Use Naver Maps offline on your iPod Touch / etc.

Problem:
You don't want to be lost around Seoul, or anywhere in Korea for that matter, but you don't have a smartphone. You do have an iPod Touch (or iPhone) or other wifi-only device, but what if no wifi signal is available?

Solution:
Use the offline cache feature of Naver Maps. Here's how:

Download the Naver Maps app at the Apple App Store or Android Market
(this tutorial uses the Android version)

1. Press the Menu button
2. Select the 저장 ("Storage") button on the bottom-left
3. A pop-up menu appears, with two options: 지도 저장 (Save Map Info) and 저장 목록보기 (View Stored Map)
4. Choose 지도 저장
5. The map appears with a centered circle. That circle will be the downloaded map area. Choose the size of the area you want saved (250m, 500m, 750m, 1km, or 3km)
6. Click 완료 (Done).
7. Wait as the app downloads the map data
8. A confirmation will pop-up when complete. Choose 듣기 (Done)

To view your cached map data offline, repeat steps 1-3, but choose 저장 목록보기 to view a list of your saved maps. Note that you can save multiple map areas (I like to keep offline map areas of my local area as well as of Itaewon / Hongdae / central Seoul, just in case...)

You can use GPS or wifi-location-matching to find your current location on your downloaded map. You can zoom in/out as usual. Note, however, that you will be unable to search or get transit directions.

EDIT 2012-06:

The interface is slightly different now. New instructions are:

1. Press the Menu button
2. Select the 다운로드 ("Download") button on the bottom-center
3. A pop-up menu appears, with two options: 내 기기에 지도 다운로드하기 (Download Map to my Device) and 다운로드한 지도 목록보기  (View Downloaded Map List)
4. Choose 내 기기에 지도 다운로드하기
5. The map appears with a centered circle. That circle will be the downloaded map area. Choose the size of the area you want saved (250m, 500m, 750m, 1km, or 3km)
6. Click the download icon (arrow pointing downward).
7. Wait as the app downloads the map data
8. When 100% is reached, Choose 완료 (OK)

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Automatically remove line breaks from text

Problem:
You just copied/pasted a bunch of text from an e-mail, a .PDF file, or an e-book, and it looks ugly because the line breaks are all in the wrong spot. You want to remove these line breaks, to make the text flow nicely, but doing it manually is annoying and takes forever.

Solution:
In your word processor, you can use the "Find/Replace" tool. Just:

1. Go to Edit->Find/Replace
2. In the "Find" field put the dollar sign ("$" without quotes) for LibreOffice, or caret-P ("^p" without quotes) for Microsoft Word
3. In the "Replace" field, just hit the space bar to put a space.
4. (LibreOffice only) Click "More options..."
5. (LibreOffice only) Check/tick the box for "Regular Expressions"
6. Click "Find/Replace All"

Or, you can just copy/paste your text into either of this handy online tools:

• http://www.textfixer.com/tools/remove-line-breaks.php
• http://removelinebreaks.com/

Source: http://lucydebate.blogspot.com/2009/09/tech-tip-removing-extra-line-breaks.html

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Use Naver's English Dictionary in English!

Problem:
You want to translate a word/phrase between Korean/English, but Google Translate sucks (doesn't have a translation, or the wrong translation) and your phone dictionary doesn't have it.

Solution:
Koreans invariably use Naver's English Dictionary, which now boasts an English-language version to help you navigate. Check it out; it's (usually) much more accurate than Google.

Source:
http://endic.naver.com/?isEngVer=Y

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Korean "pull my finger"

Problem:
You want to apparently fart on-demand by asking your friend to "pull your finger," but because he's Korean, he doesn't understand your request.

Solution:
The Korean version of this classic and gassy classy move might be called the "push my thumb" trick. Make a "thumbs up" gesture, and ask your friend to push it. He will push down on your thumb like a detonator, at which point you will release your "dok-gas!" (독가스)

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Use NateOn with Pidgin 2.10

Problem:
You want to use NateOn (South Korea's most popular instant messaging program), but you already use AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, etc.

Solution:
Use Pidgin (multi-platform, multi-protocol IM client) to consolidate your IM accounts, including your NateOn account by downloading and installing the pidgin-nateon plugin.

Source:
http://blog.kaisyu.com/2011/08/pidgin-2100.html

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Find where a photo was taken by EXIF data

Problem:
You see a cool photo your friend took, and want to visit that spot, but you don't know where exactly the photo was taken.

Solution:
Since many people take photos via their smartphone nowadays, chances are the image has EXIF data that would show the location. Upload the photo (or if it's already on the web, paste in the URL) to Jeffrey's Exif Viewer and see exactly where it was taken.

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Prepare your noraebang (노래방) session with Noraebook

Problem:
You hate wasting time at the karaoke room (noraebang 노래방) looking through that dirty old book for good English songs. Plus, the book is out of date.

Solution:
Download the Noraebook smartphone app, which lets you browse all the available songs at most noraebangs in Korea, in addition to providing you with the number you can input at the noraebang. Keep a list of go-to songs ready, in case a spontaneous singing room session breaks out.

Source:
Download it in the Android Market or the iTunes App Store.

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