The pink seats that are right by the entrance of each subway car are reserved for pregnant women.
‘Pink Chair’ in Korean Subway
Category: Living
Korea’s MBTI craze
Recently, the MBTI personality tests have been so popular in Korea.
So you may often get asked, “what is your MBTI?”
Blood type personality tests were popular a decade ago, even before the MBTI personality test emerged. Back then, people with O blood types were considered to be the most outgoing and extroverted. On the other hand, people with A blood types were considered to be more introverted and quiet. 
4 Korean Idioms about Heat Waves
Summer is now in full swing. Major heat waves around the world are making headlines. Like the rest of the world, Korea has been undergoing extreme weather patterns.
Today let me introduce you to some common Korean idioms about heat waves.
1. 찜통 더위
As you can see, the photo below 찜통 shows a steamer. I thought this expression was very similar to the English one, which is “it is as hot as an oven outside.”
We say “찜통 더위다”. This expression can also be used for a weather forecast on news, like 찜통 더위가 계속 될 전망입니다, meaning “the steaming hot weather is expected to continue over the next few days.”
2. 더위를 타다
It can be directly translated to “to ride heat”.
If you are sensitive to hot weather, or if you normally find that you are the hottest in the room while everyone else is at a comfortable temperature, you can say “제가 더위를 잘 타요”.
3. 냉방병
This word can be directly translated to “air conditioning sickness” or “cold sickness.”
Let’s suppose someone spent too long under the AC and feels tired, dizzy and has a stomachache. Then we can say “it may be caused by 냉방병”.
4. 열대야
열대야 means Tropical Night.
If the temperature stays above 25 degrees Celsius at night, it is difficult to sleep comfortably. In this circumstance, we can say, “열대야 때문에 어제 잠을 잘 못 잤어”, meaning “I couldn’t sleep well last night because of a tropical night.”
Note: If you can’t stand the hot weather but if you don’t have an AC, the ‘무더위 쉼터’ or “Heat Shelter” is always open to the public. More than 800 heat shelters are made available by the city government. They are located at the주민센터 (district office) and the 경로당 (Senior Center). 
My dental crown fell out!
Q: My dental crown fell off recently. I went to my previous dentist, but the practice has a new owner. Can I still get compensation?
Kelly: Generally speaking, if it has been more than a year since you had a crown installed, you do not qualify for a full compensation.
Normally, when a doctor changes locations, they contact their previous patients to notify them of their move.
Or the new doctor will be responsible for old patients.
In your case, if it has been less than a year since having your crown installed, you should qualify for a full compensation or… replacement crown.
You can seek advice from a new doctor or get the contact information for your previous doctor.
Grocery Shopping in Korea
Big chain supermarkets like Homeplus and Emart must close on the 2nd and the 4th Sunday of each month.
This is because of the government’s project to revive traditional markets and small businesses.
Disposable plastic cup ban
At a coffee shop, you can’t use a single-use disposable plastic cup if you dine in.
You can only use a disposable cup if you take your order to-go.
Even if you are to leave the café within minutes of sitting down you must use a reusable cup as this rule is enforced by the government.
I admit, it’s inconvenient from time to time.
Sometimes I wish employees were more flexible with this rule, but policy is policy, and the store could get in trouble if they made exceptions.
Busanjin-gu crackdowns on electric vehicle charging obstruction from August
Busan Jingu-district announced that it will end its grace period for obstructing electric vehicle charging and in turn impose a fine starting from August 1st.
Busanjin-gu will impose a fine for obstructing the charging of electric vehicles under [the Act on the Development and Promotion of Supply of Environmentally Friendly Automobiles], which took effect in January of this year. Depending on the violation, △ 100,000 won will be fined for parking general vehicles in charging areas and exclusive parking areas △ 100,000 won for obstructing charging stations such as loading things in a charging area △ 200,000 won for intentionally damaging charging stations.
Anyone can report violations through the newsletter app on the Ministry of Public Administration and Security while following regulatory standards and the reporting requirements. The resident reporting system imposes fines by using attached photos and videos as evidence without on-site verification.
Korea International Ocean Film Festival 2022
Korea International Ocean Film Festival 2022 will be held at the Busan Cinema Center. This event will be held from July 28th and end on the 31st.
This is the one and only ocean-related film festival in Korea. It is hosted by the city of Busan and Busan International Maritime Film Festival Organizing Committee.
During the festival, 29 ocean-related movies from 19 different countries will be played under the theme of “The Sea of Fertility”.
For the opening night, ‘Soul of the Ocean’ directed by Philip Hamilton will be played. It is a documentary film that highlights the critical role of ocean ecosystems with a 78-minute feature-length.
Korean actress Soy Kim will MC for the opening ceremony.
Maciek Jablonski, the Polish director of ‘Selma- an adventure from the edge of the world’ will also be shown to Busan fans during the festival.
The tickets price to any of the movies being played during the festival is 5,000 won and reservations open July 20th.
Three Coffee Idioms
- 아아 [Ah-ah]
Next time when you order your Iced Americano, say “아아 주세요 [Ah-Ah Juseyo]” (meaning “Ah- ah please”), instead of saying “아이스 아메리카노 주세요” [Ice-Americano Juseyo].
Koreans like to use abbreviations in many situations.
Ice-Americano 아이스아메리카노 is shortened to ‘아아’.
- 따아 [dda-ah]
As you probably guessed, 따아 is 따뜻한 아메리카노 (Hot Americano).
But I don’t recommend you try this if you want to order a ‘Hot Americano’.
It’s usually written this way, but not spoken.
- 얼죽아 [eol-ju-ga]
If you want to order an Iced Americano, you can say ‘Ah-Ah’.
They will understand.
But if you say “따아 please”, there’s a small chance that the server will ask “what?”
That’s probably because Iced-Americano is the most popular daily drink in Korea and the term “ah-ah’ is a lot more commonly used.
We also have a term “얼죽아” meaning “얼어 죽어도 아메리카노”, roughly translated as “I will drink my Iced-Americano even if I am frozen to death”.
People also like to post their Iced Americano with hashtags like “아아” and “얼죽아”.
So, what kind of coffee drinker are you? 
Busan International Motor Show 2022
The Busan International Motor Show had opened every other year, but it was canceled during the pandemic.
After three years of COVID disruption, the Busan International Motor Show is now back with more cars, more entertainment and more fun.
It will showcase products like passenger cars, commercial vehicles, eco-friendly vehicles, special vehicles, motorcycles, car accessories, etc.
It will be held in Bexco from tomorrow (July 15) until next Sunday (July 24).
Fyi, the entrance fee differs from weekday to weekends.
During the weekday, it’s 9,000 won per adult, 7,000 won per student and elderly people.
During the weekend, it’s 11,000 won per adult, and 9,000 won per student and the elderly.
Visitors will be able to enjoy various experience events at outdoor booths, too.
So don’t forget to wear a comfortable shoes
Busan Travel & Living 