This post has been a long time coming. None of you realize this since it hasn’t been reflected too much by my previous writing, but I LOVE South Korea. It made a major impression on me, and I think everybody should go there. So I’ve decided to tell you just why you should check this great country out.
Korea is the perfect place to plan your first trip abroad if you haven’t left home before, but it has a lot in store for seasoned travelers as well.
1. Great tourist infrastructure : South Korea created a five year project called “Visit Korea Year” that ended in 2012. The goal of the program was to simultaneously market hard to get more tourists and make the country easier to travel and more approachable. To that end, they worked extensively to expand their train system, added on a lot of long distance buses, and created a tourist hotline. This is a 24 hour toll free number that exists solely to aid visitors to their country. There are several services offered through that phone line. If you find yourself in a city and have no idea what to do, you can call them for ideas. Alternatively, they can help you figure out what might be the best transportation method to get from where you are to your next destination. Or better yet, let’s say you arrive at your hotel, or get in a cab, and discover that your service person does not speak English; the phone operators can translate for you! Which gets me to the second point…
2. All of your creature comforts can be found here : People who have a lot of travel under their belt might not find this to be a very compelling factor, but if you are still trying to plan your first trip abroad, or have only so far been to places similar to your own culture, this is a big deal. There has been a major US military presence here since the Korean war, and therefore, a lot of industries have popped up to accommodate them. Over time, the locals have become just as addicted to these products as the GI’s. Koreans are now absolutely obsessed with coffee, donuts and several other Western or American things. I saw a three story Dunkin’ Donuts that was packed to the brim at midnight, and a tiny little neighborhood coffee shack (like what you see in the parking lots of gas stations) that roasted it’s own beans on site! If you get homesick, it is easier to find something that you are used to here than it is in many other places, but it’s not so Westernized (like Singapore) that you sometimes wonder if you’re even in Asia at all.
The best hotdog I’ve ever had!
3. It’s a cheaper “Japan” : I mean no disrespect here. Korea and Japan are very different and unique places, and really only have a few things in common. The reason I say that it’s a “cheaper Japan” is that there is a very strong drive to visit Japan, especially on the West Coast of the US, where I live. Many of the things that people go to Japan to experience also exist in a slightly different version in Korea. They have sashimi (the world’s largest sashimi complex is in Pusan), karaoke, neon-lighted cities, similar temple (as well as castle and palace) design and have a similar fascination with cutesy mascot type characters. The problem with Japan is that flights, hotels and food are prohibitively expensive, which is not the case in Korea. They even have guesthouses that are similar to the Japanese ryokans, and their own version of public baths that are similar to onsens.
The inside of a guesthouse I stayed in
4. (Most) everybody speaks English : Learning English is a major goal of the Korean educational system, like many other places in the world. However, Koreans actually practice it after they get out of high school, and there is a very large percentage of them that have spent some time in college in the United States. If you are a native English speaker, or if it is your second language, you will have very few communication issues. There were only a small percentage of people I met there that did not speak English (the ones who did spoke Japanese, as did my travel partner, so I had an especially easy time there!), and they were willing and happy to do so. My experiences in Japan were very different. Everybody learned English in school, but it was extremely difficult to find somebody who still remembered it that was also interested in trying to speak it to me.
Cute cupcakes found in a Dunkin Donuts for Halloween
5. Korean people are very kind, polite and friendly : There is a stereotype here in the US that Korean people are rude, short (in their manner of speaking, that is), and standoffish. This is a cultural misunderstanding, born out of the fact that Koreans are unlikely to start a conversation with somebody they have not been officially introduced to by a mutual acquaintance. That does not mean that they are averse to you striking one up with them. If you do, they are very likely to try very hard to find something in common that they can use as the basis for the beginning of a friendship. Upon arrival in Pusan, I attempted to hail a cab to the hotel I had booked. The taxi drivers kept refusing to take me. A young couple saw the third cab I tried drive off, and they stopped what they were doing, looked up the hotel, and hailed another cab for me. That driver still wouldn’t take me, and after speaking with him, the couple still didn’t tell me why (to save face), but continued to try to help me. I’m guessing I had accidentally chosen a hotel in a bad part of town. I eventually had to tell the couple not to worry about me, because they were so intent on giving their assistance!
6. The hospitality : The main reason I had decided to go to Korea is that I had a friend who was living there (and it was an easy stopover on the way back from India). Her family allowed me and both of my travel companions, one of which had never even met my host, stay at their home. Her mother had stocked the refrigerator with so much food for us that we wouldn’t have been able to eat it in two weeks, even though we were only going to be with them for two days. There was a dish I had seen on Bizarre Foods called Cheonggukjang jiggae, that I really wanted to try. My friend scoured all the local restaurants before my arrival to find a place that served it, but was unsuccessful. So her mother made sure to make some up for me the day before I got there, and I was able to try it. She didn’t make it fresh, because she was afraid that if I smelled it cooking, I would no longer want to eat it (it is legendarily stinky!).
One of the buildings in a Seoul palace
7. Intense Natural Beauty : Everywhere I went, there were some beautiful mountains nearby. The topography of the country is absolutely gorgeous, and they have some wonderful beaches. There is no way I could possibly describe this thoroughly, but I found Korea to be very beautiful.
View from a Pusan beach
Public park in Ulsan
8. Cuisine : Korea has a very rich and delicious cuisine. It is extremely unique to other Eastern Asian countries. There is an extensive use of chiles, but the Korean chili is not terribly spicy, and has a great flavor. They are big on fermentation, because preserving food for their very cold winters is essential. Some dishes you should definitely check out are bulgogi, kalbi, suundubu jiggae, kimchee pancakes and bibimbap. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and there are so many wonderful foods you can discover there, and there are even things for the super adventurous who will try anything. I ate cicada pupa that had been stewed in soy sauce, and an interesting version of blood sausage (stuffed also with glutinous rice) called suundae. Due to the many Japanese invasions over the centuries, I noticed that a majority of Japanese dishes can be found here, either made in the traditional manner, or with a unique Korean spin. Most of the time that a food from Nihon has been adjusted for Korean tastebuds, it involves the addition of a little bit of chile. Try some Korean sushi though, and it’s a whole new experience. Imagine sushi with kim chee, bulgogi beef, pickled vegetables, mushrooms, and all sorts of other strange things.
Korean BBQ is out of this world!
8. The airport : I know this sounds silly. Airports everywhere in the world are practically identical. You will always get the same sterile environment, and nothing is interesting. That is where you are wrong. The Incheon Airport is very interesting, and has taken great lengths to provide an experience that is outside of the realm of a normal airport experience. Located in that property is a Korean bathhouse, nice restaurants, and a truly authentic cultural experience. I watched a group of people dressed up in traditional Korean garb walk by me, and was allowed to get my picture taken wearing the original clothing of a Korean emperor while my companion was dressed as my queen. There are several interactive activities aimed at cultural understanding located within the premises. It is easy to get in touch with the Korean culture just from within the airport’s property, so even if you’re just stopping by on the way to somewhere else, spend a few hours, it will be worth your time. You can dive into traditional arts and crafts, listen to folk music, and see what life in ancient Korea was like without stepping foot outside of the airport.
However, if you do that, you will be missing a lot of the amazing things to be offered by modern Korea.
I have to be honest with you guys here. When I first planned on going to Korea, I set my stopover as being only five days long. The reason that I did that is because all of the people I had met here in the US who had gone had negative things to say about the country. Many of them were G.I.s, but not all of them. I expected a place that was filthy and that the people were rude and inconsiderate. Nothing could be further from the truth. None of the negative things I had heard before going there seemed to hold up to the truth I learned from my experience, and it was an amazing destination. I learned a lot about not taking other people’s opinions about a place seriously. It is important to see a spot for yourself before making a judgement.
Go to Korea. I don’t care who you are, you will love it! It is an amazing country, filled with fabulous people, with a very rich and vibrant culture that is so unique compared to others in the area. If you take my advice, you won’t regret it!
When I went to Korea, I listened to the advice from other people way more than I should have. I only scheduled five days there, and upon arrival, I realized that I should have had AT LEAST two weeks to fully enjoy the place. Don’t make my mistake. This is a destination worth your full attention, regardless of what former soldiers (their experience is vastly different from what yours will be) have to say.
*All of the pictures in this post were taken by myself during my trip to South Korea. *
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