Why does Gangnam, and much of South Korea, feel artificial and improvised? How are urban apartment complexes like undemocratic military bases? And will Seoul, like London, New York or Tokyo, end up another megacity playground for tourists and the super-rich?
Independent linguist Robert Fouser, a former Seoul National University Department of Korean Language professor and the author of the new Korean-language book “Exploring Cities,” joins host Andre Goulet to explore all this in The Korea File podcast.
This episode was produced in collaboration with the Royal Asiatic Society — Korea Branch (RASKB).
*[Music courtesy of Creative Commons. Support the show. This conversation was recorded on October 25, 2019. A full list of episodes can be found here.]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.











Commenting Guidelines
Please read our commenting guidelines before commenting.
1. Be Respectful: Please be polite to the author. Avoid hostility. The whole point of Fair Observer is openness to different perspectives from perspectives from around the world.
2. Comment Thoughtfully: Please be relevant and constructive. We do not allow personal attacks, disinformation or trolling. We will remove hate speech or incitement.
3. Contribute Usefully: Add something of value — a point of view, an argument, a personal experience or a relevant link if you are citing statistics and key facts.
Please agree to the guidelines before proceeding.