Tourist Season: How is Insa-dong?
Insa-dong may be marketed as the heart of traditional Seoul, but the neighborhood’s history is far more complicated than the souvenir shops and tea ho...
Tourist Season: Nami Island & Tourist Trap River
Nami Island is one of Korea’s most promoted tourist destinations, but how did it get that way? We dig into its strange history, Winter Sonata, the sel...
Tourist Season: The Dark Side of Korean Tourist Sites
As part of our Tourist Season summer replay series, we're revisiting one of our favorite travel episodes from the archive. Behind Korea's most famous ...
Tourist Season: Tourists from Hell
Every tour guide has stories. Joe and Shawn's are just funnier and pettier than most.
The Ulsan Family Tragedy
A father and his four young children were found dead in their Ulsan home after months of financial hardship, leaving behind heartbreaking questions ab...
The Weird Science Behind Korean Food Nationalism
A 2023 academic paper claims Korean food developed in isolation, authentic Korean food isn't spicy, and even that royal court cuisine isn't truly Kore...
The Korean Ghost and Mr. Skeptic
After the release of his book Supernatural Encounters in South Korea, one of the comments Shawn received surprised him. Several readers expected a boo...
Paper Problems: South Korea's Election Fiasco Explained
Send us Fan Mail South Korea just held its 9th nationwide local elections on June 3, 2026, and what should have been a routine referendum on President...
Burned Twice
Send us Fan Mail A car exploded in Shawn’s neighborhood, setting off a chain reaction that destroyed multiple vehicles and exposed a brutal insurance ...
The Dark Side of Finger Hearts - Fun Sized
Send us Fan Mail AI scams are getting weirder. In this Fun Sized episode, Joe and Shawn discuss the rise of biometric crime in Korea and how AI tools ...