I've been in Korea for 4 days now, and I have to say - shit is pretty awesome here. I've visited Korea many times before, but I wasn't able to really appreciate this beautiful country; mostly due to the fact that I couldn't really DO anything. Now that I'm old enough to go to bars, clubs, etc, Korea has suddenly become a lot more interesting.
Are there any TL members currently in Korea? Hit me up with a PM
Also, I've decided to compile a list of the pros and cons of Korea (mostly talking about Seoul).
Pros: 1. Starcraft is a professional sport Yay! ^_^
2. Food is amazingly cheap and delicious! One of the best things about Korea is the cheap, tasty food. You can stuff yourself silly with just 10,000 won (about 10 dollars). Korean food is delicious. The cuisine may seem bizarre and intimidating at first (even disgusting), but you must overcome the shock and take a bite. You won't regret it!
3. The night life Korea is all about going out at night. Tons of bars and clubs litter every street. It's almost impossible to walk for more than one minute without spotting either a bar, club, PC방, or karaoke. A friend of mine, a diplomat's son, told me that he's been to many places around the world, but that Korea is by far the craziest place he's ever been! That certainly got me thinking - and after a 3 nights of partying in Seoul, I'm starting to understand why Korea is so crazy. 18 shots of tequila for 10,000 won? Yup.
4. The girls Are HOT. Sure, plastic surgery is a big problem in Korea, but come on! It works... doesn't it? The trendy parts of Seoul have some of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen. Yesterday, I visited a "date path" (according to my cousin) called Shin-sa dong, and I couldn't stop gawking at all the beautiful women!
5. Korean TV Quite entertaining if you ask me! 2 Channels dedicated to gaming? Don't mind if I do! The variety shows are hilarious, too. There's a very interesting show called "미녀들의 수다" (Beautiful womens' gossip) that I started watching recently (I think they may have been re-runs, though). It's a program that recruits beautiful international women who are living in Korea to talk about various issues and problems regarding foreigner life in Korea.
6. Transportation The Seoul Subway is the third largest in the world. Fast and efficient, the subway system in South Korea transports nearly 2 billion people each year. You can get to nearly every area in Seoul by subway. Did I mention you can even use your cell phone in the subway?
7. GPS Korean navigation systems are superbly well made. Nearly every car in Seoul has a personal navigation unit. Furthermore, Korean GPS's are more than just path finders; most are capable of displaying several television channels. My cousin's car even has a karaoke program for long drives!
Cons:
1. Air pollution The Seoul metropolitan area is home to approximately 24 million people. The amount of cars travelling in and out of Seoul each day is staggering. Consequently, the air quality is less than spectacular. I heard it's not as bad as in some parts of China, but for a kid who's been living in the suburbs of the America for his entire life, I can't say I enjoy the Seoul air.
2. K-pop Bash me if you want, but all I hear is the same shit I've been hearing on the radio in the US except in Korean.
3. Flavored soju Yuck, seriously? Girls need to learn how to take alcohol without some strange mystery flavoring. Strawberry soju my ass.
4. Traffic Traveling by car in Korea is a pain in the butt hole. Traffic springs up for no reason at all - and then it's gone in a flash! Very annoying.
5. Smokers So many people smoke in Korea. Smoking is even allowed inside most restaurants and bars. To non-smokers, the constant inhalation of second hand smoke is irritating to say the least. To smokers trying to quit: don't come to Korea. Or if you do, be prepared for super temptation.
6. There's a war still going on! South Korea, contrary to popular belief, is still at war with North Korea. When I went rafting in the north-eastern mountains of South Korea, I noticed an sharp increase in military personnel and army facilities. Many of the roads had anti-tank blockades and destructible bridges/roads. I never realized this before, but the reason why Korea has 2 years of mandatory army service is probably due to the fact that a war could break out at any moment.
I'm sure there are tons of things I missed, but these are some of the things I've noticed about Korea. It's a marvelous country to visit, and, in my opinion, is definitely one of the best places in the world to have fun.
chill at least he is not asking for advice on how to get a girl "freaking" with him.... though it is quite shallow.. like a tourists view.. but i dig the optimism..
On August 10 2010 13:26 Chill wrote: I find this blog flimsy and shallow. You write limited (my inference) experience as if it's well-established fact. For example:
Traffic is bad? Well of course. It's the biggest city in SK. I think Chicago or New York is no different if not worse. I agree that subway is quite nice, but it gets PACKED sometimes... like you can't even get out when you need too.
On August 10 2010 13:26 Chill wrote: I find this blog flimsy and shallow. You write limited (my inference) experience as if it's well-established fact. For example:
He's talking about Seoul, not the countryside. What's wrong with somebody appreciating a place he's visiting? When you're telling how awesome a concert was to a friend, you don't say like, "Well, while I cannot speak for everybody, I found the concert very entertaining". Instead, you might say something like, "That concert was the best!11!!!". Of course its not fact for everybody, but you can definitely generalize to make a story more interesting.
And yeah, you seem cranky recently
edit: oh yeah, writer is right. the internet is so delicious, i hate going on the comp in america cause i've been spoiled so hard with korean internet
On August 10 2010 13:26 Chill wrote: I find this blog flimsy and shallow. You write limited (my inference) experience as if it's well-established fact. For example:
On August 10 2010 13:26 Chill wrote: I find this blog flimsy and shallow. You write limited (my inference) experience as if it's well-established fact. For example:
3. The night life Korea is all about going out at night. Korean night life is just about as good as it gets.
Okay... What are you basing this on?
It's a marvelous country to visit, and it's definitely one of the best places in the world to have fun.
Okay.
It's literally impossible to walk for one minutes without spotting either a bar, club, PC방, or karaoke.
He's talking about Seoul, not the countryside. What's wrong with somebody appreciating a place he's visiting? When you're telling how awesome a concert was to a friend, you don't say like, "Well, while I cannot speak for everybody, I found the concert very entertaining". Instead, you might say something like, "That concert was the best!11!!!". Of course its not fact for everybody, but you can definitely generalize to make a story more interesting.
And yeah, you seem cranky recently
edit: oh yeah, writer is right. the internet is so delicious, i hate going on the comp in america cause i've been spoiled so hard with korean internet
i also think he's just explaining his general idea of s.korea as well, he did say he's only been there for 4 days and just for 4 days the feed back is great. even the cons don't seem to bother me that much
On August 10 2010 13:26 Chill wrote: I find this blog flimsy and shallow. You write limited (my inference) experience as if it's well-established fact. For example:
Damn, my bad dude. I wrote kinda fast. I didn't know I was supposed to be writing an essay with factual support and a cohesive argument. But I guess you are right, there isn't much that I'm basing my statements on. I suppose a little elaboration can't hurt.
Also, I've been to Korea many times before, so I know what the country side looks like. I was talking mostly about Seoul. It's true I have limited experience in regard to the night life in Korea, but that's because I just turned 20. Before when I came to Korea I wasn't allowed to go to bars, clubs, etc.
On August 10 2010 13:26 Chill wrote: I find this blog flimsy and shallow. You write limited (my inference) experience as if it's well-established fact. For example:
Adding to Pros 1,2 and 6. (I'm not so bothered with all the rest.) - I also like how you get freebies and samples at a lot of shops (Heck, you can practically feed yourself on the freebies in E-Mart.) Also small things like the buzzer buttons in lots of restaurants, the variety of cafes with wireless/interesting themes, and the ease of access to other cities via the rail service (Especially the KTX which is pretty comfortable and simple to use.)
One of my favorite things lately is Hongik's Saturday Free Market. It's always pretty crowded, but it's also a great way to see a more diverse student culture with loads of unique items for sale (usually cheaply.) Last time I was there I met some really nice Korean punk guys and chatted to them a bit in English about the punk/rock music scene in Seoul.
Since I've been here for a while I've become a regular at certain places which means added bonuses like being able to make imported book orders at my own discretion from a few of the bookstores (I did drop several thousand on one of them though so it's nice to be rewarded for my custom with this service.)
I'm starting to appreciate more of the little ways life is more convinient here instead of focusing upon the negatives.
On August 10 2010 13:26 Chill wrote: I find this blog flimsy and shallow. You write limited (my inference) experience as if it's well-established fact. For example:
Chill, if you come to Korea, I'll personally take you and let you make up your own mind keke. But he does make his reasonings known, cheap alcohol, lots of bars, no closing times, but don't worry, I'll make sure we drink from 6pm to 7am when you come.
One of the best places to have fun...um Giyom, Elky and Rek basically have lived here, but I'm bias myself being Korean, but I've lived in Macau, Hong Kong, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Paris, Seoul and visited for extended period of time in about 10 different cities and can say, yes it is. But don't worry, we'll go to at least 8 different bars, clubs, restaurants over a period of 2 days so you can let me know.
Fuck, CHILL, we ain't going to the country side, unless you really really want to. NO!, we're not! You can't force me to take you to the country side where there are no girls to look at, no bars for miles and karaoke (not that do all that, but I still like to see Korean girls in mini skirts as my past time in Korea). No Chill No! We can only have fun in Korea because that is why you would visit me and then you can write a post on how fun it was too ^^
CHILL!!!!!!!! Korea the land of your dreams is waiting for you. And because I say so, IT IS TRUE!
I feel obliged to defend masami here. I too have just moved to Korea (been here 3 weeks now) and am still absolutely loving it and really enjoying everything new I come across and totally empathise with wanting to express this.
You missed out SNOWBOARDING (probabbly because you don't care about it) but I can't wait for it to snow, the slopes are almost certainly not the best in the world but I can see them from my school and know its going to be amazing this winter.
If anyone wants to go watch some live Starcraft anytime in the next week or so give me a PM because its totally more fun been able to talk to other English speaking people and you can't always rely on meeting people if you go alone.
On August 10 2010 13:26 Chill wrote: I find this blog flimsy and shallow. You write limited (my inference) experience as if it's well-established fact. For example:
3. The night life Korea is all about going out at night. Korean night life is just about as good as it gets.
Okay... What are you basing this on?
It's a marvelous country to visit, and it's definitely one of the best places in the world to have fun.
Okay.
It's literally impossible to walk for one minutes without spotting either a bar, club, PC방, or karaoke.
Chill, if you come to Korea, I'll personally take you and let you make up your own mind keke. But he does make his reasonings known, cheap alcohol, lots of bars, no closing times, but don't worry, I'll make sure we drink from 6pm to 7am when you come.
One of the best places to have fun...um Giyom, Elky and Rek basically have lived here, but I'm bias myself being Korean, but I've lived in Macau, Hong Kong, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Paris, Seoul and visited for extended period of time in about 10 different cities and can say, yes it is. But don't worry, we'll go to at least 8 different bars, clubs, restaurants over a period of 2 days so you can let me know.
Fuck, CHILL, we ain't going to the country side, unless you really really want to. NO!, we're not! You can't force me to take you to the country side where there are no girls to look at, no bars for miles and karaoke (not that do all that, but I still like to see Korean girls in mini skirts as my past time in Korea). No Chill No! We can only have fun in Korea because that is why you would visit me and then you can write a post on how fun it was too ^^
CHILL!!!!!!!! Korea the land of your dreams is waiting for you. And because I say so, IT IS TRUE!
I think Chill has been to Korea on multiple occasions...
EPT
