Say 'kimchi': How photobooths have filled Korean streets

With tiny photos, Koreans turn moments into memories
"Look at the camera and pose within 10 seconds after you hear the sound beep."
After the countdown cue begins, put on your best smile, strike a pose, switch it up and let your best angle shine. And get ready for the next shot. After the minute-long shoot, flip through the snap photos, pick your favorites and print them out to take home.
This is a scene at a self-service photo booth where anyone can snap fun shots and instantly print out bookmark-sized keepsakes that capture the moment.
The photos are taken using automated cameras, lighting and backdrops. These unmanned photo "studios" are open 24 hours, meaning you can pop in whenever it strikes your fancy. Instructions are available in English, Japanese and Chinese as well.
Walk through Seongsu-dong or Hongdae and you will be struck by how many of these unmanned photo studios there are, usually crowded with people casually stepping inside to snap memories as if it were a daily routine.
Among the many studio booths, global selfie brand Life Four Cuts leads the pack. The name is a reference to its "four-cut" photo service — similar to traditional passport photos, with four snapshots framed in a vertical strip, with two printed copies costing 4,000 won ($2.91), 8,000 won for four copies and 12,000 won for six prints.
Ha Yoo-ra, 20, a university student in Seoul, is among those who stepped into a four-cut photo booth with two friends for a fun memory.
"(The three of us) have been friends since elementary school, but somehow never took a nice photo together, believe it or not, until now. So we decided to have a little makeover and dress nicely to mark our years of friendship. One day, I hope we will reminisce about the memories of the day we took the photo, what we ate and how we looked," Ha told The Korea Herald.
"Also, the self-photo booths edit the pictures by making our skin look better and brighter, which is cost-friendly for college students," Ha added.
To stand out in the fast-growing photo booth market, many brands are teaming up with K-pop stars, actors, popular cartoon characters and even sports figures. These time-limited designs add to the appeal by creating a one-of-a-kind experience.
For example, Photoism opened an artist frame on May 26 that allows users to take photos with a frame featuring singer-songwriter IU to mark the release of her new EP "A Flower Bookmark, Pt. 3." The special edition frame will only be available until June 30.
Yoshi from the K-pop group Treasure is another frame option available at Photoism. Released to mark his May 15 birthday, the frame will be available through June 15.
Park Jun-seo, a college graduate who is an avid fan of boy band Enhypen, visited Photoism in November last year to to be in the same frame as her favorite idol.
"Honestly, I think it is embarrassing to enter a self-studio photo booth to take a picture of yourself, but I wanted to be in the same picture with my idol. It wasn't about how pretty I looked in the picture but about the fact that I printed a photo of me standing next to my favorite singer, even if it was just a photo frame," Park explained.
For sports fans, exclusive photo frames featuring baseball players from all 10 KBO teams are available through a partnership with the Korea Baseball Organization during the baseball season. During the baseball sesason fans can capture fun and personalized memories, posing "next" to their favorite player. The special edition frames are available through October.
The photo-booth craze has also spread overseas. Korea's Life Four Cuts and Photomatic are now available in Singapore and London while local companies have jumped in on the market in Indonesia with homegrown brands like Photograms and Palette ID making big waves.
"These pictures come with great quality at a budget-friendly price, which is why the MZ generation are preferring self-photo studios," a senior official overseeing marketing at Life Four Cuts told The Korea Herald.
A total of 120 million visits have been made to Life Four Cuts since its launch in 2017 and the company runs around 410 stores in Korea, according to the company.
Another reason driving the trend is that the pictures come out in formats that are easy to share on social media, according to the official. Also, limited-edition photo frames could trigger FOMO among people and lead to more repeat visits for photos with different celebrities in the frame.
"The trend also aligns with the desire to capture and document everyday moments. With stylish frames and creative setups, these photo booths let anyone step in, take photos and express themselves comfortably and without feeling self-conscious," the official said.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Korea Herald

5 hours ago

• Korea Herald

UNESCO can multiply Korea's Hallyu model, Egypt's heritage, says director-general candidate

UNESCO has the potential to amplify cultural legacies of both Korea and Egypt, leveraging them as models of soft power and global cultural engagement, according to Khaled El-Enany, Egypt's former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities and a candidate for UNESCO director-general for the 2025–2029 term. 'The model developed by the Republic of Korea is remarkable, and I want to acknowledge its success,' El-Enany said in an interview with The Korea Herald during his visit to Seoul. 'Hallyu is not just a pop culture wave — it's a long-term cultural strategy, rooted in strong content, modern platforms and the ability to speak to diverse audiences across the world,' he said, praising Korea's global cultural strategy. He cited Hallyu as a "well-defined form of soft power" that many countries observe "closely and with respect.' He also underlined Egypt's global cultural resonance, citing ancient Egypt's influence in museums, entertainment and literature worldwide. 'Ancient Egypt is a global reference point — an enduring source of fascination that transcends borders and generations,' El-Enany said. He stressed that if elected, he would work to turn UNESCO into a platform for genuine, two-way cultural exchange. 'I do not believe in one-way cultural exports,' he said. 'I believe in structured, lasting, mutually enriching exchanges.' El-Enany highlighted Egypt and Korea's efforts to promote intercultural dialogue through UNESCO initiatives such as the Silk Roads project and commended Korea's leadership in digital heritage preservation, such as the Digital Homecoming Project and academic collaborations. He cited Korea's support as a strong example of long-term cultural strategy. According to El-Enany, cultural diplomacy begins with a willingness to listen, translate and share. Expressing admiration for Korea's financial and institutional contributions to UNESCO, El-Enany underscored Seoul's recent pledge of 5 billion won ($3.65 million) to support UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund. 'This represents a powerful gesture of solidarity. … It is exactly the kind of initiative that shows how Member States can act with vision and generosity to serve the common good,' he said. El-Enany said that if elected, he would deepen cooperation not only with Korea and Egypt but with all UNESCO Member States. 'UNESCO must remain a place of connection, creativity and shared global purpose,' he said. 'And in that sense, the relationship between Korea and Egypt can serve as a model.' sanjaykumar@

Korea Herald

7 hours ago

• Korea Herald

Hungarian musical 'Nikola Tesla' opens 19th Daegu International Musical Festival

DIMF to feature 30 productions until July 7 DAEGU — The 19th edition of the Daegu International Musical Festival, Korea's premier celebration of musical theater, opened Friday with the Hungarian production 'Nikola Tesla: Infinite Energy.' At a press conference held before the musical's first of ten performances at the Daegu Opera House, running through June 28, communication required double translation: from Hungarian to English, and then from English to Korean. It was a symbolic moment, highlighting the rarity and significance of such cross-cultural encounters and mutual exposure. 'This is precisely the role of DIMF, introducing well-made productions from unfamiliar territories,' said Bae Sung-hyuck, executive director of the DIMF. Last year, DIMF opened with the French production 'Holiday' and 'Flying Apsaras,' a Chinese production took home the grand prize. This year's festival features a total of 30 productions from six countries, including Hungary, France, Japan, Taiwan and China. Tibor Vona, executive director of TBG Production, introduced 'Nikola Tesla: Infinite Energy,' which was built upon more than 2,500 pages of research on the scientist. His groundbreaking contributions to modern electrical engineering are echoed in the names of two Nasdaq-listed companies: electric vehicle maker Tesla and electric truck manufacturer Nikola. Gergo Mikola, who plays Tesla, said, 'The production both provokes thoughts and touch hearts. It isn't called infinite energy for no reason — we have amazing choreography.' 'I'm curious about how this production will be perceived by the Korean audiences,' said Nikolett Furedi, who takes dual roles as Duka Tesla in the first act, the scientist's mother, and Sarah Bernhardt in the second. The two-hour musical uses state-of-the-art stage technology to immerse audiences in the pivotal chapters of Tesla's life — from his birthplace in Smiljan, a village in Croatia to cities like Prague, Budapest, Paris, New York and Niagara Falls. This year's DIMF takes place across Daegu from Friday to July 7. Launched in 2006 as part of Daegu City's initiative to establish itself as a hub for musical theater, DIMF has grown into Korea's only global musical festival. In particular, the festival's support program for original musicals has consistently led to tangible outcomes and successes. This year, five new original musicals will be unveiled. Each was selected through DIMF's Original Musical Support Program, which evaluates scripts and music to support stage production. The program has discovered 82 new works over the past 18 years. The festival also nurtures emerging talent through the DIMF College Musical Festival, offering student performers a chance to shine on stage. Now in its 10th year, the DIMF Musical Academy continues to cultivate the next generation of theater professionals through a monthslong intensive program, training aspiring playwrights, composers and actors for careers in musical theater. The festival's closing production is the Chinese musical "Panda," a Korean-Chinese co-production by Songlei Musical Production. Since its premiere in 2022 at the Panda Theater, located within the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan Province, China, the show has been performed over 1,000 times. The festival will conclude July 7 with the DIMF Awards, celebrating the festival's best performances.

Korea Herald

10 hours ago

• Korea Herald

Megahit webtoon 'Remarried Empress' to be turned into Disney+ original

Highly anticipated series to premiere on the streaming platform in 2026 Disney+ is set to adapt the smash-hit webtoon "Remarried Empress" into a live-action drama series, exclusively premiering on the platform next year. Based on the globally beloved web novel-turned-webtoon, "Remarried Empress" is a romance fantasy centered on Empress Navier of the Eastern Empire. When her husband, Emperor Sovieshu, demands a divorce, Navier agrees, on the condition that she be allowed to remarry Prince Heinrey of the Western Kingdom. Since its launch in 2019, the webtoon has garnered massive international popularity, translated into 10 languages including English, French, Japanese and German. The webtoon series racked up more than 2.6 billion cumulative views as of the end of 2024. Shin Min-a, known for hit dramas "Karma" and "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha," will lead the Disney+ original as Empress Navier. Ju Ji-hoon takes on the role of Emperor Sovieshu, whose betrayal of Rashta, a former runaway slave, sets the story in motion. Lee Se-young will portray Rashta, while Lee Jong-suk joins the cast as Prince Heinrey, Navier's new love interest. The series will be directed by Jo Soo-won, known for popular dramas including "I Can Hear Your Voice." The script is written by Yeo Ji-na and Hyun Choong-yeol, the screenwriting duo behind "The Uncanny Counter."