It’s official you guys.. Descendants of the Sun is the BIGGEST Korean drama in recent history!!!! In 6 episodes, they’ve surpassed You Who Came From the Stars which was hugely popular – and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Currently on board watching the drama myself, I completely understand the hype. While a modern somewhat realistic [...]

It’s no secret how much we love Korean food! Who doesn’t these days? It’s probably the number one thing Richard and I miss most about living away from Korea. We recently took a trip to Montreal, Canada where we were visiting our friend Natacha who lives there. We first met Natacha when she visited Korea [...]

One of the big pros to moving to Rochester, NY for me besides being close to family was this beautiful old house with lots of room for Maki and a spacious backyard where I could plant a garden. In my time in Korea I had learned to love cooking a lot more and to be [...]

Hey Lovelies! I’ve long been meaning to make a video like this, because though I may rock short hair, I still love to dress up and look nice. Moving to a new country meant purging most of my wardrobe and I’m excited to put it back together piece by piece. This video is some of [...]

This year is the first Mother’s Day I’ve spent the U.S. since 2008. I realized this just as I sat down to write this. THAT IS SO CRAZY!!!! Richard’s father (Papa Luke!) had an idea for me to paint something for his wife this Mother’s Day. Initially he had no idea what he wanted but [...]

It’s been a long time coming, but yesterday at about 1:30am on the morning of May 3rd, we crossed 100,000 subscribers on our Hallyu Back channel!!!!!!!!!!! THAT’S BANANAS!!!! It’s incredible to be honest, so we decided to take a moment and reflect on the journey that got us where we are today in this video [...]

I had the very fun and unique opportunity to hang out with Richard’s mother and learn how to bake authentic Italian Sicilian bread! Woke up early in the morning and was picked up by my mother in law to drive way out into the countryside of New York State and take this Sicilian stuffed bread [...]

Korea will always be a big part of our lives. Now that we’ve been living away from Korea for about 2 months, what we loved about living there and the country itself is becoming more clear now that we don’t have it. What they say about not missing something until it’s gone rings true to [...]

AGHHHH I LET RICHARD CUT MY HAIR!!!! Never thought the day would come where I would let him touch it but it has. And, the results were actually epic! I even let him cut a couple of lines that look like tree branches into my head too. I’m pretty happy with the it! :) Yesterday’s [...]

Thanks to all of you, I’ve been able to more seriously pursue a passion and dream of mine: painting. It’s been a crazy (almost) 2 months back in the US, and now I’d like to give back to you guyz for amazing support! All the paintings above are for sale, and there’s no time limit. [...]

SPRINGTIME IS FINALLY HERE!!!! I’m so excited for the warm weather, and this winter seemed extra brutal with all the snow that took forever to melt. I had the amazing opportunity to test ride a bicycle yesterday when Richard picked up his mountain bike from the shop. We brought our new GoPro 4 camera and [...]

One of the most recognizable and economic ways to feed yourself in Korea is with Ramen! It’s relatively popular with locals as well as people who view Korea from afar. And not only is the selection of ramen wide and varied, there are also so many ways you can prepare it! The footage from this [...]

We are just beginning to settle into our new home in America. It’s been a little over a month now, and while we are loving it for the most part, we haven’t discovered much of what the area has to offer. That’s why today for dinner we jumped onto Yelp and looked for something tasty [...]

How do decide exactly which route our lives should take? How do we decide which decisions are best for our life? How do we come to the conclusion that the best decision for a life change is moving to another country? This decision has been placed in front of us and made….. TWICE! Deciding to [...]

For those of you who might be new to the HallyuBack community, we’ve recently moved back the the US after living for 7 years in South Korea. And.. yesterday was our first trip to the supermarket since we’ve been back! Goodness knows, I’ve needed to put some food into our new refrigerator and we all [...]

Let’s be honest: Pizza has to be one of the foods we missed most while living in Korea. And what’s crazy is that Korea has an AMAZING pizza selection when you really get down to it. Pizza has invaded Korea aa much as any foreign food has by now, and pizza shops are everywhere. Koreans [...]

WELCOME TO OUR NEW HOME! So many of you requested a house tour, and when we asked whether you wanted one before we finished painting and moving furniture or after, a ton of you indicated you wanted both ‘BEFORE’ and ‘AFTER’ house tour videos.. so how could we resist? ^^ This house is located in [...]

There’s no place like home! Cannot express how excited I was to hit the road and travel back to where I grew up to visit with my family. We were invited by my sister and her husband to stay with them over the weekend. This meant I would also be staying with my nephew Silas [...]

WE FINALLY HAVE INTERNET AT OUR NEW HOUSE!! It’s amazing how having fast internet can can someone so happy, but I guess the future is now haha. We must admit, having a slow internet connection since being back in NY and staying with my in-laws has slowed us down a bit. I did film a [...]

WHAT A DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET!! This has to be one of the biggest accomplishments of my life! I missed my undergraduate graduation ceremony because I came to Korea early. So this day was even more special. Being able to wear the cap and gown and be part of the action on campus was [...]

We’ve been asked this question a lot. For so many people who live outside Korea and have never been here, this country can be a little bit hard to understand at first. Because so many people live in Seoul, the price of housing has become quite expensive. They are still building new houses and high [...]

Super excited to hang out, talk some dramas and announce the winners on the HallyuBack #dramatalk T-shirts! I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I’m also a bit sad that this is my LAST LIVE CHAT!! SO.. Let’s hang out together one last time in Korean and make it a memorable LIVE CHAT! ^^ [...]

The other day while we were eating the PENIS FISH, we were invited by Natalia to hang out with her and her brother in Lotte World in Seoul where they have a magic show! Considering it’s our last hoo-rah in Korea, we absolutely could not pass up this opportunity! You guys, if you have not [...]

Yesterday was SO MUCH FUN!!!! Had the chance to go to Seoul and hang out with Megan in the brand new YouTube Space CJ E&M has set up for member YouTubers in Seoul! SO COOL you guyz!! Collabing is already fun, and getting to hang out in a professional studio built for YouTubers is amazing! [...]

Today was quite the unusual day as days in Korea go! We met up with our friend Margarita for dinner in Seoul and met her friend Natalia. Margarita had invited us to join her on a seafood market adventure so how could we say no?!? What ensued was nothing short of entertaining and even a [...]

I can never help but be AMAZED at the coffee culture in Korea. It’s SOOOOO DIFFERENT from the coffee culure of what I’m used having grown up in the U.S. You have two types of coffee culture in Korea: the very cheap, instant coffee available everywhere, and then you have coffee shops that exist on [...]

Today was a very busy day! I was up early and out on a morning walk around Hwasung Fortress. Although it was very cold, it was also quite beautiful without a cloud in the sky! I spent several hours wandering around and enjoying the morning, and by the time I left the fortress it was [...]

This has to be the most difficult video we’ve ever had to upload. But there’s really no way to beat around the bush when you upload daily videos of your life. We’ve struggled tremendously deciding how to let all of you know that we’ve decided to make a major change in our life. As it [...]

I’ve more or less finished writing my thesis, but the work to graduate is not yet complete! Today was a good day to see what the life of a graduate student in Korea is like, because I brought you onto campus with me. It was quiet on campus, which made it a lot easier to [...]

By now, Korea has virtually every type of restaurant you can possibly think of! And in Seoul, Turkish Kebabs are quite popular! About 2 years ago a whole bunch of Kebab restaurants began popping up in Seoul (specifically Itaewon) and now there are probably more than 10. At some of these restaurants the selection has [...]

Happy New Year from Seoul, South Korea!!!!! We woke up to 2015 in Seoul at the brand new guesthouse where we were staying. We had the opportunity to relax for an evening away from our home and fully took advantage of it! The guesthouse was extremely clean and very cozy, and hopefully we’ll get to [...]

We sure hope all of you rang in the new year in a fun and safe way. We were lucky enough to spend the evening with some friends at a brand new guesthouse in Seoul! Our friend Peter and his wife Soo Yougn recently opened a brand new restaurant and bar with a guest house [...]

OUR FIRST EVER CHALLENGE VIDEO!! We finally had the chance to do Christmas shopping for each other on December 24th, and made it a challenge! We decided this year to cut back on shopping consumerism since we pretty much already have everything we need, but still wanted to give each other some tings on Christmas [...]

Sometimes Korea is just as magnificent at night as it is during the day! Since Steph has been feeling under the weather a little bit more than any of us would like, she settled in early and I decided to go for a nice long evening walk. Since Hwasung Fortress is literally around the corner [...]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!!! This is how we celebrated our Christmas today. As you all celebrate around the world, you can join us as we celebrate here. If you’re reading this and you’re a drama fan, thanks for being patient and supprting me as I finish up my thesis. I promise more drama [...]

Whenever opportunities pop up in Korea, I’m usually trying not to miss them. And years ago when we first starting living in Korea, you’re just getting to know the place. Back then, sure there was internet forums and blogs where people who were looking for information about Korea could go and read about stuff. But [...]

I’M VERY EXCITED YOU GUYZ!! Even though I’m still swamped in thesis writing I’m taking a moment to say thank you to ALL OF YOU who watch our videos and support us from the far corners of the world! I feel so blessed to be able to share my life with you in this way [...]

This may seem strange, but McDonald’s is expanding rapidly in Korea. It is sort of unbelievable. Just around our area 3 new Mcdonald’s restaurants have opened in the past 6 months. We think this can be attributed to several factors, including how fast paced life is here. I decided to try out Mcdonald’s breakfast for [...]

Christmastime is here! It’s also here in Korea appearing in a very similar way in public: Christmas decorations hung in many shops, Christmas trees can be seen around town, lights strung up in foggy windows and even Christmas music being played sporadically. It sure does LOOK like Christmas in Korea. But do they celebrate, or [...]

It’s been reported for over a year that Ikea has had plans to open up its first store in South Korea. Now that the day has finally arrived, along with it controversy has followed. There have been many articles written about this online, and therefore we covered it. Hope you enjoy this episode of Hallyuback [...]

It was recently in the news that 7-Eleven has decided to launch a delivery service at 4 store locations in South Korea. The decision was made mainly because the store feels it can attract more customers by offering delivery of goods during certain store hours and within 300 meters of the store location. We offer [...]

I’ve been attending graduate school in South Korea for nearly 2 years. It’s been a great experience and a lot of hard work. I’ve learned so much and met a lot of amazing people. Now that it’s almost (fingers crossed) finished, I’ve been reflecting more on the experience, the ups and downs, the tremendous amount [...]

This time of year can be particularly hard while living in Korea, and even though we enjoy experiencing Korean culture and customs as much as possible, we still also observe our own holidays too. Every year seems to be just a little bit more difficult being on the other side of the world, far away [...]

The day was filled with activities! One of the surprised was stumbling upon a free photobooth sponsored by one of the soju companies. Shin Min Ah was there in spirit and taking photos with normal people like us. I dipped in there for a bit and had a nifty photo snapped of the 2 of [...]

We celebrated yesterday’s stupendous news about the rough draft of the thesis being finished by heading to Seoul for Wing Night! It’s not everyday we get to kick back, hang out in Seoul and have wings for a cheap price. It was nice to get out of the house after being trapped in there for [...]

I FINALLY FINISHED THE ROUGH DRAFT OF MY THESIS!!! I feel like the first big monkey is finally off my back. I didn’t leave the house for 5 days straight, but it’s finished. It’s one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. It’s actually difficult to convey how hard it’s been to get to this [...]

Every now and then it’s good to kick back on a Saturday, peel your socks off, order pizza and enjoy yourself. Which is exactly what we did! Thesis writing has been weighing heavily on Steph for weeks and it doesn’t seem to end. Even after the rough draft we found out today she has LOADS [...]

Rainy day in Korea turned awesome when a package showed up at our P.O. Box! How exciting!! So many of your guyz are so supportive of us living over here and doing our thing, and we can’t thank you enough. But for those of you sweet enough to make something hand made and send it [...]

Finally made a video about the prices of beer and liquor here!!! I’ve been wanting to make this and I don’t often go to the store to buy beer (I didn’t in this video either) but I did happen to have a few extra minutes this day to meander through the beer and liquor section [...]

Over the years, Richard has made quite a few short videos about Korea education. Too many in fact. It’s a good thing he re-directed his energy or there would be no Hallyu Back! With that being said, we both care very much about the state of education today. Heck, I’ve spent the past 2 years [...]

Wondering why we are talking about a specific Korean snack food on today’s HallyuBack News? This is because it’s the most popular thing in Korea since Kpop! These chips are so magically delicious that as soon as shelves are stocked they disappear. We talk more this and explain more about Korean snacks in the video. [...]

Recently we had the wonderful opportunity to visit Nami Island and the French Village here in Korea! Both Nami Island and the French Village are famous places in Korea where many Korean dramas were filmed. A Seoul-based tour company invited us along and so we gladly took them up on their offer. We left Seoul [...]

Are Korean Supermarkets similar to those in other countries? In some ways, Korean supermarkets more and more look like a Super Walmart: they sell not only consumable goods but there are multiple non-food sections where you can buy almost anything China makes. Here in Korea it is becoming quite similar. There is a wide selection [...]

Another Korean spicy food challenge! This one was filmed for a TV show, so that made it even more exciting. I’m beginning to like these spicy food challenges because I probably wouldn’t seek out these types of restaurants otherwise. Steph doesn’t like extremely spicy food, and we both don’t usually go to restaurants when we [...]

Is Movember a thing in South Korea? Well.. if it wasn’t before, it is now! I’ve never formally participated in Movember, so growing my beard out all month while many other men across the globe do it felt a little strange. Maybe that’s why I didn’t even make it til the end of the month! [...]

Stumbling upon street art by accident can be a delight, but graffiti in Korea is rare. I was very pleasantly surprised when I noticed the graffiti on the wall adjacent to the river running through Olympic Park in Seoul. There’s quite a bit there as is shown in the video tour, but I didn’t check [...]

For those of you wondering what all the fuss is about, welcome to the world of Snapchat! Teens these days are using Facebook less and less, and guess where they are online, heading to in droves? You got it: Snapchat. If you haven’t already downloaded the app, you’re not alone. Steph tried it out about two [...]

Kim Soo Hyun wasn’t always super famous like he is these days. A piece was published recently about a director who recounted him 5 years ago and how he ignored Kim Soo Hyun back in the day. We found this rather hilarious, maybe because it seems so plausible. Most everyone (with the exception of children [...]

It’s not everyday that you meander to the convenient store and end up riding a collapsible bike for the first time in your life! That’s exactly what happened today. I was given the opportunity to not only ride the bike, but to also see how easy it is to fold it up and pack it [...]

We love living in Korea! We really do!! It’s not perfect, just like any place, but the opportunities that we’ve been given since moving here are simply amazing. It’s incredible that we’ve both been here more than 5 years together already. Time flies. This video is intended as a trailer for your vlog channel, and [...]

Delicious. Korean. Street. Food. What else can we say?!?!! It’s everywhere here. Not all of it is good for you, and we’re guessing some of it is probably not. But that has not yet been scientifically proven.. as far as we know. Some of it must be good for you if they sell it everywhere, [...]

This was an adventure! Steph convinced me after our News Segment on Pikachu Invading Seoul that I must see Pikachu in person. He apparently is that huge in the Japanese cartoon world. I had no idea about this. So it was for us that last Saturday we headed up to Seoul to check out this [...]

Lee Min Ho is arguably one of the #smexiest Korean drama actors out there, whether you think so or not. He captures attention in a way few others are able to. Which is why we both think it was funny that this video and article started off in another direction completely than where it ended [...]

THE DAY AFTER PEPERO DAY!!! If you don’t live in Korea, can you still imagine what it’s like? I’ve never actually gone to the grocery store the day after Pepero day until today. I had to go shopping for some other items. And funny enough, Steph and I agreed to celebrate Pepero day the day [...]

Sometimes things happen in life that our slightly out of our control. That sort of thing happened today while I was doing the dishes. I was chatting away with Steph when all of a sudden there was water all over the kitchen. Naturally, that changed the course of our day. We managed to clean it [...]

Today we hung out with my wonderful friend Seung Hee! I’ve known this girl for years and I don’t think my life in Korea would be the same without her. For those new to our channel, Seung Hee and I worked together at Suwon Science College back when I was a professor there. She was [...]

Is it art or is it more like a nude photo? Students at Chunbok National University in South Korea recently released a photo and an advertisement for their graduation dance recital coming up. It’s a photos of 18 students, 17 female and one male all with their shirts off. The photos shows the female students [...]

We have a very generous fan to thank for the Macarni and Cheese featured in this video! Deidre if you’re reading this: THANK YOU!! I actually didn’t know Steph made mac n Cheese like this even though we’ve had it before several times. I’m always in the other room or doing something when she prepares [...]

We had TWO special meals today! Woke up rather early, hit the market, and cooked breakfast all while Steph was still in bed. I woke her up with eggs, homefries, toast and coffee, and scored some major brownie points. Later in the evening we went out to dinner and captured that on video for y’all [...]

Today was filled with surprise! After dropping Steph off I had a whole bunch of places to go and people to see. Life is like that, although to be fair in Korea Steph and I tend not to do a lot of running around in the car most days. Today was unlike most days, since [...]

Not one but TWO NEWS VIDEOS in this segment of Hallyu Back news! Straight away, we have fun talking about that little cutie Chanyeol because we made a very minor mistake on Inkigayo handing a bouquet of flowers to the wrong person, and that person just happened to be a guy. We then googles Chanyeol [...]

As some of you may know from watching recent videos, we love tuna kimbap and eat it all the time! I would just like to state for the record that it is not the only food for lunch we eat! When we have time to go out and sit down, which is not so often [...]

Zico released his new muci video Touch Cookie recently. Many people were unhappy with his use of a particular word that some consider derogatory or homophobic. Did he knowingly use this word in his video simply to attract attention or was he using it for some other reason? What do you guyz think? Click the [...]

I got to have a piece of the daily video spotlight today because we headed into Seoul to do some really fun DIY shopping. I mentioned in the beginning of the video when we were walking that we were headed to Myung Dong. Actually we went straight to Dongdaemun because that’s where the yarn mecca [...]

Kim Soo Hyun is a mega super star in Korea. Anywhere he goes he will be spotted and therefore he must plan carefully where he’s going and how he’s going to get there. Is it the same for him in New York City? We break it down in this segment of Hallyu Back News. Last [...]

Not every day goes as planned, as you’ll see in today’s video. I hopped on the train to Seoul in the early afternoon simply to spend some time in Seoul and film a few clips with the DSLR camera. The weather has been getting cooler, so I bundled up with 3 layers before I left [...]

Should we go and see this Pikachu/Pokemon event in Seoul for you guyz? If enough of you like and comment we will go! Last News Story: EXO FANS THROW UNDERWEAR AT KPOP CONCERT

You never know where you’re going to end up when you just start wandering random streets in Korea. It’s true. Today we went out for lunch, and had some extra time so we just started walking to see if we could find something new and fun. And boy did we ever! We ended up checking [...]

The new Korean drama coming out soon has many of us on the edge of our seats!! The hype about this drama isn’t that far off from Heirs at this point. Park Shin Hye has become more or less the ‘it’ 20-something super star actress of the Korean drama world, and that makes this drama [...]

We’ve been getting a lot of messages and emails these days about a wide aray of topics. Man ae people interested in Korea! When you watch this video, you might notice something special if you check the description box: It’s Halloween! We had planned to go out and enjoy the evening, but honestlyt we’ve been [...]

Up early on a Thursday morning and went for a long, contemplative walk. Our neighborhood is so beautiful and historic compared with what I grew up with in upsate New York. We try to go for a walk when we can, and yet I feel like I’m not able to get over to the area [...]

Ever have any experience with acupunture? In my personal experience it is fairly commonplace in Korea by now. There are many doctors who are qualified to perform acupuncture in South Korea, and the price with national health insurance is quite reasonable. A visit to the acupuncture doctor will run you under 10000Won per visit, and [...]

Today was filled with goodness! I hung out with Steph for a bit before I headed to Seoul for some afternoon filming. I had been contacted by a fan named Nelson who also is into photography and video so I decided to meet up with him and shoot some scenic shots of Seoul. When the [...]

There are just some things in this life that are guilty pleasures. They’re things you love to hate – like high heels. I hate the way my feet hurt after 20 minutes of standing/walking and my knees are kicking me the next day but I love the way that those extra couple of inches make [...]

The Ladies Code car accident was one of the mst high profile crashes in recent Kpop memory. It was a tragedy. When we found out it thappened we were even more shocked because of the location: it’s a highway that I travel on regularly because it runs next to Kyung Hee University in Suwon. It’s [...]

I am and will ALWAYS be a big fan of Japanese dramas. Why aren’t they more popular these days? Don’t get me wrong, Korean dramas being all the rage these days aren’t all that bad. I became really excited when I saw Japan was making a season 2 of Itazura Na Kiss: Love in Tokyo [...]

Street interviews with Koreans in Seoul! The question for this video was ‘What are Koreans biggest dream?’ It’s always interesting to get an inside perspective straight from the people, so that is what we attempted to do here. I sure hope you enjoy it! We’ve been making videos from our perspective mostly because it’s more [...]

Today was FILLED with good things happening and I didn’t even record all of it. Our daily vlog camera had been failing these last couple weeks, so after my meeting mid-day in Seoul, I decided to go buy a new one. On the way the Yongsan Electronics Market, I had the revelation of trying to [...]

Some of our best days are when we’re hanging out with friends and spending all day together. That was our Friday. These days it’s hard to make that happen because everyone is just so busy. We took advantage of our day off to catch up on some videos of course! We made videos both of [...]

Namsan Tower in Seoul is an absolutely beautiful place to spend anafternoon if you are in Korea! The views are magnificent and unforgettable! It’s easy to get up there these days too. There are multiple ways to ascend the mountain that the tower sits upon. The best and easiest way is the way we went, [...]

We were lucky enough to be invited to the very school where the Korean drama ‘Boys Over Flowers’ was filmed!! AHHHH WHAT AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY!!!!! This is a dream come ture for any Asian drama fan! The school itself is an English language boarding school about 2 hours from our home in Suwon, and it’s [...]

Ever become lost when you were in a hurry to get somewhere? Seoul is that cozy kind of place where serious problems rarely occur, and first world problems seem to take precedent. Take for example what happened in this video. There wasn’t a direct route to get where I was going, and I wasn’t familiar [...]

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO AND BE SURE TO CLICK LIKE!!! We both got our hair cut on the same day AND we both ate intestines. AND that’s not the only thing that happened in this video!! Mondays can be rough, so over here in Korea we just looked Monday square in the eyes and we’re [...]

Rock Paper Scissors is a staple in Korean society, and it’s not just a children’s game. Adults use it regularly as well to make almost any decision a little bit more fun, as well as solve virtually any disagreement or dispute. It’s true. You’ll see children playing it in schools, and you’ll see adults doing [...]

I can’t make this stuff up! Yesterday was the diamond earring debacle, and today we broke on on our motorbike! Having the video camera with me at all times these days makes life seem more exciting and dramatic an dangerous all at once! Luckily in Korea service for this sort of thing is really good [...]

Today we were hanging out with Megan and filming some videos. After some AWESOME collab videos (that you should DEFINITELY NOT MISS coming out soon to a YouTube channel near you), we went to enjoy dinner together. We ate Indian food and basically stuffed our faces. But! Over dinner we were talking about none other [...]

Losing an item is never fun. But imagine if the item is something you hole near and dear to your heart? Something, like, say.. a diamond earring from your father. You can’t let something like that get away unless it’s truly gone forever and there is nothing more you can do. We were sitting on [...]

Stand up comedy in Korea is still relatively young, but it does exist. Back in March 2009, Brian Aylward started Stand Up Seoul when he used to live here, and it’s been the main place to go in Seoul for English speaking stand up comedy. There are not many comics, but there are a few [...]

Park Shin Hye is arguably one of the biggest female actors in her twenties in Korean dramas. She has starred opposite some of the biggest names in the game and has appeared in some of the most popular dramas in recent memory. In all of these dramas she played the main romantic. Then why is [...]