Our Story: HelloKoreaGuide

Hi, I’m the Korean dad behind HelloKoreaGuide — and this is the Korea I actually live in, not the one in the brochures.

I was born and raised in Korea, and today I live just outside Seoul in Gyeonggi-do with my wife and our young kids. For over 13 years I’ve worked in the chemical industry, commuting into the city most days. HelloKoreaGuide is my side project: a place where I write, in my own words, about the Korea I know from real life — the subway routine, the convenience-store snacks my kids beg for, the quiet temples I visit on weekends, and the K-pop and dramas everyone at the office talks about.

Why I Started This Blog

When my foreign friends and colleagues visit Korea, they always ask me the same things: which SIM card to get, how the T-money card works, where to actually eat, whether a famous spot is worth it. Most of the guides they found online felt generic or out of date — written by people who had never lived here. So I started writing the honest answers I’d give a friend, including the parts the tourist sites leave out.

What You’ll Find Here

Everything I publish comes from first-hand experience, organized into the topics I know best:

K-Travel — real local guides to spots, transport, and day trips, with honest “worth it or not” takes.
K-Food & Recipes — what Koreans actually eat, from street food to the dishes on my own family’s table.
K-POP & Entertainment — the music, idols, and dramas as they’re really followed in Korea.
K-Culture & Issues — the customs, etiquette, and everyday culture that surprise foreigners.
K-Beauty — the skincare and products locals genuinely use, minus the marketing hype.

How I Write (and Why You Can Trust It)

I write from lived experience, not copy-paste. When I recommend a place, it’s usually somewhere I’ve been; when I explain how something works, it’s because I do it myself. I try to include the practical details that actually help — real prices, exact stations, the small mistakes visitors tend to make — and I’m honest when something is overrated. Korea changes fast, so I update older guides as things change, and I genuinely welcome corrections from readers who know more than I do.

Say Hello

Whether you’re planning your first trip, curious about Korean culture, or just fell down a K-drama rabbit hole, I hope this blog helps you see Korea the way locals do. Questions, suggestions, and corrections are always welcome — reach me anytime at hellokorea@hellokoreaguide.com or through the Contact page.

— Hellokoreaguide, writing from Gyeonggi-do, Korea

A Bit More About Me

I’m Kim H.J. — born in Seoul, raised in Gyeonggi-do, and still living about twenty minutes south of the city in a neighbourhood most tourists never see. I’ve worked in export logistics for over twelve years, which means I’ve spent a lot of time explaining Korea to people from outside it — trade partners, visiting colleagues, the occasional bewildered European executive who couldn’t figure out why dinner started at 6pm and ended at midnight.

My daughters are 9 and 13. They’ve become my unofficial co-editors. The 13-year-old catches anything K-pop related that I get wrong (which is often). The 9-year-old insists on being consulted about any food post. I take both of their feedback seriously.

Why I Write in English

Simple answer: I want my daughters to be able to read it someday. Korean content about Korea for Koreans exists everywhere. Honest, practical English-language content about how Korea actually works — written by someone who lives here and has no reason to make it sound more glamorous than it is — that’s what I couldn’t find. So I built it.

I don’t take press trips. I don’t do sponsored content. Every restaurant, neighbourhood, product, and festival in this blog is something I’ve actually visited, tried, or lived with. My opinions are my own, formed over decades of living here and years of explaining this place to people from outside it.

What I Cover

Travel — day trips from Seoul, underrated spots in Gyeonggi-do, and the places locals actually go
Food — street food, regional specialties, and honest reviews of places I eat at more than once
K-Culture — K-pop explained without the hype, Korean work culture, social rules that actually matter
K-Beauty — what my wife actually uses, what works, and what’s just marketing

Get in Touch

I read every message personally. If you have a question about planning a trip, a follow-up on something I wrote, or a tip about a place I should visit — use the contact page. I try to reply within a few days.

— Kim H.J., Gyeonggi-do, 2026