From Survival to Speed: An Anthropological Study of “Ppalli Ppalli” Culture in South Korea

Eunjung Seo
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Eunjung Seo: Saint Paul Preparatory School Seoul

Technium Social Sciences Journal, 2026, vol. 85, issue 1, 206-215

Abstract: If you spend even a few days in Seoul, you will have a high chance of noticing something: people rushing through subway corridors, food being ordered and served so quickly, and the unspoken rule that a KakaoTalk message needs a reply within a few hours. South Korea moves fast, and people know it. The phrase that sums this up is ppalli-ppalli (빨리빨리), which basically means “hurry, hurry,” and it has turned into a kind of cultural trait. It is something that you see in tourism advertisements, economic newspapers, and conversations about burnout all at once. But just calling ppalli-ppalli a “cultural trait” simplifies what is actually a complicated social tendency.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tec:journl:ojs:13741

DOI: 10.47577/tssj.v85i1.13741

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