Cafe Seoul: Expat Life in Korea

Eugene Hwang & Rob Ouwehand
  • 3.8 (9)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL

From 2013 to 2017, Café Seoul was a Korea-based expat-lifestyle podcast. Co-hosted by a duo of expats from North America, each episode dealt with a particular hot-button theme or issue. Café Seoul at that time discussed recent news, answered listener questions, and interviewed interesting people all for the sake of intelligent discussion with a dash of humor.

  1. 06/28/2021

    Café Seoul Signoff

    Rob and Eugene started season 6 of Café Seoul discussing time travel films, but decided to rebrand as the Time Travel Forensics podcast. So Café Seoul needed a proper sendoff.

    4 min

  2. 04/12/2019

    Cafe Seoul 2019 04 12 514 The end? (Or is it?)

    Review of Game of Thrones -  Most satisfying deaths, predictions, retrospective of the series so far, etc etc. It wouldn't be Café Seoul without nerding it up. The Best Goodbyes - Rob finds goodbyes from books, movies, songs and other forms of pop culture. Eugene has to guess where they come from. On the Pulse: Exit Interview - Rob and Eugene reflect on the past 10 years in Korea. Rob asks Eugene to make top three lists on various expat in Korea related topics while introducing some of his own. Rob also reads a sad sappy (heartfelt) letter to inflate Eugene's ego (but really really appreciated).

    3h 18m

  3. 05/05/2018

    Cafe Seoul 2017 09 07 513 Blackface Supplement - The Bigger Picture

    This is a supplement to the blackface episode (season 5 episode 2), featuring Fatimaah-Joso Menefee, who penned us a critical email regarding our content in that episode. We invited her to have her via audio clips, and we responded.

    50 min

  4. 02/13/2018

    Cafe Seoul 2017 08 25 512 Out in Korea

    Wow, this episode is like 6 months late. Apologies to our guest Hyunsoo Kim, who was kind enough to visit with us in August of 2017 to discuss being "Out" in Korea. Out meaning... LGBTQ.  News of the Weird: -Chinese Restaurant gives discounts based on bra size -Ariana Grande creates problem during first concert in Korea, showing favoritism towards Japan -NY Times calls bubble tea a new trend On the Pulse: Discussion with Hyunsoo Kim of what it is like to be LGBTQ in Korea, compared to other places that she has lived.

    1h 35m

  5. 11/11/2017

    Cafe Seoul 2017 08 04 511 Cut for the Very First Time

    After a long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long period of being very very very very very busy, Eugene has actually finally found time to edit this episode.  Rydia is back and our subject today is plastic surgery. But rather than criticize all the people in Korea getting it, we are discussing why Rydia made the decision to get it in the first place.  During the initial banter of this episode we got some letters from Dave and from Kathleen. Dave's letter sparked a discussion on Western remakes of Asian films. Kathleen's letter caused us to discuss foreigner privilege in Korean settings. News of the Weird: -(Korea Herald) Rural village in Korea exposed to nudist resort -(Huffington Post) - Blogger Praises K-Beauty While Calling Asians ‘Ching Chongs’ In ‘Funny Clothes’ -(BBC) - TV host's race jokes spark Brazil-Korea online war Rydia Kim was once a co-host on Café Seoul, and she's returned to discuss plastic surgery in Korea. As someone who recently got a procedure or two herself, she's here to elaborate on her decision to get plastic surgery, and how her initial aversion to the practice was overcome. She also goes in detail about how the procedures have helped her to be confident and how it is important to have a positive body image. Later Rob and Rydia discuss why plastic surgery is such a trend in Korea, and how body alterations work in the context of Korea's modern culture. Rydia can be found @Rydia0722 on Instagram If you're an expat in Korea, chances are that you are her friend on facebook already, or are at least friends with someone who is her friend. She's very popular afterall.

    1h 33m

  6. 09/12/2017

    Café Seoul 2017 07 21 510 There's a HYPHEN!

    Nerdy friends rejoice! This is the Spider-Man Homecoming Special episode! Teen Hero Popularity Contest - Similarly to what we did in the Wonder Woman episode, we talk about some of our favorite teen characters from movies and TV (and books), then make them face off against each other in a 1:1 battle royale to find out which one would hypothetically kick the ass of the others. Spider-Man Orientation - Discussion of the Spider-Man character, and how we came to know him, as well as some of our favorite storylines, and ranking the movies he's appeared in so far. Spider-Man Homecoming - In depth discussion of the most recent film, Spider-Man Homecoming. Special thanks to Emma Kalka for stalking us and using the dark side of the force to trick us into inviting her to appear in this episode.

    2h 29m

  7. 08/05/2017

    Cafe Seoul 2017 07 13 509 Traditionally Speaking

    Café Seoul is back! Korea's traditional culture is the topic of this episode, and we have one of the most knowledgable academics on hand to discuss the role that traditional culture, specifically performance art plays in modern Korean society. Special Guest: Dr. CedarBough T. Saeji, Korea Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Korean Studies News of the Weird:  -'Creative Korea' slogan abolished -Active X to be removed from public websites -Scrapping HIV test for native English teachers 'unacceptable' On the Pulse: How relevant to modern Korean society is Korean traditional culture? Many people who observe Korea suggest that Korea's traditional culture is somewhat removed from its modern one, but is that really the case? In this episode we have the benefit of an academic expert to delve into this topic and find out exactly what role traditional culture, specifically performance art plays in Korea today. In addition to the overlying theme, we discuss some initial access points for Korean traditional culture and how one can go about learning more about and enjoying the rich traditional culture Korea possesses.

    1h 19m

  8. 08/02/2017

    2017 07 07 508 No, It's not Painless

    We're behind in the editing, but better late than never. This episode is about Korea's suicide crisis, so it is a little heavy. Special Guest: Shaun Webb of Shaun on Site News of the Weird -Korean scientists try to engineer the smell out of Kimchi -People named Park Geun Hye changing name at accelerated rates -Male cop dresses as woman to lure and catch criminals -Commentary from Korea Times suggests that a wave of anti-Koreanism in the US will begin soon On the Pulse: Korea has a suicide problem, and we've invited Shaun Webb on the podcast to discuss his own attempted suicide and to discuss the very serious situation in Korea.

    1h 34m
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3.8
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

From 2013 to 2017, Café Seoul was a Korea-based expat-lifestyle podcast. Co-hosted by a duo of expats from North America, each episode dealt with a particular hot-button theme or issue. Café Seoul at that time discussed recent news, answered listener questions, and interviewed interesting people all for the sake of intelligent discussion with a dash of humor.

Information

  • Creator
    Eugene Hwang & Rob Ouwehand
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2021
  • Episodes
    78
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Eugene Hwang & Rob Ouwehand
  • Show Website
    Cafe Seoul: Expat Life in Korea