Have you noticed? Sunglasses are surprisingly rare on Seoul's streets. Here's why

For Ella Mitchell, an Australian graphic designer, packing a pair of sunglasses for the office was once part of her daily summer routine.

But this summer, the 29-year-old living in Korea swapped her sunglasses for a parasol, or sun umbrella.

"Any time I had to go outside at work, whether it was for lunch or a meeting, I'd put on my sunglasses.

But I was always the only one wearing them.

Everyone else had a sun umbrella," said Mitchell, 29, who moved to South Korea in 2023 and has since worked at ...