Favorite Articles Issue 7 – Korea
December 4, 2025
Korea
The South Korean government has spent the last 30 years projecting an image of itself as a technological powerhouse with a lively entertainment industry and a way of life to be envied. This image is founded in a certain reality, but it’s important to remember that South Korea is not a monolith. Even this small, racially homogenous country is made up of fragmented groups with disparate interests. And despite what many people think, South Korea is truly diverse. In fact, South Korea is hard—nigh impossible—to encapsulate in a single all-encompassing generalization. The three articles collected below provide a small taste of what life is like in South Korea for a few of its 50 million citizens.
Loneliness
“Tune in, drop out” by Ann Babe (2020) lingers on the lives of young, lonely South Koreans. Babe shows a side of South Korea in which the less ambitious find themselves isolated. Determined to avoid the cruelty of being a social outcast, these South Korean loners have embraced their status as a tribe. Rather than conform to social expectations, they have created a world of their own: a world for one.
https://restofworld.org/2020/south-korea-honjok-loneliness
Cult
Matthew Bell’s (2017) “This apocalyptic Korean Christian group goes by different names. Critics say it’s just a cult” provides a glimpse into Shinchonji, a Christian sect founded by Lee Man-hee in 1984. Bell interviewed Lee Man-hee as well as his current and former followers for the article and let their words speak for themselves. The cult-like tactics employed by *Shinchonji float to the surface, but so too does a surprising amount of good will on the part of the followers. However, even this potential silver lining is cast in tragic fashion for every last ounce of goodwill is tempered by naivety. The result is a heartrending truth that some people are slaves to themselves.
*Since the publication of Bell’s article in 2017, Shinchonji gained international attention for its role in South Korea’s 2020 coronavirus outbreak.
Online
Kelly Kasulis’ (2017) “Inside Ilbe: How South Korea’s angry young men formed a powerful new alt-right movement” sheds light on South Korean online culture. Ilbe, the popular online forum highlighted in the article, is a bastion of political and ideological polarization in South Korea. Content posted on the forum tends to be vitriolic and leans heavily toward misogyny and xenophobia. Many of the messages are simply juvenile and wholly unconsidered, but among the worst messages are those that express a violent extremism which has come to the surface in a series of high profile murders.