I GO! Edition 24: Mad for Hallyu - Is Korea the World’s Hottest Place Right Now?

This week: Busan → Seoul

안녕하세요 — Annyeonghaseyo! If the world has a cultural heartbeat right now, it’s pulsing in Korea. K‑Pop, K‑Beauty, K‑drama, Squid Game, Parasite, BLACKPINK, kimchi… K‑culture is exploding, and the Republic of Korea is having a global moment.

Why the world is going K-razy for Korea

Wrote this from the heart of Seoul, which I loved more and more with each passing day. The capital of ROK is packed with traditional and hip eateries, cafés, and concept stores; jaw‑dropping UNESCO World Heritage Sights (forgive the pun); green spaces, lush mountains in the distance and a tranquil stream with clear waters, fat carp, majestic cranes, and poetic willows.

And the people? Warm, witty, welcoming. Koreans seem to carry a spark in their eyes - quick to smile, quick to joke, keen to enjoy life. Grateful for their freedom and abundance (though inequality is on the rise), they are acutely aware their brothers and sisters to the North did not get that luck.

And the food, peeps! Fresh and tasty street treats everywhere - seafood, rice cakes, beef bulgogi, octopus tartare (pass), buckwheat noodles, spicy clam soups, pickles, BBQ…

Hallyu, the Korean Wave

We arrived in South Korea the old‑fashioned way - by sea. The ferry from Fukuoka slid into Busan’s port under a misty sky, the city unfolding across the bay like a promise. And it delivered.

Haeundae Beach greeted us with rolling waves and a beautiful walkway stretching for miles along the corniche, all the way up to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, a colourful temple perched above the ocean.

At night, the skyline shimmered with skyscraper lights, street-stall seafood fresher than the salty air (yes, eels still wriggling as they're being cooked - another pass), and the avenues pulsed with music, chatter, laughter, and the scent of grilling meat and sweet treats well past midnight.

Seoul My Soul

From Busan we took the train north to Seoul, a city where history and hypermodernity mix together with effortless rhythm. We wandered along the Cheonggyecheon stream, its waters threading quietly and poetically through the city, just below traffic and neon signs.

In the traditional markets, the air was thick with aromas, the shouts of vendors, and the hiss of oil - tteokbokki, hotteok, mandu, washed down with beer or soju. We brushed past stalls overflowing with mochi, kimchi, rice cakes, fabrics, electrical supplies, furniture, lamps…

Yes, we visited the DMZ and gazed toward North Korea in the distance. It’s impossible not to feel the heavy sorrow there - an invisible line, not even a true border, slicing through families, memories, dreams. Standing on the South’s side, what struck me most was the vitality of a nation that, despite its history of hardship and loss, has decided to become a global success.

Korea is a soft-power superstar - ranking in the global top 10 for cultural influence, with K-pop and K-dramas captivating audiences worldwide.

And what about K-Beauty and K-Style? The streets are lined with cosmetics shops selling snail mucin and hyaluronic acid creams like sweets. From 10-step skincare to Seoul Fashion Week, Korean aesthetics are setting the standard for Kool.

From Ruins to a Global Powerhouse

Just a few generations ago, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world, scarred by war and reliant on foreign aid. Today, it stands as Asia’s 4th-largest economy and the 13th-largest globally - a transformation often referred to as ‘The Miracle on the Han River.’

From the 1960s onward, government-led industrialisation, investments in education and technology, and brands like Samsung, Hyundai, and LG turned a struggling agrarian nation into a manufacturing and innovation titan. Annual GDP growth averaged over 8% for decades, lifting millions out of poverty and building gleaming cities like Seoul and Busan. Now, South Korea is not only an export powerhouse for semiconductors, cars, and ships - it’s a global cultural trendsetter, marrying economic muscle with the soft-power of Hallyu.

Economic growth is sluggish today, the country has witnessedpolitical instability lately, there is a homelessness and loneliness crisis. A hard return to reality? Nevertheless, I called this newsletter I GO! after the Korean DJ Peggy Gou’s track that makes me want to move, explore, and be where life is happening. And right now, life is happening here - in the beats, the street-food steam, neon lights, hip art galleries, and laughter.

Leaving Seoul with a pang in my heart. 한국, 사랑해요 — Korea, we loved you! 💙❤️🖤🤍