King Sejong took all the sunshine and rain, all his happiness and all his pain, the dark evening stars and the morning sky of blue, and he sent it in his letter to you, the people of Korea, in a drone show marking Hangul Day in Sejong City on Oct. 9.YONHAP
Joyous Saturday to you all!
I'm back with the news and in this week's longer reads, we look at why Koreans don't hide keys under a plant on their front stoop (hint: They don’t have either a stoop or keys), the latest tech going retro, and some Chinese kleptocracy (calm your jets, that’s a Guns N’ Roses reference; I’m not trying to start a diplomatic tiff).
Also, we look at how to color a period piece with hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and I shamelessly plug my analysis of the Taeguk Warriors’ four friendlies under interim manager Robert Moreno because, well, much of the Korean coverage is weirdly negative and I’m just right.
Happy weekend reading!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Why don't Koreans carry house keys anymore?
Ask a Korean when they last used a house key, and many will pause.
Some will admit they don't remember. Others will say they've never owned one.
In much of the world, a key ring is a basic tool of adulthood — one for the front door, maybe one for a bike lock or a mailbox.
In Korea, that ring has all but disappeared. Enter a code, scan a fingerprint, tap a card: the front door opens with no metal involved.
Going retro: Galaxy Z Fold8 owners turn their phones into cassette tapes, iPods or Walkmans
The Galaxy Z Fold8’s wider, less elongated display is taking owners back in time, as Samsung's new smartphone allows for more room to arrange widgets and images in creative home screen layouts.
Some go retro with cassette tapes and iPods; others recreate diary pages, borrow the look of a once-popular social network service called Cyworld or give favorite animated characters pride of place.
The shape itself is a big part of the appeal. The device looks a lot like retro gadgets such as cassette tapes, iPods, Game Boys and Walkmans, so many owners simply style the cover screen to match. They swap designs in online communities and cafes, borrowing looks from Pinterest or asking AI chatbots such as Gemini and ChatGPT to make wallpapers that suit their tastes.
Inside the China counterfeit trade taking K-beauty for a ride
China's K-beauty counterfeit industry has expanded from serving domestic consumers to exporting copycat products on a mass production scale, according to multiple intellectual property (IP) experts. In response, Korean cosmetics companies are stepping up efforts to protect their brands against the rising tide of fakes, but their efforts may amount to just a drop in the bucket.
The number of blocked online listings for counterfeit Korean cosmetics sold at home and abroad has risen steadily since 2023, reaching 37,544 in the first eight months of this year — just shy of last year's full-year total.
Southeast Asian countries account for the largest share of blocked listings, but experts believe the vast majority of the counterfeit products were manufactured in China, with much of it shipped in bulk to wholesalers in Southeast Asia and other overseas markets.
Why green, not red, for Son Ye-jin? Inside the hanbok of ‘The Scandal.’
Part of the appeal of a period drama lies in seeing a past era brought to life. Netflix's “The Scandal” aims to offer a glimpse of 18th-century Joseon (1392-1910) by staying true to period detail while drawing viewers in with elegant hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) and meticulously chosen accessories.
Behind that visual world is hanbok designer Kim Young-jin, who oversaw the series' costumes and visual direction. But in taking on “The Scandal,” Kim and the rest of the production team had a formidable predecessor to contend with: the 2003 film “Untold Scandal.”
The film starred some of the biggest actors of the time, including Lee Mi-sook, Bae Yong-joon and Jeon Do-yeon. But its fame also came from being known as Korea's first full-fledged costume drama. Fashion designer Jung Ku-ho served as art director, with nearly half of the film's 5 billion won ($3.7 million) budget spent on costumes and props.
From 4 matches to 4 years? Moreno gives himself a fighting chance as he steadies the Warriors’ ship.
The Taeguk Warriors wrapped up a four-match international break with two wins, one loss and one draw.
While friendly results matter little, with this window, in some ways they mattered even less; this was a classic case of “the journey is the destination” as the Korea Football Association (KFA), the team and the fans all wanted to see if interim manager Robert Moreno knows ball — and could get the lads to play it properly after the dismal summer showing at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Each match offered a glimpse of something new and improved, even through a slight drubbing at the hands of two-time World Cup winners Uruguay and a creative breakdown against Venezuela. From tactical discipline to flair on the break, the side offered the Red Devils hope that there is something to cheer for in the Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 in three months’ time.
