Korea Primer

How we write

Last updated October 28, 2026

Sources

We provide source links for key factual claims, including dates, laws, statistics, and historical information. We prefer official and primary sources: government agencies, museums, and research institutions. For history and culture we also note when sources disagree or when a point is a matter of interpretation. Each guide lists its main sources and the date we checked them.

Korea is not one thing

Customs differ by generation, region, and family. We try to say who a practice applies to and when it doesn't, and we keep these apart:

  • what is common in South Korea today and what you will see at Korean businesses and homes in the US
  • older customs and current ones
  • what TV dramas show and what happens in real life
  • what the law requires and what is simply polite

First-hand reporting

Some guides include our editor's own observations, for example from Korean grocery stores and restaurants in metro Atlanta. Those guides say so. We never invent a visit, a tasting, a conversation, or a review.

How we use AI

We use AI tools to help research topics, organize material, and draft text. Every guide is reviewed by our Korean-born editor before it is published, and facts are checked against the sources we list. AI tools do not have first-hand experience, so anything presented as experience comes from the editor.

Photos and images

Photos are taken by our editor unless a credit says otherwise. Other images are used only under a license that allows it, such as public-domain works, Creative Commons licenses, or Korea's open government license (KOGL Type 1). Each one is credited with its author, license, and a link to the original, and we note when we have resized or edited it. We do not present AI-generated images as real photos or as historical evidence.

Korean words in English letters

We spell Korean words with the Revised Romanization of Korean, South Korea's official system, except where another spelling is far more familiar in English, such as Seoul, kimchi, or a brand's own name.

Corrections

We correct confirmed errors and note substantive corrections with an updated date. You can report an error on our contact page.

Money and independence

Korea Primer may show ads or use affiliate links in the future. When it does, we will label them and say so on our disclosure page. Commissions do not decide what we recommend.