English guide to Korean air conditioner remote controls

Here's a simple guide to using the remote control for your Korean air conditioner. Many new English teachers arrive in Korea and find an air conditioner in their apartment, but have no clue how to use the remote control (에어컨 리모콘) that came with it. All the buttons are in Korean, and the functions and settings may be confusing. So I've take…

Read More...

Google's "Android Auto" to use Kakao Navi in Korea

Here was a very interesting tidbit burried in an article about an upcoming special launch of Android Auto service inside Kia cars. 특히 구글은 안드로이드 오토에 구글맵 대신 ‘카카오 내비’를 채택한 것으로 알려졌다. 구글앱의 경우 지도반출 문제 등으로 정밀도가 높은 지도 데이터를 사용할 수 없어 카카오와 손잡은 것으로 풀이된다. 구글-카카오, ‘안드로이드 오토’ 韓 출시 - 지디넷코리아 So it seems that Google Maps navigation in Android Auto in South Korea wil…

Read More...

Google's top Korea searches for 1st half of 2018

Google has released their top 20 searches in Korea for the 1st half of 2018. Here's the list real quick. 미세먼지 - Fine dust. Apparently this was ranked #12 last year. Shows how nasty it was this year.  신과 함께 - Along with the Gods . Extremely popular movie based on a webtoon. Interesting premise where a guy dies and gets assigned an afterlife lawyer…

Read More...

Korean beach opening days 2018

KakaoMap released this nice infographic showing the official opening days of beaches throughout Korea for the 2018 season. They're promoting their new "theme map" feature which lets you search the KakaoMap app for special themed events. For this summer promotion it will highlight the best beaches and show you information on them and …

Read More...

Naver V Live feature updates

Naver's K-pop focused music video and live streaming app " V Live " (aka Naver V) is updated with a few new features. Here's the list of new features. Double-tap to skip ahead or back 5 seconds Share a link to a precise time moment in a video Auto-play to keep streaming videos nonstop from the "recommended for you" that foll…

Read More...

New adorable Kakao Friends merchandise for summer

Quick FYI - Kakao Friends have a new set of cute summer merchandise for your next beach party. The goodies include beach balls, pool floaties, towels, bags, etc.  All are available at the various Kakao Friends stores or online [such as here and here ]. Plus all the usual summer Kakao Friends stuff here: KAKAO FRIENDS ONLINE STORE Now if only I had s…

Read More...

Links for June 2018

Hold on to your butts kids, because it's time for another link roundup, and boy do I have some goodies for you this month. Here's the list of stuff I read in June that interested me. Links for June 2018 This Korean life Indoor Smoking Lounges to be Closed at Airports | Be Korea-savvy  - I noticed last time I was at the new Terminal 2 that th…

Read More...

KakaoTalk service disruption (June 25, 2018)

If you had trouble logging-in or sending messages via KakaoTalk messenger, you're not alone. The whole service went down and acted wonky for about an hour yesterday (Monday, June 25). Kakao released a statement in English that mirrors what I saw in Korean news. We apologize for the interruption in our service Dear Ka’Talkers, As some of you may…

Read More...

Open and view Hangul (.hwp) files with Synap Viewer - online web converter & Android app

Here's another way to open and view Hangul .HWP files without having the full Hancom Office suite. A company called Synapsoft provides both a simple Android app viewer, and a very convenient web-based online instant converter. Note: this is one of several methods for working with HWP files. See my other posts on  opening Hangul (.hwp/.hml) files …

Read More...

Guide to reporting illegal parking in Korea - How to use the 생활불편신고 app

The Korean government has a special app you can use (called 생활불편신고, "Life Discomfort Report") to report various problems to your local gov office for redress. These problems can include illegally parked cars, trash left out, broken lights, potholes, basically any issue that makes daily life difficult that the gov can do something about. …

Read More...