What are your favorite things about Korea and Korean culture?

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Online voting for Seoul Journal’s Top 10 Rankings will be held from April 15th, 2017 through 11:59 pm Korean Time (GMT+9) on December 31st, 2017. Voting is limited to one vote per day per category. The total number of votes submitted during the Voting Period will be tabulated and winners will be chosen in accordance with the rules and regulations. If, for any reason, the online voting is interrupted, is found to have been tampered with in any way, or for any other reason that Seoul Journal believes in its sole discretion to be reasonably necessary, Seoul Journal reserves the right to select the winners at its discretion and may take into consideration the number of votes received up until the time of the interruption or cancellation of the Online Voting.

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What are the best Korean movies and TV shows?
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What is the best music coming from South Korea?
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Hera Seoul Fashion Week [SFW] 2015 was held in October 2015. What better place to hold SFW than Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) where thousands of millennials from all over Asia anticipated catching a glimpse of their favorite K-Pop stars in the latest Hallyu (Korean Wave) fashion?

KCON is the annual K-pop (Korean pop) convention held by CJ E&M, Koreaboo, Mnet Media and Powerhouse Live. This year the event was presented by Toyota and spanned three days at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with about 58,000 attendees. KCON allows fans to gather and share their love of everything Hallyu (the Korean cultural Wave) through discussions such as “Shower Scenes to Wrist Grabs: The Best and Worst K-Drama Tropes” and K-pop dance lessons.

From Heroes to MMA Fighting

Voted by TV Guide as one of “Hollywood’s 25 Hottest”, James Kyson is a South Korean born American actor with a promising career ahead of him. He is most famously known for his role as “Ando” in the Heroes cast that was named in Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2006 issue under "People Who Mattered.” Kyson began his acting career on CBS’s JAG and has appeared on television shows such as CSI, The West Wing, Daybreak, Hawaii Five-O, and the upcoming School of Rock. In addition to television shows, Kyson has appeared in such feature films as The Livingston Gardener and Shutter. Raised in New York City, he studied communications and broadcasting at Boston University and the New England Institute of the Arts. His entrance into the world of entertainment began with a hip-hop rap group in college followed by trying a stint in improv comedy, all before moving to Los Angeles where he began training in music, dance and acting. He actively promotes health and fitness and supports various charity organizations including UNICEF, USO, and the Global Green eco campaign. Seoul Journal sat down with James Kyson in L.A. to talk about his career, his Korean roots, his experience with Japan and his upcoming projects.

Iron House

Taipei’s three-piece indie-rock band Iron House explores a diversity of beats and sounds while preserving a sense of radiant darkness in their down-tempo musical style. With Cheng Han on drums, Kao-Man on vocals and Harry on guitar, the trio take their listeners on a journey of eclectic dream-like sounds and hauntingly beautiful vocals. Iron House formed in April 2014, and has played around 41 shows in Taiwan and Japan. Their latest EP was released in July this year, and the band is now looking to tour China and Japan as well as festivals outside of Asia next year. It captures Iron House’s rock and electro influences, which are channelled into a deeper tunnel of ambient sounds by the dreamy vocals of Kao-Man. Their dark, hazy music is of a similar nature to bands such as Mazzy Star, Daughter, Warpaint and The xx. Seoul Journal intern Paula Dunne talked to Iron House to find out about the band’s history, their music and their plans for the future.

MAMAMOO’s fantastic performance exceeded 170 million likes on Facebook

On July 10, MAMAMOO appeared on KBS 2TV ‘You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook"...

The basic game plan for any night out among Koreans is to last five rounds which cover five different locations. These rounds often include multiple alcoholic beverages and food across a spectrum of delicacies. It may sound like a basic bar hop from the college days of yore, but for many, they’re no longer in college and still, the need to “hop” from place to place persists. For anyone new to Korea, if you don’t know what the expectations are, you could go hard and fast and end up home in bed before the night has even began according to Korean standards. The rounds can be flexible in order, but do not doubt that there will be multiple rounds with lots of food and drink. Here are the basics before you head out for the first time or for the next time.

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