Terms of Use

Article 1 Purpose

The purpose of these Terms of Use is to set forth all matters regarding the terms and conditions of use and operation of services on “A Spoonful of Korean” (the “Website”).

Article 2 Definitions

The major terms used herein shall have the following meanings.

• “Members” mean users who have registered with the Website by agreeing to these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy, providing their personal information, and who have executed a user agreement with the Website and use the Website.
• “User Agreement” means the agreement entered into by and between the Website and a Member with regard to the use of the Website and its services.
• “Member’s ID” means the email address registered by each Member, which is used as a unique identifier for the Member and for the Member’s use of services.
• “Password” means a combination of characters and numbers, which is selected by a Member to verify that the Member’s ID belongs to the same Member and to protect the Member’s rights and interests.
• “Operator” means the person/entity that has opened and operates the Website that provides services. In these Terms, the Operator of the Website is “A Spoonful of Korean” (business name: 에이 스푼풀 오브 코리안).
• “Termination” means that a Member or the Website terminates the User Agreement in accordance with these Terms.

Article 3 Applicable Rules Other than These Terms of Use

The Operator may separately announce and provide guidance on operational policies, guidelines, or notices, if necessary. In the event of any conflict between these Terms of Use and such operational policies, the operational policies shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.

Article 4 Execution of User Agreement

1. The User Agreement shall be constituted when a person who wishes to use the Website agrees to these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy and the Operator (or the Website’s system) accepts the application for membership made by such person.

2. Any person who wishes to use services as a Member shall indicate his/her intention to agree to these Terms of Use by reading these Terms when applying for membership and clicking “I agree” (or a similar consent button).

Article 5 Application for the Use of Services

1. Any user who wishes to use the Website as a Member shall provide all information requested by the Website, such as email address (used as Member’s ID), password, name, and referrer information (how the user came to know about the Website).

2. A Member who has not registered genuine information, such as by using another person’s information without authorization or registering false information, may not claim any right to the use of the Website and may be subject to sanctions, including termination of membership, and, if applicable, punishment under relevant statutes.

Article 6 Guideline on Personal Information Processing

The Website and the Operator do not store Members’ passwords in plain text among their personal information provided when applying for membership. Passwords are stored only in encrypted form, and neither the Operator nor the Website can view the original passwords. Matters related to personal information, including Members’ registered information, shall be handled in accordance with the Website’s Privacy Policy.

The Operator shall make reasonable efforts to protect Members’ personal information, including Members’ registered information, in accordance with relevant statutes and the Privacy Policy established by the Website. Members’ personal information shall be protected in accordance with such statutes and the Privacy Policy.

However, the Operator shall not be liable for any information leakage or damage caused by a reason attributable to a Member, such as negligence in managing his/her password or allowing others to use his/her account.

If a Member registers or distributes illegal postings, including those that disrupt good public order and customs, violate national security, or otherwise violate relevant statutes, then the Operator may access such Member’s materials and submit such materials to the related institutions upon the lawful request of such institutions.

Article 7 Operator’s Obligations

1. The Operator shall handle any opinions offered or complaints raised by Members as soon as reasonably possible if such opinions or complaints are deemed just and appropriate. However, if the Operator finds it difficult to handle such opinions or complaints swiftly due to its circumstances, then it shall do its best by making an announcement via the Website or by sending Members messages or emails.

2. If there is any breakdown or loss of equipment related to the operation of the Website, then the Operator shall request repair or restoration without undue delay for the continuous and stable provision (or operation) of the Website. However, in case of natural disasters or other unavoidable reasons on the part of the Website or the Operator, the operation of the Website may be temporarily suspended.

Article 8 Members’ Obligations

1. Members shall comply with the matters stipulated in these Terms of Use, any regulations established by the Operator, matters (including notices and operational policies) notified to users via the Website, and relevant statutes. Members shall not commit acts that disrupt the operations of the Website or tarnish the reputation of the Website or the Operator.

2. Members may neither assign, give away, nor provide as security the right to use services and their contractual status under the User Agreement, unless the Website gives its express consent.

3. Members shall take considerable care in managing their IDs and Passwords and may not allow any third party to use their IDs without the consent of the Operator or the Website.

4. Members shall not infringe on the intellectual property rights or other rights of the Operator, the Website, or any third party.

Article 9 Service Use Hours

1. In principle, services shall be available for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year unless there is any special operational or technological need for suspension. However, the Website may temporarily suspend services on the date(s) or hour(s) designated by the Website for system checkups, maintenance, extensions, and replacements. As the temporary suspension of services due to scheduled work may be announced on the Website in advance, users are recommended to check such announcements frequently.

2. The Website may temporarily or permanently suspend services without any prior announcement or notice in the following cases:

• If there is any urgent system checkup, extension, replacement, breakdown, or malfunction
• If there is any force majeure event, such as national emergencies, blackouts, or natural disasters
• If common carriers as stipulated in relevant telecommunication laws suspend telecommunication services
• If there is a delay in the use of normal services due to overload of traffic during the use of services

3. In case of the suspension of services under Paragraph 2 above, the Website shall notify Members of such suspension via notice on the Website or by other reasonable means. However, if the Website finds it impossible to make a prior notice of the service suspension caused by an uncontrollable cause, then a later notice or announcement shall be made in lieu of such prior notice.

Article 10 Termination of Use of Services

1. If a Member wishes to terminate the User Agreement with the Website, then the Member shall apply for the termination of his/her membership (account deletion) through the online procedure provided by the Website (for example, “My account > Delete account”).

2. Upon completion of membership termination, the Member’s account information shall be deleted or anonymized in accordance with the Privacy Policy and applicable laws, provided that certain information may continue to be retained as required by statutes (e.g. transaction records). Termination of membership does not automatically cancel existing purchases, reservations, or statutory obligations; such matters shall be handled in accordance with the Website’s refund, cancellation, and relevant policies and applicable law.

Article 11 Limitations on Use of Services

Members shall not conduct any act that falls under any of the following. If Members are found to have committed any such act, the Website may place restrictions on the use of services by the Members, take legal measures, terminate the User Agreement, or suspend services for a specified period of time.

• Registering false information upon signing up for membership or changing information so that it is false after signing up for membership
• Hindering others from using the Website or stealing others’ information
• Impersonating the management, staff, or related personnel of the Website
• Infringing on the moral rights or intellectual property rights of the Website or any other third party or disrupting their businesses or operations
• Fraudulently using another Member’s ID or account
• Collecting, storing, and disclosing another Member’s personal information without its consent and without legal grounds
• Committing any act that is objectively believed to be related to crimes or in violation of relevant statutes
• Engaging in any other act that violates these Terms of Use, operational policies, or applicable laws and regulations

Article 12 Management of Postings

1. The Operator shall be responsible for the management and operation of postings and materials on the Website and may monitor postings and materials. If the Operator finds or receives a report on faulty postings and materials, then it may delete such postings and materials and give a warning to the Member that registered such postings and materials. As each Member is responsible for postings made by him/her, he or she shall not post content that violates these Terms of Use or applicable law.

2. If public institutions or regulatory agencies make a lawful demand for the correction, deletion, or blocking of any posting, then the Operator may delete or move such posting without the Member’s prior consent.

The criteria for determining any posting to be faulty are as follows.

• Postings that seriously insult another Member or any third party or tarnish its reputation
• Postings that distribute or offer links to content in violation of good public order and customs
• Postings that promote illegal copies or hacking
• Postings that aim to make advertisements for purposes of profit without the Website’s consent
• Postings that are objectively acknowledged to be associated with crimes
• Postings that infringe on the rights of another Member or any third party, including copyrights and other intellectual property rights
• Other postings that are deemed to violate relevant statutes or the Website’s operational policies

4. If the Website and the Operator are requested by any third party to suspend the publication of postings due to reasons such as defamation or infringement of rights, including intellectual property rights, then they may temporarily do so. In addition, if the Website is informed of any lawsuit, settlement between any person/entity requesting the suspension and any person/entity registering such postings, or any decision of a relevant institution similar to the foregoing, then it shall comply with such settlement or decision.

Article 13 Custody of Postings

If the Operator suspends the operation of the Website due to unavoidable circumstances, then it shall make a prior announcement to the extent reasonably possible and make efforts to take all reasonable measures to ensure that Members’ postings can be preserved or transferred, in accordance with applicable laws.

Article 14 Copyrights to Postings and Content

1. Members shall own copyrights to materials posted by them within the Website to the extent permitted by law. The Website shall not use such materials for commercial purposes without the consent of the Member who posted them. However, the Website has the right to use such materials for non-profitable purposes (such as promotion of the Website and services) and to display such materials within the services, to the extent consistent with the purpose of the Website.

2. Members may not use materials posted on the services for commercial purposes, including processing and selling the information acquired through the services, without obtaining consent from the copyright holder.

3. If the Operator determines that materials or content posted or registered by Members fall under any of the items in Paragraph 3 of Article 12 above, then it may delete, move, or refuse to register such materials or content without any prior notice.

4. All copyrights and other intellectual property rights to content created by the Operator (including but not limited to course materials, lesson content, design, logos, and texts produced by the Operator) belong to the Operator or the rightful copyright holder. Members shall not reproduce, distribute, or use such content beyond the scope permitted by law or by separate agreement with the Operator.

Article 15 Damages

1. Members shall primarily bear all civil and criminal liability arising from their actions within the Website and in connection with the use of services if such actions are attributable to them.

2. If a Member suffers any damage caused by force majeure events, such as natural disasters, or by the Member’s own willful misconduct or negligence, then the Website shall not be obligated to provide compensation for such damages except as required by applicable law.

Article 16 Indemnification

1. If Members do not earn any profit from the rendering of services at the Website or if there arises any damage from their optional selection or use of service materials or services, then the Operator shall be relieved from any liability arising from the foregoing to the extent permitted by law.

2. The Operator shall be relieved from liability for damages caused by any disruption in services at the Website or in telecommunication services offered by other carriers, except where such damages are caused by the Operator’s willful misconduct or gross negligence.

3. The Operator shall not be liable for materials stored, posted, or transmitted by Members, and Members shall bear responsibility for their own postings and communications.

4. The Operator shall not be liable for any disruption in the use of services due to a reason attributable to Members, such as a failure to meet the technical requirements for accessing the Website or negligence in managing their own devices or accounts.

5. The Operator shall not be liable for any and all activities, including data transmission and other community activities, between Members, or between Members and any third parties, regardless of whether such activities occur within the Website or through any outside services, except where required by law.

6. The Operator shall not be liable for the authenticity, trustworthiness, or accuracy of materials posted or transmitted by Members or of all materials provided for Members via the Website, unless such materials are explicitly stated by the Operator to be official information.

7. The Operator shall not be liable for any and all damages caused by transactions for goods or services between Members, or between Members and any third parties, that are carried out independently through community functions or external services and not directly sold or provided by the Website.

8. The Operator shall not be liable for any disputes that occur between Members or between Members and any third party without a reason attributable to the Operator.

9. The Operator shall not be liable for any damage suffered by Members if such damage is caused by disruptions in systems that occur without the Operator’s willful misconduct or gross negligence. This includes, for example, damage caused by third-party attacks, the distribution of computer viruses for which anti-virus solutions have not yet been developed by domestic or foreign security-related institutions or companies, or other force majeure events that cannot be reasonably controlled by the Operator.

Addendum

These Terms of Use shall take effect on 11-19-2025.