Developer's Note
During my many years living abroad, there were moments when the barriers of language and culture kept me from reaching the information I needed, and I felt completely lost. Even now, I vividly remember how badly I craved just one word from a local, whenever no amount of searching online could get me the answer I needed.
Settling down in Pohang, the Korea I rediscovered surprised me. Foreign travelers had grown a great deal, yet to many of them, Korea still meant only 'Seoul.' There are so many beautiful places beyond Seoul worth showing the world, but they simply weren't getting the attention they deserved.
Right next door, Gyeongju and Busan were much the same — beautiful nature, deep history, and warm-hearted people, but there was still no real channel to connect these stories with the world.
“Let the world know that Seoul isn't all of Korea — that our own neighborhoods, too, are full of beautiful places — and that the people there can now tell their hometown's story, and their business's story, to the world, in Korean.”
With that in mind, we're starting in Pohang, Busan, and Gyeongju. Anyone can take part, even without fluent foreign language skills — a small shop owner, a resident who simply knows the neighborhood well, or anyone who just loves Korea can become a citizen diplomat introducing their town to the world.
Foreigners
Ask whatever you're curious about, right away, in your own language — no login needed.
Get an answer a search engine can't give you — straight from a local.
Koreans
Just answer in Korean — everything else is translated automatically.
Simply answer someone's question in Korean, and your shop and neighborhood are introduced to the world in four languages.
We're starting in Pohang, Busan, and Gyeongju, but DearK's destination is the whole of Korea. Foreigners gain easy access to a local's help, and local shops and residents get to meet the world in Korean. That's why I built DearK.
Welcome to DearKFriend.