This research examined the specificity of reasoning and cultural universality of lying, by analyzing patterns of lie-telling and the justifications offered by Korean people when telling everyday lies. Two hundred and fourteen participants completed essays on their lying; focusing on those lies that were most prominent in their memories. Directions asked them to describe their experience, citing the time, situation, targeted person, outcomes, and their feelings about the outcomes. These essays were then analyzed by means of a coding scheme that contained within it three domains (moral, personal, and socio-conventional) and twelve justification codes. The results indicate that lies most frequently occur within close relationships rather than other forms of relationships. In close relationships, people reported that the primary motivation behind their lying was personal interest or preferences, and this was most common in middle school students. The relationships in which they told lies ranged from family to other social relationships, as their ages increased. There were significant differences in justifications offered for lying among the different age groups. Lies in the personal domain were usually justified as a means of maintaining harmony or trust in relationships, which may relate to an important characteristic of the collective cultural forces at work in Korean society.