The Dark Side of Seoul Podcast

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This episode takes a lighter turn with a “This or That” game that somehow turns into strong opinions about Korean food, hiking, cities, and history.
We compare Bukhan-san and Inwang-san, break down bibimbap preferences, and get into the difference between taxi buffets and mountain restaurants. Along the way, we talk about cooking at home versus eating out, the cultural weight of the Goryeo period, and why Busan quietly wins a lot of these debates.
There are also a few detours into movies, comedians, and the kinds of places in Korea that don’t show up in guidebooks.
A relaxed episode, but with plenty of opinions.
Korea's #1 ghost and dark history walking tour. Book at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
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Credits
Produced by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey
Music by Soraksan

Top tier Patrons
Angel Earl
Joel Bonomini
Devon Hiphner
Gabi Palomino
Steve Marsh
Eva Sikora
Ron Chang
Mackenzie Moore
Hunter Winter
Cecilia Löfgren Dumas
Josephine Rydberg
Devin Buchanan
Ashley Wright
George Irion
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Pet ownership in Korea is growing rapidly, but what happens when a beloved animal dies?
In this episode, Joe and Shawn explore the surprising and often emotional world of pet funerals in Korea. From strict burial laws that classify animal remains as “waste” to private cremation services that hold full memorial ceremonies, the reality of pet death reveals an unusual intersection of law, culture, and changing attitudes toward animals.
Shawn shares personal experiences with cremating two of his pets and explains why pets almost never appear in Korean cemeteries, despite their growing role as family members. The episode also explores pet ownership trends, historical attitudes toward cats, and the ongoing debate about whether pets should be allowed to rest beside their humans.
As Korea’s pet culture continues to expand, pressure is building to rethink how the country treats animals in death as well as life.
Korea's #1 ghost and dark history walking tour. Book at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
Get your comic at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
Support the show
Join our Patreon to get more stuff
https://patreon.com/darksideofseoul
Book a tour of The Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk at https://darksideofseoul.com
Pitch your idea here. https://www.darksideofseoul.com/expats-of-the-wild-east/
Credits
Produced by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey
Music by Soraksan

Top tier Patrons
Angel Earl
Joel Bonomini
Devon Hiphner
Gabi Palomino
Steve Marsh
Eva Sikora
Ron Chang
Mackenzie Moore
Hunter Winter
Cecilia Löfgren Dumas
Josephine Rydberg
Devin Buchanan
Ashley Wright
George Irion
Facebook Page |
Instagram

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A minor concert rule violation at a Day6 show in Kuala Lumpur ignites a much larger confrontation between Southeast Asian K-pop fans, known online as SEAblings, and Korean netizens, or K-netz.
What began as frustration over DSLR camera use quickly escalated into accusations of racism, ingratitude, and cultural superiority. In this episode, Joe and Shawn explore what this clash reveals about Korean hierarchy, Confucian social order, ethnic “pure blood” nationalism, development pride, and the uneasy place of Southeast Asia within Korea’s mental map of the world.
From migrant labor and marriage migration to multicultural children and the politics of gratitude, this episode examines how fandom became a mirror reflecting deeper regional tensions.
Korea's #1 ghost and dark history walking tour. Book at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
Get your comic at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
Support the show
Join our Patreon to get more stuff
https://patreon.com/darksideofseoul
Book a tour of The Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk at https://darksideofseoul.com
Pitch your idea here. https://www.darksideofseoul.com/expats-of-the-wild-east/
Credits
Produced by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey
Music by Soraksan

Top tier Patrons
Angel Earl
Joel Bonomini
Devon Hiphner
Gabi Palomino
Steve Marsh
Eva Sikora
Ron Chang
Mackenzie Moore
Hunter Winter
Cecilia Löfgren Dumas
Josephine Rydberg
Devin Buchanan
Ashley Wright
George Irion
Facebook Page |
Instagram

Send us Fan Mail
Winter is cemetery season in Korea.
With the grass dead, snakes gone, and sightlines open, this is when Korea’s hillside cemeteries quietly reveal their stories. In this episode, Joe and Shawn talk about what they see every year while wandering through Korean burial grounds: traditional mounds and stone guardians, Christian symbols mixed with Confucian motifs, rare Western-style graves, pet burials, collective graves, and the occasional unsettling sign of vandalism.
This isn’t a guide to death rituals. It’s an exploration of how memory, belief, class, and modern pressure quietly reshape how Koreans remember the dead.
Korea's #1 ghost and dark history walking tour. Book at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
Get your comic at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
Support the show
Join our Patreon to get more stuff
https://patreon.com/darksideofseoul
Book a tour of The Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk at https://darksideofseoul.com
Pitch your idea here. https://www.darksideofseoul.com/expats-of-the-wild-east/
Credits
Produced by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey
Music by Soraksan

Top tier Patrons
Angel Earl
Joel Bonomini
Devon Hiphner
Gabi Palomino
Steve Marsh
Eva Sikora
Ron Chang
Mackenzie Moore
Hunter Winter
Cecilia Löfgren Dumas
Josephine Rydberg
Devin Buchanan
Ashley Wright
George Irion
Facebook Page |
Instagram

Send us Fan Mail
South Korea became a super-aged society in 2025. The effects are showing up everywhere, but nowhere more visibly than on the roads.
In this episode, Joe and Shawn talk about the sharp rise in accidents involving elderly drivers, including several deadly incidents in Seoul and beyond. They dig into the numbers, the government’s largely ineffective license return programs, and why simply telling seniors to stop driving ignores deeper issues like poverty, work necessity, and isolation.
This is not a blame episode. It’s about how Korea went from automatic respect for elders to open ageism, and how fear-driven policy risks making the problem worse instead of safer.
Korea's #1 ghost and dark history walking tour. Book at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
Get your comic at DarkSideOfSeoul.com
Support the show
Join our Patreon to get more stuff
https://patreon.com/darksideofseoul
Book a tour of The Dark Side of Seoul Ghost Walk at https://darksideofseoul.com
Pitch your idea here. https://www.darksideofseoul.com/expats-of-the-wild-east/
Credits
Produced by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey
Music by Soraksan

Top tier Patrons
Angel Earl
Joel Bonomini
Devon Hiphner
Gabi Palomino
Steve Marsh
Eva Sikora
Ron Chang
Mackenzie Moore
Hunter Winter
Cecilia Löfgren Dumas
Josephine Rydberg
Devin Buchanan
Ashley Wright
George Irion
Facebook Page |
Instagram