Daniel Tudor

Daniel Tudor is a British author, journalist and entrepreneur. Born in Manchester, England, he is now based in Seoul, South Korea. He graduated with a BA in philosophy, politics and economics from University of Oxford's Somerville College and also received an MBA from the University of Manchester's Business School.

Life and career

South Korea Tudor first visited Korea to watch the 2002 World Cup at the invitation of a university friend. This was his first trip to Asia. He decided to spend a year in South Korea upon graduation, and like many Westerners, his first job there was teaching English, in his case in an academy in Gimhae, Gyeongsang Province.

The Economist Tudor was The Economist Korea correspondent from 2010 to 2013, following an internship with the publication. His articles covered both South Korean and North Korean politics, as well as South Korean culture.

The Booth Brewing Co. In 2012, Tudor wrote a piece for The Economist titled "Fiery Food, Boring Beer", in which he noted that South Koreans were known for their varied culinary traditions, but lagged behind North Korea when it came to beer culture and quality. This caught the attention of Sunghoo Yang and Heeyoon Kim, who—with Tudor—co-founded The Booth Brewing Co. in 2013. It started off as a small pub in a Seoul alleyway and has grown to a craft beer hub, with twenty beers produced across three continents.

Kokkiri ("Elephant") Tudor is also co-founder and CEO of Kokkiri, South Korea's most popular meditation app, in partnership with Haemin, a Buddhist monk and author of The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down .

Personal life On 13 October 2022 MBC presenter Lim Hyun-ju announced she and Tudor would be getting married. The couple held a wedding ceremony on 24 February 2023, after registering their marriage on 14 February 2023.

On 27 April 2023, Lim announced she was pregnant. Lim gave birth to a daughter on 2 October 2023. On September 3, 2024, Lim announced her second pregnancy. Lim gave birth to a second daughter on February 12, 2025.

Books

Korea: The Impossible Country Tudor's first and bestselling book, Korea: The Impossible Country, was first published in 2012 by Tuttle Publishing. It was one of the first books on South Korea meant for Western audiences, exploring Korea's cultural foundations: from family and marriage to workplace culture and clan-ism. It was re-released in paperback in 2018 and has been translated for foreign language readers.

A Geek in Korea His second book, A Geek in Korea: Discovering Asia's New Kingdom of Cool (Tuttle, 2014), is aimed at younger audiences than his debut book. It introduces modern Korean culture, tackling topics such as K-pop, video games and skiing.

The court did not mention the authors or the other numerous media outlets that covered the book's release. North Korean media outlet the Korean Central News Agency said in an article that North Korea Confidential was written through, "ludicrous statements of the riff-raffs including rubbish defectors two years ago."

Other contributions In addition to his work for The Economist, Tudor has also contributed to the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Private Eye, JoongAng Ilbo and Hankyoreh 21.

Interviews Tudor is a popular interviewee and commentator on Korean affairs. He has been featured on NPR, Forbes, BBC, The New York Times, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Financial Times, USA Today, and The Japan Times, among others.