🇰🇷 Adorable And Edible - Pocket-sized Cakes In The Palm Of Your Hand 🎂

K-Travel

⛸️ Time To Say Goodbye To This Top Winter Attraction With 170K Visitors

Laure 🌼The Seoul Plaza Ice Skating Rink has been open for 52 days and attracted 169,978 visitors. Located in the heart of the city, right in front of City Hall, this ice rink is a must-visit attraction that you could enjoy for just 1,000 KRW (approximately $0.70). The number of international visitors surged by over 90%, showing its growing popularity. Several events were held at the ice rink, and it even offered affordable skating lessons. We can only look forward to next year! Now, it's time to enjoy spring activities in Seoul.

🛬 Travelling To Korea? Skip The Arrival Forms!

Sharmaine 🌸Overseas travelers coming to South Korea are now able to fill out their arrival cards 3 days prior to their arrival, reducing paper consumption at the airport. Tourists used to fill our paper cards, which immigration officials manually read - a time-consuming task. To streamline immigration and make it more convenient. The Ministry of Justice has rolled out electronic arrival cards. The website is available in 7 languages: Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and Russian.

🌼 Knock Knock! Flowers Are Starting To Bloom On Jeju Island

Laure 🌼Mild spring weather is beginning in the south of Korea, including Jeju Island, where the flowers have already started to bloom! In Seoul, we’ll have to wait a little longer, but temperatures exceeded 10°C over the weekend, signaling the arrival of spring. Soon, flowers will cover the entire peninsula. We’ll keep you updated in the newsletter—stay tuned

♨️ The Only Reason You’ll Love To Sweat - Take A Trip To The Hot Spring City Of Korea

Dyllan 🐼2024 was amazing for the Bugak Hot Springs in Changnyeong as it saw upwards to 2.83 million visitors, a significant increase since their decline during COVID-19. They are looking to continue this trend and reach 3 million visitors in 2025. The increase in visitors began when Changnyeong was dubbed as South Korea’s first official “hot spring city”. And with several projects lined up, which include a children’s park, construction of sports training teams facilities, as well as the 30th annual Bugok Hot Spring Festival in March, county officials anticipate an increase in tourism once again.

K-Food

🥜 Seongsu Goes Nuts: Peanut Butter Mania

Sharmaine 🌸One of the Seongsu peanut butter specialty cafe can sell 30 peanut butter jar per person, and online shop Market Kurly’s sales of peanut butter in 2024 were 5 times higher than 2023. Why, then? The trend started last year when TV actress Choi HwaJung had peanut butter and apples for breakfast on YouTube. Since then, it has been selling like hotcakes due to its growing popularity as a health food. Peanut butter is increasingly being mixed with traditional Korean ingredients like doenjang (soybean paste) and gochujang (red pepper paste) in innovative dishes.

🚦 Green, Yellow, Red! And No, That’s Not A Traffic Light!

YuJun 🍎Choux Cream Caramel Latte, Tangerine Hibiscus Tea, and Strawberry Matcha Latte make up the new spring menu from the coffee brand EDIYA Coffee, featuring model Byeon WooSeok. The “Spring Palette” menu is bursting with the colors of spring—green, white, yellow, and red. EDIYA is one of the first coffee shops to launch its spring menu, while most other cafés are still focusing on strawberry drinks, as it’s peak season.

🎂 Adorable And Edible - Pocket-sized Cakes In The Palm Of Your Hand

Dyllan 🐼 A new trend is popping up around Korea: teeny-tiny cakes that fit in the palm of your hand. On Instagram, you can simply search up the phrase “one-bite cake” in Korean and find a number of posts showing off these small yet delicious desserts. From its cheap price to being the right size and allowing no leftovers, there’s a lot to love about these tiny cakes. Although not everyone is on board, it’s gained enough traction for companies like Shinsegae Food to take notice and implement their own take on the trend. Would you want to eat a “one-bite cake”?

K-Society

💳 Wedding Cash Kiosk: Convenient Or Just Tap-and-Eat?

Sharmaine 🌸In Korea, automated kiosks now allow wedding guests to contribute cash gifts using a card or cash, rather than the old-fashioned envelopes. Some individuals appreciate the ease of ensuring each guest contributes, while others perceive the act of paying for dinner as impersonal. Guests select the bride or groom, enter personal data, choose an amount, and in return receive meal and parking coupons. At a rental cost of 300,000 won, or $208, the debate remains: is it a practical innovation or a tacky tradition-breaker? What's your take?

🌸 Cherry Blossoms & Pink Lovers—Transform Your Home With This New Collection!

Laure 🌼Is it too early to talk about cherry blossoms? Well, maybe! There’s still a little over a month left until they bloom in Seoul. But spring and cherry blossom trends are already in full swing! If you’re looking for cherry blossom-themed designs, the popular store Daiso has you covered with its pink-filled collection, “Whispers of Spring”. It includes tape, makeup cushions, mugs, notebooks, pens, makeup, aprons, socks, cleaning tools, dishware, and much more!

Intern Diaries From SK

Theresa 👻This week, I finally felt the weather warming up—a sign that spring is just around the corner. To make the most of it, I went café hopping, taking advantage of Seoul’s endless selection of beautiful spots. I also spent a day in Bukchon Hanok Village, sipping coffee in a cozy traditional-style café before strolling through the quiet streets. The mix of old hanok houses and the hint of spring in the air made for the perfect slow afternoon. With the days getting milder, I can’t wait for more café visits and longer walks outside!

Q&A Corner

❔ Question: Is the K-Drama “Study Group” really receiving such great reviews?

💬“Study Group” just ended, and many K-Drama viewers have been praising the series. It has received high ratings: 9.7/10 on Viki, 9.0/10 on MyDramaList, and 8.5/10 on IMDb (at the moment of redaction). The actors have also gained attention and increased their follower count. The drama is a TVING original, meaning it’s not broadcast on traditional TV in Korea but available as an OTT drama. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, “Study Group” is a school drama with elements of acting, thriller, and comedy. The story, fight scenes, and humor have all been well-loved, and various scenes have been trending on social media.

Kpopmap editors also recommend this drama as it offers a perfect mix of action and comedy in a school setting. You’ll be hooked on the story in no time, and the fight scenes are next-level comic action!

❔ Question: When does cherry blossom season actually start?

💬With the official start of spring on the horizon, many might be wondering: when are the cherry blossoms going to bloom in Korea? This is due to the various cherry blossom festivals and events that happen around this time that everyone is eager to visit. Well, you might be excited to learn that the cherry blossoms are set to bloom three to eight days earlier than average! Official forecasts say that the earliest sighting of cherry blossoms won’t be until March 22nd on Jeju, with the rest of the peninsula shortly following suit afterwards. The last wave of cherry blossoms is set to bloom on April 4th in Chuncheon, just above Seoul. As many know, cherry blossom season comes and goes in an instant, so it’s best to mark your calendars and prepare your itinerary in advance.

❔ Question: What's on your K-Drama watchlist?

💬Lately, my heart flutters for "My Dearest Nemesis," starring Mun KaYoung and Choi HyunWook. It never fails to make me laugh, and I highly recommend it. It's light-hearted and wonderful to unwind after a long Monday and Tuesday. My second favorite is "Buried Hearts," starring Park HyungSik and Hong HwaYeon. It's a revenge drama better watched over the weekends—thankfully, that's when it airs! It's just the right amount of weekday entertainment and weekend seriousness. You guys still have time to catch up, as both dramas have just begun. - by Sharmaine 🌸

QUIZ OF THE WEEK 💗

QUIZ: Who Is Your Ideal Boyfriend Among Idols? (2025 version)

We tell you who is your ideal boyfriend!