Countries I love and hate to visit: Korea
At the risk of sounding as though I am bragging I am going to say that I have been all over the world. Except for rather dangerous countries in certain parts of the world, and really expensive countries in other parts of the world, I have been basically everywhere. I love traveling and I have foregone owning expensive things in my life at my home in order to continue to be able to see the world and experience life on all the corners of the globe. There are a couple of countries that I have been to several times and Korea is one of them.
There are certain things that I love about this country, like absolutely love, and there are certain things that really tarnish one's ability to enjoy themselves there. When reading this keep in mind that I am not saying anything bad about the people or the culture because that is not for me to judge. There are good and bad aspects of all countries including my own.
For starters we gotta talk about the food culture here because it is absolutely amazing.
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Like most of the rest of Asia, Korea has a vibrant street dining culture which of course mostly shuts down during their cold winters. At these places you can find a wide variety of things but the favorite for me are the places where you have grilled meats and seafood prepared either for you or on your own right in front of you. These places are popular around the world at rather expensive indoor places with those vacuum suction things hanging from the ceilings but the real values can be found on the streets of cities like Seoul and Busan. Jinju to a lessor degree has this as well and if you see a bunch of people sitting around makeshift BBQ units outside on a sidewalk, you should probably at least have a look.
The next thing I really like about Korea is how exceptionally clean it is. I can't say for sure if this is a cultural thing or if they just have amazing public sanitation departments but nearly everywhere I have been has been absolutely spotless.
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It doesn't matter if you are in the promenade of a hotel or condo complex or in the middle of nowhere in a national park, it is nigh on impossible to find a bunch of litter all over the place like you would in other parts of Asia. I would imagine that the relative affluence of Korea contributes greatly to this being the case but the people themselves also seem very dedicated to keeping their spaces clean and presentable. I recall being on a riverfront walk area and there were various stations that were providing bags for dog poo as well as places for you to dispose of that. I can't think of anywhere else in the world that has this and it is just something that makes wandering around so much better. I don't think that this country has a culture of throwing stuff on the street at all and this is wonderful because it is the opposite of many of the other Asian countries that are just polluted as hell.
Next up we have something that I am less than pleased about and this is just a personal thing. It seems as though almost everyone smokes cigarettes here.
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Korean men have the highest level of adult male smokers in the world at nearly 50% and unlike most other Asian countries it is actually quite common for women to smoke as well. I am not trying to make a sexist statement here but it is just a fact that smoking in Asia, is generally regarded as a male thing. They do have strict rules about no smoking indoors but depending on where you are this might not be adhered to. For me, I am really bothered by the smell of cigarette smoke so I hated that almost anywhere you go smelled like an ash tray. Of course this is still Korea so you never saw anyone throwing a cigarette butt on the ground.
Next up we have the one thing that makes it nearly impossible for me to spend any longer amount of time in Korea that I do. They have this thing called "key money" when it comes to acquiring long-term accommodation that makes it almost impossible for anyone to stay there long term because they will be subjected to high daily rates at a hotel or AirBnB rather than just renting an apartment for a month.
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I don't know how this all started but they have this accommodation system in place where if you want an apartment you are welcome to it, but you will need to put down a substantial "key money" deposit as well as a security deposit. Now you might be thinking "how much can it possibly be?" and you might be surprise. The few times I thought about renting an apartment for several months the key money requirement was between 10,000 and 50,0000 dollars. This money, so I am told, is ALWAYS returned to the tenant and there are very strict laws in place to ensure that it is. However, this doesn't change the fact that for most people, coming up with this much money all at one time is impossible. For me, on the lower end I could come up with it with great difficulty, but I was concerned that my status as a foreigner might encourage unscrupulous landlords to rip me off.
According to my Korean friends this system will normally involve a bank especially for young people and it is almost always approved because the bank knows they will get their money back from the landlord. Basically, you as a tenant take out a loan that you pay interest on and in many instance the landlord will put the money back in the exact same bank that is was meant to be withdrawn from. The landlord now makes interest of of their deposit and you have to pay interest on the loan.
This seems like a racket to me and it punishes the poor. I don't like it and I can't believe it is legal.
I will end on a high note and this is something that I really love about Korea. They have a vibrant and very-different-to-the-United-States baseball culture. If you have ever been to a baseball game in the States you will know that this is an almost serious affair with people being quiet as the stats for each player are announced to them over the loudspeaker for several hours in a row. We like it that way, but I think the Korean approach is a lot more fun.
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In Korea, or at least the games I went to in Busan, baseball games seem less like a baseball game and more like a giant party that just happens to have a sport going on in the background. They have dancers all over the place, mascot that intermingle with the crowd, music, and just a general sense of merriment. They stop the dancing every time there is a pitch or a play but I kind of question if a lot of the people in attendance even care who wins the game.
They also sold this wonderful fried chicken there and unlike the situation in the West, they didn't try to rip you off with "captive audience" policies of charging 3x what something is worth because you don't have any other choice. Something funny happens at the entrance because each customer is allowed to bring in two bottles of beer each. Right outside the gate there are these mobile beer selling units that sell absolutely gigantic bottles of beer... something like 1.5 liters per bottle. It's still 1 bottle so it is allowed!
All in all I really love Korea and because at least in the major areas they cater to the English language on signs as well as with customer service, it is actually quite easy to get around. It is one of the more expensive places to travel in Asia, particularly in relation to accommodation, so be prepared for that. This is NOT what I would consider a backpacker-friendly country but if you love great food, friendly people, and a relatively crime-free environment, this might be the place for you.... just don't plan on staying there for months at a time.