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Itchy Boots looks beyond Busan's beauty to its shrinking population

Noraly's final South Korea stop connects colorful hillside streets with housing costs, marriage pressures and the country's demographic future.

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Itchy Boots Story of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? 974,033 views so far, and here is what is inside it.

South Korea's success story is starting to crack 🇰🇷 | S8, EP167

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7:21Gamcheon's hillside neighborhood carries a history of Japanese occupation and Korean War refugee settlement.
12:58Old Japanese tombstones have been repurposed into house foundations and stairways.
14:24Noraly uses Google Lens to read cosmetic-clinic signs in Seomyeon's medical district.
20:36The title's demographic argument begins with Busan's shrinking population and young people leaving for Seoul.
22:45She links low birth rates to housing costs, marriage expectations, career pressures and unequal domestic duties.
25:07She notes improvement after government incentives but argues that immigration is the solution to population decline.

Old tombstones turn up in house foundations and stairways as Noraly explores Busan's Gamcheon Culture Village. For a motorcycle travel episode, Itchy Boots spends a considerable stretch on foot, looking at what the city's streets reveal about its past and future.

The sponsor-supported episode follows her ride from Gyeongju into Busan, the departure point for her ferry to Japan. She traces Gamcheon's history through Japanese occupation and Korean War refugee settlement, then heads into a very different neighborhood: Seomyeon's medical district, where she uses Google Lens to decipher cosmetic-clinic signs.

The central argument behind the title arrives about twenty minutes in. Noraly describes Busan losing young people to Seoul and considers the pressures behind South Korea's low birth rate. Expensive housing, she argues, makes marriage harder to contemplate, while women face career risks and expectations that they will shoulder traditional domestic duties. She also points to the stigma attached to having children outside marriage.

Her conclusion is that financial incentives alone cannot resolve the demographic problem. She notes a small improvement following government measures but argues that immigration offers the real solution. The episode's title is broad; the discussion underneath it is specifically about population decline and the obstacles to starting families.

Viewers are picking up on the change of pace, mentioning the walking-tour format, the history lessons and those repurposed tombstones. Alongside the social commentary, Noraly encounters a more immediate frustration: an unmanned snack shop where neither her cash nor her phone gets her through checkout.

She has better luck at a street-market stall, buying a seed-filled ssiat hotteok before closing her South Korean journey.

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What viewers say

I found the history of the tomb stones absolutely fascinating. ❤❤❤
@ynotg-y3fSee it on YouTube
I like this new vlog format speaking about the cities...
@cacawachiSee it on YouTube
Wow Noraly, you know you are famous when Korean Police knew who you were. You are right up there with K-Pop.
@ComputerGeekOnTwoWheelsSee it on YouTube

3 more comments

Dear Noraly, I am a father from Khouribga, Morocco, over 70 years old. I don't speak English, but I watch every single one of your videos, and I love you like my own daughter. I love Frankie and Alaska so much! I pray to God to grant you health, safety, and a wonderful, safe journey to Japan. Blessings from Morocco!"
@AhmedNaamane-qv4zwSee it on YouTube
The Korean background music is amazing.
@gembujo-kakaSee it on YouTube
This genuinely was one of my most favourite videos you’ve done Noraly!
Just walking giving us all a history lesson.. 😃
@mattyaztecSee it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube