Truly All about Korea

  Everything a foreigner needs to know about South Korea’s most talked-about cafe phenomenon What Is Kagongjok? (카공족) If you’ve ever walked into a Starbucks in Seoul and wondered why half the tables are occupied by people with laptops, textbooks, and elaborate desk setups instead of people simply sipping coffee and chatting — you’ve just encountered the kagongjok (카공족) . The word itself is a clever Korean portmanteau: “ka” (카) comes from café (카페) , and “gongjok” (공족) is derived from gongbu (공부) , meaning “to study.” Put them together, and you get a term that literally describes “people who study at cafés.” These are not just casual coffee drinkers who happen to have a book open. True kagongjok are individuals — mostly students, exam-preppers, remote workers, and freelancers — who plant themselves at a café table for hours on end, sometimes an entire day , armed with laptops, tablets, noise-canceling headphones, and occasionally even multi-port power strips, external keyboard...

Everything you need to know about buying, winning, and claiming Korea’s most popular lottery — whether you’re a tourist, expat, or migrant worker. What Is Korea Lotto 6/45? South Korea’s national lottery is officially called Lotto 6/45 , operated by Donghaeng Bokgwon (동행복권) under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The concept is straightforward: you pick 6 numbers from 1 to 45, and if all six match the weekly draw, you win the jackpot. A single game costs just ₩1,000 (approximately $0.75 USD) , and you can play up to five lines per ticket slip. Lotto 6/45 launched on December 2, 2002 , and quickly became one of the most culturally significant events in Korean weekly life. The draw takes place every Saturday at 8:35 PM , broadcast live on MBC television . In 2024, total lottery sales across South Korea surpassed 6 trillion Korean won (approximately $4.16 billion USD) , setting an all-time record — a testament to just how deeply woven Lotto has become into Korea...