How Korea's strict waste management confuses new foreign residents

“Are onion skins not food waste?” “Do I have to remove the cap from a glass bottle before throwing it out?” These questions came quickly during a waste sorting workshop for international students at Dongguk University’s Hyehwa Hall in central Seoul on June 17. About 20 participants followed the session in Korean and English, learning how to sort general waste, food waste and recyclables, as well as when to put trash out for collection. Many nodded as instructors explained rules that can feel routine to Koreans but confusing to newcomers. Cristina, 31, from Peru, said the system was difficult to understand when she first arrived because waste is not separated the same way in her home country. “In Peru, we don’t sort trash, so when I first came to Korea, I didn’t know what counted as general waste and what could be recycled,” she said. “I thought I had gotten used to waste sorting after living here for two years, but this was the first time I learned that chicken bones should go into general waste, not food waste.” Tan Yong Xin, 22, from Malaysia, who has been livingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times