Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To add to the disorientation, some aspects of Korean culture are undergoing profound
and rapid change as the country completes its transition to affluent democracy and boosts its
engagement with the outside world. The local ways may occasionally confuse, but thank-
fully frankness, good humor, and world-beating hospitality are also common Korean traits,
and a little politeness never fails to go a long way.
Exactly where the Koreans came from and who they are still a matter of some debate, but
most experts agree that the people are descended from Altaic tribes who migrated from the
Lake Baikal area in Siberia, with ethnic links to the Mongolians, Turks, and Chinese. South
Korea is highly homogenous and has no sizable ethnic minorities beyond a small popula-
tion of current or former Chinese nationals, many of whom are of Korean descent and so
integrated that they're largely invisible.
Only recently has there been a sharp rise in interracial marriages, mostly in rural com-
munities where there's a surplus of relatively poor farmers but a shortage of local women
for them to settle down with. International marriages now account for around 10 percent
