Sup /trv/ me and a friend are planning on going to South-Korea.
What are the best cities for sightseeing and night-life, the best peroid to go in terms of weather, the best way of transportation, should we do it by train or just rent a car and i terms of places to sleep, got any recommendation for hostels/ hotels/ w/e ?
Gibe tips, share stories/experiences. Thanks in advance.
Depends on what you like, really. It's capitalist paradise, also the number of restaurants per capita is quite high, so prepare your stomach and wallet. Mostly your stomach, be ready to eat non-stop.
There's accommodation from guesthouses with ondol, templestays, hostels, hotels, airbnb, couchsurfing, whatever you like. Oh, and love motels are actually a pretty good value for the price, just ignore the condoms and stuff.
March-April is supposed to be the nicest, but I really enjoyed the winter time I've spent there, too. Just avoid summer.
Seoul you couldn't avoid even if you wanted to... Daejeon you want to avoid. If you just spend a few days, Seoul and Busan should be enough. Near Seoul my fave was Suwon with the fortress and the Public Toilet Tour. The toilet with the best view goes to the one in the fortress obviously, but the rest are also fun.
Okay, back to nightlife, Hongdae, Itaewon, Gangnam, these are probably the best within Seoul for that.
KR pass was relatively cheap a few years back, and you probably only want to visit the part of Korea that is covered well by trains... T Money is another keyword to remember for public transport and taxis.
If you want to stalk Yoona, Gangnam is the place again.
http://kpoplists.com/post/3637677540
Be more specific to get a better response.
>>1044107
We were planning on moving from south to north so Busan to Seoul and we are going for 2 weeks so i think we'll have plenty of time to do lots of stuffs. From what i've gathered so far in both Busan and Seoul are ok if you only speak english but the people dont seem to be keen on spontaneous conversation and the way i feel about travel is the people you meet and the conversations you have with them are what makes the journey a success. So how do you deal with it ? Do you just keep trying until you find some people who are more open about the "western way" of socializing ? and yee, sorry for the shoddy OP, first time posting on /trv/ so.. Thanks for the reply tho im looking forward to the public toilet tour, sounds like fun!
>>1044111
They don't? I don't know, it might be just me, but I had people come up and talk to me everywhere (outside of Seoul). Their English wouldn't be great, but then again, mine is also far from perfect, so I just kept on talking even when we didn't get each other. Conversations started 2 ways mostly:
Where are you from?
God, you really don't know how to eat that dish, do you. Let me help you. How do you like it? Which Korean dish is your favorite so far?
...and then I took the conversations as far as I wanted, really. I still have some of those people on messenger.
The Busan fish market is a must. I'm not really into fish, but I kinda had to forget about that, it's that much of an event. They sell fish soups next to a lot of stands in the outside area, that is probably the more foreign stomach friendly option. You see the fish being packed at the back of the stands. And then in the indoors areas you can go and pick and let them prepare you whichever fish you want.
The shopping mall next to it has some chain coffee shop on the roof terrace, with a great view. In case you don't want to go to the tower everyone's supposed to go to in Busan.
If I were you, other then regular itinerary, I'd prepare a list of foods I want to try in Korea. It may be just my addiction, but... Eating in Korea always seemed like an event. When it was just a toast stand on the side of the road, or a Gangnam restaurant... In both cases it seemed like a ritual.
Just thinking about it makes me want to go back.
>>1044111
Sup dude. From what you said, I'm guessing you want to experience Korea as a traveler, not a tourist. And one way to avoid being a "tourist" is through meeting the people. Unfortunately, lots of koreans might go WTF when you try to hold a conversation them, especially the older generation. So, try the younger 20-30 yr old ppl for that.
Now here's some suggestions for a visit from a native...
1. Like the guy b4 me said seoul is unavoidable. Seoul and Busan are the two main cities and form the backbone of korea. They have amazing nightlife. Visit the heundae beach in busan, great nightlife. Its the place to party.
2. The best food is in jeollanamdo and jeollabukdo (its the lower left two provinces). Gwangju is the biggest city.
3. Go watch a play at dae hak ro. It's a street in seoul where all the small theatres are located. It's cheap. U might not understand the language, but dont worry, just choose a good one.
4. Visit the city of gyeongju in gyeong sang nam do, it is a history hub of the shilla dynasty, and has tons of shit just go look it up. Its right north or busan too.
5. Visit the DMZ. Go to pan mun jeom, and experience technically stepping into north korea. Its unreal.
6. Visit gochang, the global capital of stone age tombs. It has the highest concentration in the world. Plus, its a part of jeollabukdo, the place with the best food, with biggest portions.
7. Bet nightlife is in seoul. It is also the best place to meet the korean people. Try going to a university in seoul, just meet some people. They'll be glad to hang out with some foreigners
8. Go to the independence hall near cheonan. Also, go to byeongcheon for the traditional soondae soup, and you visit on the right day, you can experience the traditional market that opens one every five days.
Hope this helps you experience korea.
>>1044134
>No soy tourista, soy viajero
Yah no
>>1044138
debes a estar un viajero es mejor lorque todos las experiancias
Y le dijo que queria conocer la gente de korea
>>1044134
I agree with everything you said. I do have to mention that personally I had much more interactions with Korean grannies than any other age group. They're very nosy, and don't mind if you talk in English/broken Korean in response to their tons of questions, they just carry on tirelessly.
I didn't get to Gwangju, I guess I should've. Jeonju did have a serious bibimbap game, though.
I live in Seoul for 25years.
Cities- visit to just Seoul, Busan
historically, rest of areas are same as rural area. Visiting Seoul and Busan is enough.
night life- Go Gangnam in Seoul. Club in rest of areas really suck. Men make up 70% people in club. Because Gangbuk is cheap and easy to get.
And you can fuck with Korean women easily because you're foreigner.
Period- right now. Avoid summer and winter. The change of weather is so clear which means Summer is so fucking hot winter is so fucking cold. and if you visit to Korea, you will be able to see beautiful mountains.
Transportation- you don't need to rent a car.kkkkkkk transportation fare in Korea is so cheap what's more, you can reach all the town with small amount of money. *make T-money card.
Place- as other guy said, there are a lot of accomodation. But I recommend staying jjimjilbang. Just one night. Bc this is very common to Korean. This is not accomodation. So just spend one night for experience.
****plz Don't eat foods that are advertised in flyer, leaflet. We don't eat kinda shits.
Have a nice trip
Out of 1.2.3.4.5 that other guys said, except for No.2, rest of them are true.
There is no best foods in there. You don't need to waste your time. Especially No5 will be great experience to you.
Have a nice trip
I like kpop but I don't know what I'd do in if I visited Seoul except for going to a couple pop concerts, otoh going to Pyongyang would be fascinating.
Weird question: How much onion does Korean cuisine generally contain? Spring onions and normal ones?
>>1044319
I wouldn't know about Korean specifically, but asians in general put generous amounts of sliced spring onion on top of soups. It's like their version of parsley.
Im currently in S. Korea and train is the best way to travel its like less than 5USD to get across the whole country, Got to itaewon place is like never dead
>>1044207
koreans are kinda like italians... in a way old ladies are.
>>1044301
u say just thoz 2 cities because you lived inseseoul all your life. Seoul is a huge city full of business and pollution. You need to get out of seoul to experience korea as a whole
>>1044303
>>1044141
Spanish and Korean
Two cultures totally incompatible ;)
>>1044141
If you can't speak Spanish you shouldn't be posting in Spanish.
>>1044317
Good luck getting to Pyongyang from Seoul, comrade.
Just a quick question from a peanut allergic bro. How prevalent are peanuts in Korean foods? Like street foods and such.
>>1044338
yes I experienced that in Japan too, but those aren't really a problem as I can just shove them aside or take them out. I meant more inside the food itself
>>1044317
Also good luck on getting into KPop concerts. If you're not somewhat fluent in Korean and don't have any korean friends over there you'll probably not make it to big events. Not talking about random acts at COEX or Times Square...
>go to SK for job
>know jack-shit bout the Korean language other than the basics like "Hi, bye, good, bad, okay, etc..."
>rent a room from a nice household for a great deal (no kids, only a women. No, we didn't fuck, grow up)
>flash forward 4 years
>learned some Korean
>know the place
>housemate and I become great friends
>making a shitload of money in SK than I would in murica
>thinking bout actually living here
Hmmm.... what should I do. I mean, I can't drive a Mercedes GTS anywhere here, its packed.
>>1045272
Will i be able to get the full kpop experience at those 2places you mentioned. As in waving glowsticks and screaming like a highschool girl ?
>>1045278
What's your job?
Should i change money back home ? or take my euros with me and change them over in korea ?
>>1045369
Is you haz a debit card?
>>1045383
yee.
Tips on getting a qt hooker?
>>1044301
>night life- Go Gangnam in Seoul. Club in rest of areas really suck.
I think if you are between the ages of like 20-25 Hongdae is good for nightlife. It has a more friendly student-y atmosphere. The clubs aren't great but there are some good bars and the park is a fun time. Go see the Maekkoli Man in the park.
>>1045407
Have some kind of connection/a Korean friend who will go to bat for you. Most of top tier prostitutes are pretty much off limits to you as a broke foreigner.
>>1045292
Not at all. Those two places are just Malls (COEX in Gangnam, Times Square in Yeongdeungpo-gu Office) with small random events.
Do they have clubs in Seoul with decent electronic music like techno or minimal ? pls no EDM/electro
How about cool national events ? End of march beginning of April, is that an active period in the country ? Are there must see festivals or once-in-a-lifetime-moonlight-buttseks events around that time ?
>>1046434
How rude of me, here, have a cutie.
Thanks in advance for responding
>>1046434
Theres the Cherry Blossom festival in spring, real pretty. I live in Tongyeong but supposedly Busan and Seoul has the best
Not sure about anything with butt sex.
How do korean uni students feel about non white foreigners? Considering an exchange. 3/4 north indian, 1/4 german, light/med brown skin, from nyc.
If i were to buy some new clothes in seoul, would the people working in the store be able to help me in English ?
>>1047026
Depends on where you shop in Seoul.
>>1047018
Young Koreans are interested in English and they are especially fans of Americans. Obviously blue eyes and white face gets you special treatment and seen in a more attractive way but you'll be able to find friends regardless.
One of my girlfriend's friends is an Indian American and she has quite a large number of friends but she's a social butterfly.
does seoul have a real art scene/underground outside of fashion?
Also, how frequent in the major cities are those toilets that clean your ass for you ?
>>1047126
>does seoul have a real art scene/underground outside of fashion?
Honestly, Korea's fashion scene is kind of whack. They're trying, but it's whack. The street fashion scene is pretty pedestrian and pretty much just looks like facsimiles of the most basic-ass Harajuku hiphop shit. Overall everything just comes off as so pedestrian and safe and copy-cat. And not to say this should have tons of weight in measuring true fashion cred, but even Korea's lack of their own respectable, affordable fast-fashion chain store brand is at least a demerit. I guess, what--Pancoat is their offering. Yuck. Koreans just shop at Uniqlo. For a people who hate the Japanese so much, they sure do like Japanese shit. Also, can anyone confirm if Korean guys still wear those ridiculous shiny suits? I haven't been in a couple years.
As for art scene? I'm sure it's there if you look. I'd try Hongdae. That's the big arts university and the area is cool. I remember seeing a Tim Burton show at a museum in Shinchon, but that's not "underground."
>>1047563
Those don't exist in Korea. You're thinking of Japan. Korean toilets are actually appalling. They can be clean and modern in certain places like a Lotte Mall for example, but overall they are disgusting. Korea also has this thing where they don't provide toilet paper in toilets. You literally bring your own. The soap (if it's actually provided) is always that gross, grimy blue soap-on-a-stick with fucking black hand scum and hair all over it. I wish I were exaggerating.
I come across as a Japan fanboy. I do like Japan better, but I actually do like Korea, too. I guess these specific topics just brought up negative things.
Go DDM and Sinsa dong for shopping.
Garosu street is nice. Myung dong is too crowded and too much tourists.
>>1047617
Maybe the trend is finally over.
>What are the best cities for sightseeing and night-life
Tokyo, Osaka... oh wait, you said Korea. Wait, what are you thinking? Why are you going to Korea?
>>1047866
Korea is cheaper and seen as more "undiscovered" than Japan. You won't be called a weeb for enjoying Korean culture. It's an ideal place to travel for people who want to go somewhere _unique_ in asia, but think china and SEA are too "gritty".
>>1047868
>>1047868
I fully support you going to Korea. I personally don't think it's worth flying overseas for alone, (though worth it as one part of an Asian excursion) but are you honestly saying a factor in your decision to go to Korea over Japan was because some anon might call you a "weeb?"
Every country is unique, and there are definitely unique things to see and experience in Korea, but I will honestly tell you that compared to Japan and China it is a bit bland.
I think for someone residing there, you'll find that Korea is cheaper, but in terms of a vacation, I don't know that you're going to spend tons more money in Tokyo than Seoul. Where Japan will sock you the most is the price of public transportation compared to Korea.
Does Korea have love hotels?
>>1048382
Yes they do
https://youtu.be/cYcEXCy4izY?t=8m
How attractive are the people in Korea? In Japan I was surprised to see that the average person was fairly attractive, which was different from my experience in China where you had the occasional good looking person amongst a sea of not-so-great.
>>1048544
>How attractive are the people in Korea?
They're pretty put together and wear nice clothes. Pretty much like Japanese. You'll notice they are taller and have better teeth than Japanese on average.
>>1044107
>>1044301
About summers in Korea, what are they like? Just how bad do they get? I'm planning on going the Summer of 2016, around the start of June.
I went to Japan around June-July. The humidity levels were between 70% and 80% every day and it never went below 30°C and averaged around 36°C. It was pretty difficult to bear but despite everything I really enjoyed my time. Once I accepted that my sweating would not stop after a particularly difficult day in Kyoto, things improved quite a bit.
Do things get much worse than that around Busan and the South coast regions? My style of trip is nature walks and visiting temples, as well as being a slob and eating food all the time. This would generally mean travelling around the countryside and maybe staying in some temples. I just want to know if this white fatboy can survive.
>>1049030
pretty much the same
>>1049030
>About summers in Korea, what are they like? Just how bad do they get? I'm planning on going the Summer of 2016, around the start of June.
I'm from the Upper Midwest US and during my year in Seoul the seasons basically felt just like there, maybe slightly warmer. I would say in Seoul expect it to be around 30. It's not as bad as Tokyo. I can't attest to Busan, but I think slightly warmer.
