Cute Things You Can Only Find In South Korea

No one does cute quite like South Korea. Whether it’s latte art, photographs, couple clothes or theme parks, it’s all guaranteed to make you go ‘aww’. Here are some of the most surprising things that South Koreans manage to make cute.

Socks

Ask anyone who’s been living in South Korea what their number one souvenir recommendation is, and nine times out of ten they’ll say socks. Cheap and cheerful is the name of the game with these bad boys, and cuteness is dialled up to the max.

Debit cards

Condoms

You might not think that cute cartoon characters would get you in the mood to get it on, but in South Korea, it’s par for the course. Many condom brands feature super-sweet packaging — for example, a box in the shape of a tiny strawberry milk carton, or cute fruit designs to flavoured condoms.

Boy band signature moves

K-pop bands are known for their ‘cute concept’. The genre is marketed towards younger teenage girls, and K-pop stars win the hearts of thousands through being cute and innocent. Korean even has a word for this — aegyo, which encompasses affectionate or flirtatious expressions of cuteness such as a baby voice, cute expressions and phrases. K-pop stars show their love for their fans through the cutest hand gesture ever — the thumb and first finger are crossed to make a tiny heart.

K-pop band BTS doing their cute heart hand gesture

Computer keyboards

Ever felt your computer keyboard is a bit too bland? In South Korea, you can bling it up with stickers designed for the express purpose of making your keys look cuter. If you need a little more motivation to get to work, add matching laptop case stickers.

Matching hair ornaments for couples

On date day, Koreans take matchy-matchy couple style to the max. But even if you’ve not coordinated your outfits, fear not! There’s a simple way to show the world who your boo is, with matching hair ornaments. You can buy these in tourist spots and youth hangouts all over Korea, and they come in a wide variety of forms. The most popular kind is a simple red heart.

Two women dancing in Korean national costume

Face masks

South Korea is known as the home of face masks. A popular kind is the ‘animal’ face mask, which is printed with a cute animal face that you can put over your own — if you’ve ever wanted to be a panda, a cat or Puss in Boots from Shrek, these face masks allow you to do so. Who says skincare can’t be cute?

Cosmetic products on display at Lotte Department Store in Busan, South Korea

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.