Korean. American. Podcast Daniel and Jun

This week Jun and Daniel discuss the housing payment system of jeonse (전세), or key money deposit, that is unique to South Korea amongst all OECD countries. Roughly 50% of renters in Korea are living with a jeonse, and in 2022 the average jeonse price in Seoul was $500,000. For the first few months after moving to Korea, Daniel had to ask almost every Korean person he met about the jeonse system, because of how foreign and unsustainable it seemed. What is a jeonse, and how does it work? What a...

This week Jun and Daniel have another guest interview with their friend and former co-worker, Alex, who is a frequent visitor to Korea. This time, Alex is visiting Korea to celebrate his daughter’s first birthday. What is something that the cities of Ilsan and Bundang share? What was the first food Alex and his wife sought out upon landing? What are some ways that Koreans are innovative, food-wise? What are some things Alex thought was Korean growing up, but is actually Japanese? What does Al...

This week Jun and Daniel discuss the topic of milestones and celebrations. As Daniel recently passed a significant birthday, our hosts take this opportunity to compare what are the big life events in Korea and America, as well as what is typically done to celebrate. What does your average children’s birthday party look like in Korea, and what is one surprising difference from America? Are birthday parties themselves as big of a deal in Korea as they are in America? What surprised Daniel about...

This week Jun and Daniel discuss a couple major trending news headlines in Korea. First, Min Hee-Jin (CEO of ADOR, HYBE’s sub-label for the K-pop girl group NewJeans) held a press conference to address her dispute with HYBE (Korean entertainment company behind BTS and other K-pop groups) which went viral for its authenticity and candor about the industry. Despite neither of our hosts being big K-pop fans, they do their best to break down the story for the audience. Why exactly did the press c...

This week Jun-nim and Daniel-nim have a conversation around various topics related to titles in Korea and the hierarchy they create. Our hosts discuss what language Koreans use to refer to each other within family, workplace, and general societal relationships, and the expectations that follow. What is something challenging for Jun when translating the English subtitles into Korean? How are the Korean words for uncle, cousin, and other family members related? How can Koreans communicate witho...

This week Jun and Daniel interview their former coworkers who have been living in Korea but are moving back to America. This episode is the first in our “iyagi” (“story” or “conversation” in Korean) series, in which we interview guests about their time living in Korea. Today, our conversations cover such questions as: What brought them to Korea in the first place? What are the first foods that they crave after landing in Korea and America? How do our guests define ‘home’, and where does it fe...