U	48922	90075
루키	Rookie	48564	76273
2016
러시안 룰렛	Russian Roulette	46928	76012
7월7일	One of These Nights	46197	49127
See more Red Velvet songs

러시안 룰렛 - Russian Roulette (2016)

The Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) is one of the most prominent film festivals in the world, with its top award (Palme d'Or) being considered as many as the holy grail of cinema. South Korean cinema has increasingly produced many cinematographic gems that have been competing for the Palme d'Or over the last two decades, with 기생충 (Parasite)  by 봉준호 (Bong Joon-ho) ultimately being the first Korean movie winning the Palme d'Or of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Despite the growing popularity of South Korean movies, it is still challenging to find comprehensive lists about recent Korean movies that have been entered in prestigious film festivals.

One aspect of South Korean culture becomes very apparent after a few days in the country: the drinking culture is pretty developed. Alcohol made in South Korea is cheaply available in most convenient stores, and drinking establishments are open late at night/until early morning. South Koreans use alcohol to socialize and have developed many drinking games to do so. These games are especially popular among college students and in the army.

All the South Korean drinking games below play clockwise or counter-clockwise; just agree with other players before starting.

안녕클레오파트라 – Annyeong Cleopatra (Hello Cleopatra)

This simpler game consists of taking turns repeating the same song with a higher pitch than the previous player. The song is as follows:

KPOP group Wanna One demonstrate the game 안녕클레오파트라 (Hello Cleopatra) in the video below.

삼육구 게임 – Sam-nyuk-gu Game (3-6-9 Game)

In this game, players take turns counting numbers, starting with 1; the catch is every time a player lands on a number that contains a 3, 6, or 9, the player must clap and must not say the number. The number of claps is based on the number of 3, 6, 9; for example, for 29 or 30 the player has to clap only once, but for 33 the player has to clap twice! The first player who messes up loses.

While this game sounds simple, it can get confusing really fast:

• some players clap on multiples of 3 instead of numbers containing 3, 6, 9,
• a lot of players forget that they cannot say anything between 29 and 39 (all these numbers contain a 3 or a 9!)
• similarly, some players lose track of the current count between 29 and 39 and thus clap instead of saying 40.

A simple song is sung before the game:

Watch the video for an example of 삼육구게임 (3-6-9 Game) explained by KPOP girl group APRIL.

Going to 노래방 (Norebang, Korean karaoke) is a daunting experience for many. From the complex remote to the big songbook, finding the right song to play can be challenging. "Popular Songs for 노래방" is a series of posts listing the most popular songs of an artist or theme, along with their track number for both TJ and Kumyoung (KY) machines. YouTube Karaoke videos are provided when available so that you can practice before heading to a real 노래방! 

BLACKPINK (블랙핑크) songs in the table below are ordered from most to least recent. Recent songs may be unavailable at your local 노래방 if the machines have not been updated. To determine the column to use for your karaoke session, look at the manufacturer of the karaoke machine either on the machine itself, on the remote, or on the interface. You should see two letters, either TJ or KY; use the corresponding column in the table below to add the song to the queue and start singing! See more detailed instructions on Korean norebang machines.

Going to 노래방 (Norebang, Korean karaoke) is a daunting experience for many. From the complex remote to the big songbook, finding the right song to play can be challenging. "Popular Songs for 노래방" is a series of posts listing the most popular songs of an artist or theme, along with their track number for both TJ and Kumyoung (KY) machines. YouTube Karaoke videos are provided when available so that you can practice before heading to a real 노래방! 

Seventeen (세븐틴) songs in the table below are ordered from most to least recent. The most recent songs may be unavailable at your local 노래방 if the machines have not been updated. To determine the column to use for your karaoke session, look at the manufacturer of the karaoke machine either on the machine itself, on the remote, or on the interface. You should see two letters, either TJ or KY; use the corresponding column in the table below to add the song to the queue and start singing! See more detailed instructions on Korean norebang machines.

광장시장 (Gwangjang market) is a prime location in Seoul for eating various Korean foods. Do not expect to find strict hygiene standards or to seat on a nice chair; you will, however, be surprised by the food offerings in the market. From 육회 (shredded raw beef) to 빈대떡 (mungbean pancake), 광장시장 does not disappoint. This post lists the most popular foods to eat in 광장시장 Gwangjang market, as well as some tips to have the best experience while navigating the numerous stalls and restaurants.

Learn about the emblematic foods of 광장시장.

Accessing 광장시장 Gwangjang Market

By bus

Many buses stop in the vicinity of the market; you can use the following address: 서울특별시 종로구 종로32길 2, or this Naver Map link to find the best bus itinerary from your location. Learn about the different types of buses in Seoul before heading to 광장시장.

By subway: 종로5가역 (Jongno 5-ga Station) (line 1) exits 7 or 9

While several websites including Wikipedia list 을지로4가역 (lines 2 and 5) as a station close to 광장시장,  을지로4가역 is very far from the food part of the market. Prefer exiting at 종로5가역 (line 1) exits 7 or 9 (exit 9 does not show up on Google Maps as it corresponds to an exit within the underground mall; signs in the station will guide you there). Learn about Korean subways.

By taxi

Tell your taxi driver to drop you off at 종로5가 사거리 (Jongno 5-ga intersection) or give the following address: 서울특별시 종로구 종로32길 2 (front of one of the entrances to the food part of the market). It is usually easy to get a taxi around the market.

Tips

• Ahjummas and grandmas will do whatever it takes to get more customers. Do not interact with them unless you want to eat at their stalls.
• The number of people waiting or eating at a food stall or a restaurant is nowhere indicative of food quality. Some places with huge lines are passable, some okay food stalls may have a couple of people there because the owner is a savvy rhetorician, and some great food stalls may be empty because you came at the touristy hours (midday) instead of when the regulars show up (mornings, evenings).
• For the reason outlined in the previous bullet point, prefer going in the morning (around 11 am) or later in the evening (after 8 pm).

Some of the best Korean foods are also the oldest. People who love traditional foods that usually have a strong flavor or repulsing appearance are said to have an 아저씨/아재 입맛, or ahjussi taste. Learn about some of these traditional foods in this post.

곱창 Gopchang or Grilled Small Intestines

Small intestines of a cow or a pig. The word 곱창 by itself usually refers to grilled small intestines, also called 곱창구이. It can also be eaten in a hot pot (곱창전골) or as a sausage (cf. 순대). Prefer 양념곱창 (marinated 곱창) over regular 곱창 if you doubt the quality of the restaurant. 곱창 tastes best with soju.

닭발 Chicken feet

Chicken feet served in a spicy sauce. While their appearance is unattractive at best, chicken feet are really good for the skin as full of collagen. Pair with soju.

말고기 Horse Meat

Very popular in Jeju island, horse meat can be eaten raw (말고기회), grilled (말고기구이), in soup (말고기탕), and in many other ways. Best eaten in Jeju.