For years, Korean dating apps have mostly matched Koreans with other Koreans. Weepy, a social discovery app run by Enrise, is betting that a growing appetite for cross-border romance — …
Grace Lim
Grace Lim
Covers K-beauty, fashion, and food for KoreaUpClose. ISFJ. Always remembers which cafe had the good window seat.
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K-Beauty & Fashion
Olive Young Opened a Second U.S. Store. People Started Lining Up at 4 A.M., Again.
by Grace Limby Grace Lim“안녕하세요. 웰컴 투 올리브영.” On June 13, that Korean-English greeting rang out inside Westfield Century City, one of Los Angeles’s busiest shopping malls, every time a customer walked through the …
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Cafe & "Third Place" Culture
There’s a 1,600-Store Korean Coffee Chain You’ve Never Heard Of. It’s About to Open Its First U.S. Location in Las Vegas.
by Grace Limby Grace LimSometime later in 2026, if you’re walking the western edge of the Las Vegas Strip looking for an iced coffee the size of a flower vase, you may run into …
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Cafe & "Third Place" Culture
Starbucks Korea Closed 2,160 Stores Early on the Same Afternoon. A Tumbler Promotion Is Why.
by Grace Limby Grace LimIn late May, a video began circulating on Korean social media showing someone removing the green logo from a Starbucks tumbler with two items bought for 2,000 won at a …
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K-Food & Dining
Western Shoppers Are Drizzling Korean Sesame Oil on Salads Like It’s Olive Oil. Exports Just Hit a Record Because of It.
by Grace Limby Grace LimAt a growing number of Whole Foods and specialty grocers in the US, Korean sesame oil no longer sits in the “international” aisle next to the soy sauce. It’s migrated …
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K-Food & Dining
A Korean Fried Chicken Counter Just Opened in a 42,000-Person Ohio Suburb. That’s the Point.
by Grace Limby Grace LimGrove City, Ohio doesn’t look like ground zero for anything. It’s a Columbus suburb of roughly 42,000 people, per U.S. Census Bureau estimates — the kind of place known for …
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Fashion
Nike Just Put South Korea in the Same World Cup Fashion Tier as France and the Netherlands. G-Dragon Designed the Capsule That Got It There.
by Grace Limby Grace LimSouth Korea is the only Asian country in Nike’s top-tier World Cup collaboration program for 2026 — and the kit that got it there has G-Dragon’s signature daisy logo stitched …
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Skincare & Beauty Products
You’ve Probably Seen This Sunscreen’s Pink-and-White Tube a Dozen Times Online. A Global Market Tracker Just Confirmed Why.
by Grace Limby Grace LimThe tube is pink and white, a little stubby, and by now you’ve probably squeezed some of it onto the back of your hand in at least one skincare video …
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K-Beauty & Fashion
People Started Lining Up on a Pasadena Sidewalk at 3 P.M. the Day Before. Some Brought Folding Chairs and Slept There.
by Grace Limby Grace LimThe line on Colorado Boulevard started forming at 3 p.m. the day before anything actually opened. By sunrise, it had grown into something else entirely — four blocks of folding …
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Cafe & "Third Place" Culture
I Got Charged Extra for a Disposable Cup at a Seoul Cafe. That’s Kind of the Point Now.
by Grace Limby Grace LimThe sign on the wall at Cafe IO3 in Seongsu-dong doesn’t ask you to bring your own tumbler. It charges you ₩1,000 (about $0.75) if you don’t. “Have Bottle, Save …
