Tag: seoul

More and more young South Koreans opt to remain single.

Coping with modernity:  Younger generation of South Koreans are at the crossroads. (photo taken in Myeongdong on Feb 3, 2024).
May 2, 2024
By Foong Pek Yee
The streets in Songpadong in Seoul are quiet on a winter evening.
We enter a cafe packed with young people, much to our relief  we spotted an empty table for two.
Chloe , 31,  says the cafe is her favourite,  and that its roof top section commands a panoramic view of the city skyline.
That was in February this year.
It is a matter of  choice : The lifestyle of many young South Koreans today is very different from that of their parents. (photo taken in Songpadong on Feb 8, 2024) 
That evening at the cafe came to my mind recently – prompted by screaming headlines: the number of single – person households in South Korea have exceeded the 10 million mark for the first time in history!
Two million out of the 10 million single-person households are in Seoul, and Chloe is  one of them.
This is because she is single and staying on her own.
Her parents who stay together  come under the two-person household category.
According to official statistics,  the 10.02 million single – person households is  a whopping 41.8% of the 24 million households in South Korea.
The rest include  5.9 million two – person households and 3.1 million four person households.
The country’s population is 51 million.
The Korean Herald on March 17, 2024,  reported that only 50%  of South Korea’s adult population are keen to get married, quoting  findings by the presidential committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy .
For instance, Chloe loves music and travelling while her mother was already married in her mid 20s.
Many young South Koreans today have the means to live life on their own terms, and  marriage and starting a family before one turns 30 is increasingly rare.
With extended family no longer common in South Korea today, many elderly also fall into the single-person household category  when their spouse passed away.
And South Korea is set to be a super ageing society next year (2025 ); meaning those aged above 65 comprise more than 10 million and the figure is over 20% of the country’s 51 million population , reports The Korean Herald on April 23, 2024.
As time goes by: Many traders in traditional markets in Seoul are middle age or elderly people. (photo taken in Namdaemun on Feb 6, 2024)
Keeping a tradition :  Traditional Korean cakes are still a must during festive season like Seollal ( Lunar New Year) and for  ancestral prayers in South Korea.(Photo taken in Namdaemun on Feb 6, 2024)
Economic considerations, increasing life challenges and uncertainties  and choice of lifestyle are among factors that influenced South Koreans’ thinking on marriage and family.

Big demand for no-frills Korean ramyeon.

Ramyeon with banchan or side dishes served in restaurants can be two to three times more expensive than no-frills ramyeon. Sept 11,2022
By Foong Pek Yee
foongpekyee@gmail.com
You can get a bowl of no-frills hot ramyeon or instant noodles for about 3,000 won (RM9.85) in 24 hour- self service- ramyeon shops within three minutes in Seoul.
The no -frills ramyeon which comes without side dishes is an option for  people opting for a cheap and fast meal outside their homes these days.
These specialty ramyeon shops use vending machines and come with a wide range of brands and flavours.
The seating also caters to solo diners.
But patrons may need to pay more for their no-frills ramyeon soon.
Major ramyeon  manufacturers have announced an increase in price from this month, according to reports by The Korean Herald recently.
South Korea’s Nongshim will increase the price of its instant noodles by an average of 11.3% effective Sept 15.
And Paldo’s  average increase of  9.8% will start from Oct 1.
Justifying the price hike,  Nongshim cited soaring global wheat prices while Paldo attributed it to the increase in price of raw materials and logistic costs.
Quoting  industry sources, The Korean Herald says  Ottogi and Samyang will also increase their price after Sept 12.
Soaring inflation in recent months saw many South Koreans opting for  cheap meal options like ramyeon at convenience stores as dining in restaurants became increasingly expensive.

 

South Koreans look foward to Chuseok

A typical traditional market in Seoul which offers one-stop- shopping for anything Korean.
By Foong Pek Yee
SURGING inflation saw the South Korean government releasing its reserves for 20 major food items into the market to ease the people’s hardship beginning next week.
Ahead of the Chuseok Festival  on Sept 10, the move, under a Livelihood Stability Package, also brings some relief to South Koreans who are hit by massive floods in Seoul this week.
According to Arirang News today, topping the list of the 20 items that saw a huge spike in prices this year are cabbage, radish, onion and apples.
On a year-on-year basis, the price of daikon or Korean radish shot up by 43% in July,  followed by cabbage (34%) and onions (25%) –  key ingredients for Korean cooking  and kimchi.
Potatoes and apples also saw a 34% and 17% price increase respectively in the same period .
The release of the government’s food reserves from Aug 18 to Sept 6 is expected to bring the price of the items down to that of last year, says Arirang News.
Seoul is home  to about 10  million South Koreans and, preparations for Chuseok has been dampened by the the floods which have  caused massive damages and untold misery to the affected.
As of Thursday,  news reports said 11 people have died in the floods while another eight still missing.
The rainfall on Monday, the start of the massive downpour for next two days, is reportedly the highest in Seoul in the last 115 years.
Chuseok, celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Lunar Calendar (Sept 10 this year), is the second major festival after Seollah(Korean Lunar New Year)
Celebrated in mid autumn, the  annual Chuseok to thank ancestors for a bountiful harvest, sees South Koreans leaving Seoul in droves for their hometown to celebrate with the elderly.
Apart from releasing the food reserves, the government has also announced USD50mil discount coupons for people to shop at supermarkets and traditional markets.
And this is expected to give shoppers an average of between 20% and 30% savings, reports Arirang News.
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Surging inflation and changing lifestyle

Adapting to the new economic landscape to stay ahead.

By Foong Pek Yee

At 29,  and staying alone in a studio in Seoul,  Park  Na-Ra is into cooking her dinner these days.
The interior designer says the availability of smaller food packages  and lower pricing has made it convenient to cook simple dishes and, cost saving as well.
Park says she will plan her meals and buy the ingredients to avoid food wastage.
Like many young and working South Koreans, Park says she and her colleagues and friends have no choice but to  cut down on eating out because it can be expensive nowadays.
Eating out is a form of socialization and entertainment that is popular among South Koreans.
A simple meal:  But the  high cost of eating out saw many South Koreans opting for cheaper options like packed meals from convenience stores.
Amid surging inflation, retailers are also actively exploring ways to keep their businesses going.
And smaller packaging of food to keep prices low has turned out to be a viable option as people are increasingly more careful with their spending.
In June, the Korean Herald reported  that smaller packaging of meat, vegetables and fruits are well received by  South Koreans.
It reported that sales of vegetables went up by 25.1% and 17.3% in single person households and family households respectively in May.
It has been a norm for single people to eat out often before this.
According to Statistics Korea, there are  6.64 million single person households, comprising 31.7% of the total households  in South Korea in 2020.
Rising cost of living also saw many office workers going for packed meals in  convenience stores which is cheaper than eating in restaurants.
Hansot Dosirak  (a South Korean boxed lunch takeout chain ) reported its sales has gone up by 23% during lunch hours near Seoul’s office clusters in June against the same month last year.
The takeout chain also reported a 15% increase in sales across its locations nationwide, according to theinvestor in a report on  July 27.
The menu starts at 3,200 won (RM11).

A cafe for the kids

By Foong Pek Yee
13 Dec, 2021
THE  kids were visibly excited as they made their way to the bookshelves one  Autumn afternoon.
Todak Cafe – a book cafe- in Namwon, a small town in Jirisan,  is no ordinary cafe.
The brainchild of a few people who fell in love with Jirisan, it is a favourite haunt for people of all age groups in the otherwise quiet small town.
The young love  to read their favourite books and enjoy the food there.
It is also a waiting place for their parents to fetch them.
The cafe is also a  venue for meetings, activities and, a collection and drop off point for courier services.
The founders including Kim Hyun-Suk are from Seoul but have lived in Namwon for some time.
And they brought along ideas to help the people evolve  with changing times.
Visionary: Hyun – Suk  on her plans for Namwon
 Hyun-Suk says Jirisan, with the most beautiful mountains in South Korea,  is the perfect place to be with nature
“San means mountains in Korean,” says Hyun-Suk when we met at the cafe in the Autumn of 2018.
Calming : Jirisan offers a slow-paced lifestyle amidst nature.
Fluent in English, she and her two kids  left Seoul for the countryside many years ago.
She and her husband Cho Yang- Ho had wanted them to grow up among nature and have social contact with the community daily – something that can be rare in big cities.
 Hyun-Suk and their children stay in Namwon while Yang-Ho who stays put  in Seoul visits them on weekends.
Fast track to 2018, their  20-year -old-daughter and 17-year-old son were already in college and high school in Seoul.
But Hyun-Suk continues to stay in Namwon and run the cafe while Yang-Ho travels to be with her for the weekends.
Farming remains the major economic activity in Jirisan though businesses like   homestay and tourism are  thriving -thanks to the social media.
 Fresh produce: Harvest time in Autumn.
Hyun-Suk says many city folk who relocated to Jirisan soon found out that not everyone is cut out for agriculture work.
After giving farming a try, they ventured into other jobs.
Meanwhile many youngsters  from the countryside still flock to  Seoul for its  business and job opportunities.
Ha Jin- Yong who has been tasked by a non governmental organisation (NGO) to research on life among the younger generation in rural areas says the young still want to go to Seoul.
Serene: Mountains, stream and greenery a trademark of Jirisan.
At 25 (in 2018), Jin Yong who hails from Seoul says he fell in love with the rustic lifestyle after staying and working in Namwon for four years.
“City living can be lonely beneath all the hustle and bustle,” says Jin Yong