Hi, I’m Jay. I work a regular 9-to-6 in Seoul, and I run this blog in whatever time is left after that.
Why I started this
Honestly, it started out of frustration.
A few years back, a colleague asked me to recommend some places to eat near Gyeongbokgung. Simple enough question. But when I tried to find something useful in English to send her, everything I found was either a recycled top-10 list or a blogger who had visited Korea for exactly seven days and was now an “expert.” I ended up just texting her my own recommendations from memory.
That kept happening. Friends abroad asking about Korea. Me digging through search results and finding nothing that felt real. So I figured β I live here. I take the subway every morning. I grab an americano from the same pojangmacha cart near my office. I know which exits to use and which lines are always packed at 6 PM. Maybe I should just write this stuff down.
That’s Korea-Hub. Nothing more complicated than that.
Who I am (the short version)
Korean. Seoul-based. Not a professional travel writer β I’m not even sure what that means. I go out on weekends when I can drag myself off the couch, which, honestly, isn’t always. But when I do go somewhere, I pay attention. And I write about it.
My English is okay. I learned most of it on my own, so I’m sure some of my phrasing sounds a little stiff or slightly off. I try to keep it readable. If something’s unclear, the contact page is right there.
I don’t have a travel budget. I’m not sponsored by the Korea Tourism Organization. I’m not staying in hotels that gave me a free room in exchange for a glowing review. The places I write about are places I actually went to, paid for myself, and formed an opinion on β which sometimes means telling you it wasn’t worth it.
What this site is (and isn’t)
Korea-Hub is about practical, experience-based information for people who want to understand Korea β not just check a landmark off a list. Things like: how the subway actually works day-to-day, what to do if you can’t read Korean menus (which is most menus outside of Myeongdong), which neighborhoods are worth your limited time and which ones are kind of a big deal here but confuse visitors completely.
I’m not trying to cover everything. I write about what I know, what I’ve seen, what I’ve eaten. I update things when I realize they’re outdated. I try to be upfront about the limits of my knowledge β I’m not sure how to explain this in English, but there’s a version of Korea that even Koreans don’t fully understand because it depends on where you grew up, what neighborhood you’re in, what generation you belong to. I only know my slice of it.
If that slice happens to be useful to you, good. If you want the full glossy tourist-brochure version, this probably isn’t the right site. But if you know, you know β there’s a difference between reading about Korea and actually being here, and I’m trying to write from the second place.
A few more things
- This site may include affiliate links and ads. They don’t change what I write. If something isn’t worth your money, I’ll say it isn’t worth your money.
- For full transparency, check the Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.
- You can reach me at korea82hub@gmail.com. I read everything, even if I reply slowly.
Anyway. Thanks for being here. I hope something on this site actually helps you.
β Jay
π Seoul, South Korea