ZenKimchi Korean Food & Travel

ZenKimchi
  • 3.2 (5)
  • Places & Travel

The ZenKimchi Korea Food & Travel Podcast goes beyond the usual travel lists to explore the food, neighborhoods, history, people, and peculiarities that make Korea worth knowing. Host Joe McPherson, founder of ZenKimchi, has lived in Korea for more than twenty years, writing about its food and culture and creating travel experiences for visitors. Each episode offers practical advice, deeper context, and occasionally inconvenient opinions about Korean food and travel. Whether you’re planning a trip or simply curious about life beyond the postcards, this is Korea from someone who has watched it change.

Episodes

  1. Oct 6

    Where to Stay in Seoul

    Every week outside Anguk Station, somebody is dragging a big rolling suitcase uphill with both hands. They booked a hanok off the photos, and nobody mentioned the hill or the walk from the subway. Full blog post with hotel suggestions: https://zenkimchi.com/tour-tips/where-to-stay-seoul-neighborhoods/ Where you sleep in Seoul decides which Seoul you get. I've run travel experiences here for over 13 years, and I ask every guest where they're staying and how it's going. This episode is what they've told me. I go neighborhood by neighborhood through Myeongdong, Gangnam, Bukchon, Insa-dong, Jongno, Euljiro, Dongdaemun, Itaewon and Hongdae, with who each one suits and who should book somewhere else. Then come the places the guidebooks and TikTok ignore, like Gongdeok in Mapo, the west side of Gyeongbokgung, Buam-dong, and Yeongdeungpo, my pick for Seoul's next hot neighborhood. You'll also hear why Line 9 is the worst subway line in town, where to stay if jet lag has you wide awake at 3 a.m., and the case for booking a love motel. (I've put my own family in one. They loved it.) Chapters 00:00 The suitcase on the hill 01:22 Why people book the wrong neighborhood 03:26 Myeongdong 07:03 Gangnam 10:43 Bukchon 13:48 Insa-dong 15:51 Jongno and Euljiro 18:58 Dongdaemun 21:09 Itaewon 23:33 Hongdae 25:43 Mapo and Gongdeok 27:41 West of Gyeongbokgung and Buam-dong 29:53 Yeongdeungpo 31:56 Yeouido, Seoul Station and Walkerhill 34:15 Gimpo, Magok-naru, Incheon and Ilsan 36:54 What my guests said they'd book again 37:39 Love motels Hotel picks by neighborhood: https://zenkimchi.com/tour-tips/where-to-stay-seoul-neighborhoods/ More food and travel tips, and our experiences: https://zenkimchi.com Support the show

    Where to Stay in Seoul

  2. Sep 23

    Jongno 3-ga: The Insider’s Guide to the World’s Coolest Neighborhood

    Time Out named Jongno 3-ga the world’s coolest neighborhood. But the neighborhood is much more than the photogenic hanok cafés of Ikseon-dong. Joe McPherson takes you through the many layers of Jongno 3-ga, including Pimatgol, postwar nightlife, Seoul’s former cinema district, its queer sanctuary, oyster bossam, pojangmacha tents, galmaegisal alleys and the musical world around Nagwon Arcade. Learn how real-estate developer and independence activist Jeong Se-gwon created Ikseon-dong, why the neighborhood was nearly demolished and how an economic crisis helped preserve it. This is Jongno 3-ga beyond the social-media version: complicated, atmospheric and unmistakably Seoul. Support the show

    Jongno 3-ga: The Insider’s Guide to the World’s Coolest Neighborhood
  • 2 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

3.2
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

The ZenKimchi Korea Food & Travel Podcast goes beyond the usual travel lists to explore the food, neighborhoods, history, people, and peculiarities that make Korea worth knowing. Host Joe McPherson, founder of ZenKimchi, has lived in Korea for more than twenty years, writing about its food and culture and creating travel experiences for visitors. Each episode offers practical advice, deeper context, and occasionally inconvenient opinions about Korean food and travel. Whether you’re planning a trip or simply curious about life beyond the postcards, this is Korea from someone who has watched it change.

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