South Korea
Name: Tiffany Kwak
Age: 22
Occupation: Intern
Current location: Seoul, South Korea
Hometown: Lawrence, Kansas
Transportation: Public transportation in Seoul is near-perfect, if not perfect. It is what all metro systems wish they could be! There are an infinite amount of buses, and the subway system has 11 different subway lines. Another great thing about the metro system in Seoul is that buses and trains all run on time, so there is no need to wait for minutes on end. Taxis are everywhere in Seoul, and like buses and trains, they are cheap. The base price for a taxi ride starts around 2400 Won, which is about $2 USD. Subway and bus rides are 1000 won (900 won if you have a transit card) one way, which is around 80 cents! I think for every 100km you travel, they add about 10 cents per 100km you travel. Transfers from buses to trains and vice-versa are free. Another great thing about transportation in Korea (not just in Seoul) is that there is an awesome high-speed rail system. KTX trains can take someone from Seoul to Busan, which is located down south, in about 2-3 hours.
Food spot: You will never go hungry in Seoul. There are many street vendors who line the streets of Seoul day and night. Food is relatively cheap, around ~5000 won to ~8000 won per dish. But if you seek expensive food, that’s not difficult to find, either. I absolutely love Myeonghwadang in Myeongdong. My mom and I love this place - their kimbap and miso are the best! My favorite dish is seolleongtang (ox bone-based broth with thin slices of beef brisket and sometimes tripe, served with sliced green onions and usually with radish kimchi) and my dad took me to the best seolleongtang restaurant near Kangnam but I can’t remember the name of it.
Drink spot: My favorite bar right now is Motto in Hongdae. Granted that I am not a regular there yet, you can request music and the drinks are pretty cheap (6000 won ~ 8000 won). Seoul is also coffee heaven - Koreans are obsessed with cafes. You’ll see big chains like Starbucks or Pascucci’s, but there are plenty of small, indie cafes wherever you go.
(A list of music requests at this bar, motto. KOREANS LOVE INSANE CLOWN POSSE!!!)
(At a club called Freebird in Hongdae. This was a cover band that sang songs by Daughtry and Nickleback. Koreans think music that is awful in the US is really cool, so eh. My friend Jiyoung brought me there and she was so incredibly embarrassed. Hahaha.)
Chill spot: You can find me at Kyobo Books. Kyobo Books knocks Borders and Barnes & Noble out of the water. They have countless amounts of books, ranging from foreign novels to manga to Korean poetry. I spent around an hour and a half here the other day just browsing through books.
Shopping gems: South Korea is a shopper’s heaven, but it also can be a shopper’s hell. You can totally bargain with shop owners and get things for a lower price at markets in Namdaemun and in Dongdaemun. Hongdae has a lot of cute boutiques, and because it’s a really youthful, artsy part of town. I like A-Land in Myeongdong and Doota Mall in Dongdaemun. Daily Projects in Apgujeong is more expensive and “avant-garde” (think clothes by Bless and Gareth Pugh), but it’s worth going to.
Favorite thing: My favorite thing is how relatively cheap it is to dine out and to ride the metro/buses/taxis. I also really like how fashion-conscious a lot of the young people are.
What is the character of the people/landscape in seoul, south korea? It’s hard to sum up the character of the people of Korea. But if anything, I would describe Koreans as and headstrong. Koreans know exactly what they want and go for it. Koreans may come off as brash and lacking proper etiquette, but it’s not really deliberate. There are a lot of foreigners in Korea but especially in Seoul, so if you came to visit it would be pretty easy to get around because the signs in Seoul are all English-friendly. Also, the landscape within Seoul is kind of like that of Rome - there is a modern city surrounded by ancient remains, like palaces. The landscape that surrounds Seoul is absolutely breathtaking as well. Mountains are everywhere, and the beaches in the south are stunning.
