Korea 2016: Things I wish I'd known

A couple of weeks ago I returned from a family trip in South Korea, which is becoming an increasingly popular holiday destination. As a recently-developed country, South Korea still holds a lot of its traditional heritage, while simultaneously thriving actively towards the modern, resulting in the most incredible mix of history and cutting-edge technology. Still, regardless of how well-suited it is for its youngsters, one can't be prepared enough for how it is to be in a different country. Despite fair amounts of research and preparation, my expectation for this East Asian country to be comparable to Japan inevitably led me to experience culture shock. I advise any ideas of the two countries being similar to be removed from your head, or you may be left a little dumbfounded. So to prevent such a thing from occurring, I present a list of travel tips and things I wish I'd known before travelling to South Korea.

1. Toilets
2. Rubbish bins
3. People, language, and communication
4. Getting around
• Public transport
• Taxi
• Walking
5. Shopping
• Malls
• Shopping streets
6. Escalators
7. Weather and climate
• Summer in Seoul
• Winter
8. Food
• Finding food
• Street food
• Coffee
9. Disabled access
10. Peak hours

1. Toilets

I was glad to find that toilets in Korea, even the public ones such as those located near tourist spots, are mostly very clean. However, one aspect of Korean bathroom culture which perfectly demonstrates the juxtaposition that is Korea, is that you don't flush toilet paper down the toilet. While I've heard that more modern toilets are capable of taking in the flimsy, soluble thing that is toilet paper, I've also heard of horror stories about clogged bowls. A rubbish bin is always provided for discarding the paper, and while modern hotel bathrooms are usually equipped with more efficient systems, I personally did not take my chances when a sign warned me otherwise.

2. Rubbish bins

The streets of Korea, or at least the cities I visited, are often very tidy, save the stray half-empty drink can or an occasional strips of wrapper. Despite this, I found that it was uncommon to encounter rubbish bins on the streets, leaving us to store any rubbish in our pockets until we reached a restaurant or came across a bin. On the off chance we did pass by one, it's also important to remember that Koreans are very particular about sorting trash, so that paper/plastic/metal recyclables, general rubbish, and in the case of eateries, food waste, must be thrown into the correct bins accordingly. The bins are labelled using pictures, so this isn't too much of an issue.

3. People, language, and communication

Like anywhere, I met all sorts of people in Korea, ranging from the most friendly and conversational old men dining at an adjacent table to impatient shopkeepers who hover and grumble as one peruses what is on display. Korea has had a fair share of countries who have, so to speak, screwed them over, making them understandably xenophobic. Still, many will ask "where are you from?", less as a means of starting conversation than an attempt to figure out which language to use. Many people working in the tourist industries or locations will have knowledge of Mandarin, English, and/or Japanese, alongside their native Korean tongue. Regardless, it still helps to have a Korean language speaker in your party, such as my self-taught Korean-speaking sister#2, and while she's far from fluent it certainly helped when it came to reading and communicating in areas that are less geared towards tourists.

4. Getting around

Google Maps is pathetic in Korea. Unlike almost anywhere else, where the Street View service is handy for familiarising with the location before arrival, Korea gives very few options for Street View, if at all, even in major city centres. Korea's justifiable xenophobia has led them to develop their own versions of everything from Naver (a search engine) to social media services like Snow (Korean Snapchat), and KakaoTalk (a messaging service). However, the Google Maps app is very handy. For those (like me) who have never thought to use it, as long as it's refreshed using Locations and internet prior to leaving, it can be used without further internet devices, making it simpler to navigate the streets using a compact device so long as your route is planned.

Public transport

Public transport is extensive and very convenient, at least in Busan and Seoul. While going by bus may be more confusing as the timetables are in Korean, subways and trains usually provide English, Japanese, and Chinese on the route maps. Watch for express trains, which only stop at stations with transfers, and make sure when exiting to check which gate is the best to use, as you find yourself on the other side of the station and heading in the wrong direction to what is intended.

In Jeju Island, however, public transport is minimal, such that hiring a car was more convenient. More later.

Taxi

It can be fairly cheap to hire a taxi, meaning it may be more economical to use when travelling in a group of four. However, the drivers hardly speak English, and inexplicably are always in a bad mood and grumbling as they drive. It can make for an uncomfortable experience. It may be necessary to take a taxi as trains stop running at midnight, but be warned that because taxis are the main form of transport at this time of day, taxi drivers are known to overcharge foreigners, especially those unable to speak Korean, so ensure the meter is running. Airport taxis shuttles are more catered to foreigners so the drivers will speak a variety of languages, but these services are understandably more expensive.

Walking

Road rules don't seem to exist and crossing roads is a nightmare. If in doubt, just wait for the green man to light up, or follow the crowd or any confidently-crossing Koreans in the case where there are no traffic lights.

5. Shopping

Shopping in Korea is extensive, with many options depending on what you're after. A tip is to leave home with half the suitcase empty, as you're likely to fill it up later with clothes.

Malls

Like any country, malls will offer a variety of local (SPAO, Topten) and international (H&M, Uniqlo) brands, for a simple and predictable shopping experience. As the styles offered in these styles are more varied, they may be more suitable for shoppers whose dress sense are not like the typical distinct Korean's. Prices are often higher in shops like these as compared to shopping streets.

Shopping streets

These can be in underground station terminals, outdoors, or large areas in general. Some shopping streets specialise in one product, to which there is an abundance of stores competing for a market with one product (such as glasses in Namdaemoon, or cosmetics in Myeongdong), or have a broader array of wares (such as Hongdae). Generally you will see the same products in each store. Keep in mind that these shopping streets cater to the Korean clothing style - sometimes specifically to the younger shopper - and mostly sell whatever is in fashion at that time. While I found shopping streets extremely worthwhile, the rest of my family, despite being very keen shoppers, much preferred malls.

Pricing varies minimally between stores in each shopping street, often only ₩500-1,000 for things such as shirts, though more expensive areas such as Hongdae will offer the exact same wares for a higher price. Bargaining is also an option, keeping in mind that particularly grumpy shopkeepers may not be willing to lower their price. Some amicable shopkeepers may lower the price as you are a foreigner so they are giving you a good deal - though I've found this is mostly a tactic they employ when there are no price tags in order to make you believe you are buying well. Shopping streets like these are usually cheaper than malls, and offer pretty good quality, with many of the shopkeepers using a selling point of their products being made in Korea. Because of this, for not too much cash, one can rake in a fairly decent haul.

One downside to shopping streets is that you can't try on most of the products, such as shirts, pants, and sweaters, but some outer layers such as large jackets and long coats are okay. Most of the clothing in these stores are in a one-size-fits-all style, so assuming that one is within the general body range of a typical Korean it should not be too much of an issue. Some shopkeepers will get around this by eyeing and measuring you roughly to estimate the fit, but I did not rely on this for my own shopping. Having gone during sweater season, I had no issues with sizing, but I did not dare to buy dresses or pants for this reason. 

Something else I also wish I'd known is that although stores offer the same products in each area, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that product is available everywhere. A pair of shoes I saw in three or four stores in Ehwa Womans University area was nowhere to be found in Myeongdong, and this I sorely regretted. If you spot something you like in a shopping street, hunting around neighbouring stores for a better price is a possible option, but I wouldn't suggest putting it off if you are not going back to that area.

6. Escalators

For a country that hates waiting the escalators are excruciatingly slow.

7. Weather and climate

My sister happened to visit Korea earlier this year during the summer, and later joined us for the family trip in late November. While there are seasons of hot and cold, there is a very rapid point in which the temperature changes, rather than a gradual change.

Summer in Seoul

Summer is extremely hot and humid, and is considered the rainy season. An umbrella is a necessity if travelling at this time of year, and while it does not rain often, it may be sudden and is torrential when it does, and can last the whole day.

Winter

Seoul, as a landlocked city, was colder than coastal Busan and Jeju Island. My family and I were in these three cities from mid to late November. On the first night in Seoul the climate was fairly temperate, such that only one thick jacket was sufficient. The coldest I experienced was some days later when the temperature reached -5°C in the early morning, though the remaining days were warmer at around 4°C during the day. The rain I experienced during winter was light, and cleared up within a few hours, though I can't say this will be consistent.

Busan is warmer, with a high of up to 20°C in this time frame. Jeju is very windy, such that even though the temperature reached around 13°C, scarves and gloves were donned in order to keep the cold at bay.

8. Food

Finding food

Food is what I live for, and for Koreans it appears to be the same. Food is abundant and everywhere, and Korea provides a huge variety of cuisines to sate any appetite. Restaurants are located anywhere, including the second floor of street shops, or even on upper floors of what appears to be an office building. Looking up is a good way of spotting even more options than the dozens lined on the streets.

As Koreans are very social, some restaurant menus are designed for one order to serve more than one person at a time. I've heard that because of this, restaurants catered for groups may refuse single diners, or have a minimum number of portions for groups (for my family of five, a minimum of four portions was common).While this seems reasonable, Koreans also have an aptitude for consuming huge amounts of extremely hot food quickly, and I found that a menu that stated a portion deemed suitable for 1-2 people could serve up to 3-4 with a moderate appetite like my family's. This led us to order too much on almost every occasion, though if you aren't constantly snacking throughout the day as we do, it may be a more reasonable serving.

In terms on how good the food is, it's really up to one's taste. Personally, with an open and an appetite driven by the sight of good food, I could not say I had a bad meal in Korea. While some restaurants were inarguably better than others,  I thoroughly enjoyed every meal I ate. I wouldn't discourage anyone from taking advice from travel sites for the best restaurants to visit, but I also think it unnecessary in order to find good food in Korea.

Street food

Street food is where Korea becomes a little more rocky. I will first point out that I am not stopping anyone from trying anything, as that is part of the fun. One should know that street food in Korea is available wherever you find tourists. This mostly includes tourist sites such as temples, and outdoors on shopping streets. Another thing to note is that you will find the same food appear again and again regardless of where you go. These include:

• Potato on sticks: cut in a swirly fashion and fried
• Hoddeok: chewy shallow-fried pancakes filled with sweet (sugar, nuts, and seeds) or savoury (stir-fried noodles and vegetables) ingredients
• Gyeranbbang (egg bread): a sweet bun with an egg on top
• Hot dogs: coated in various batters including bread and french fries
• Ddeokbokki: rice cakes in a sweet and spicy red sauce
• Mandu: fried dumplings
• Grilled squid: on a stick
• Hot bar: sausages or other fillings wrapped in fishcakes on sticks
• Fishcakes: usually skwered on sticks and stewed in a broth
• Twigim: battered fried foods
• Fried chicken: popcorn chicken in sweet sauce in a cup, sometimes served with ddeokbokki

Some street food areas will have more variation, such as grilled shellfish and mochi in Myeongdong and beondegi (pupae) in Busan, but this list is pretty commonly found everywhere. One should keep in mind that the food offered in the list are the same. And I don't mean that they are prepared in similar methods, but they are probably frozen and shipped to vendors to fry up. I speculate that the some of the batters or dough are made by the vendors, though of this I cannot be certain. But things such as the hot dogs and the fishcakes are identical regardless of where you go, both in shape and size.

One more thing to note is, as mentioned, Koreans dislike waiting, so street food is usually cooked beforehand, so they can easily be served to order. This means that some things may be past their peak deliciousness by the time it gets into your hands. While the things I've bought have been piping hot and still enjoyable by the time I've eaten it, there are cases in which the food has cooled down significantly and the texture and flavour has been lost to time. Again, this was not common in my experience, so I would never discourage any from trying what they like as they please.

Coffee

The coffee in most cases are very light. My father was disappointed.
Seoul has many coffee shops, and you'll have come across two or three drinking your first cup of the day.

9. Disabled access

I will disclose that I, nor anyone in my family are disabled, so I am probably ignorant in terms of wheelchair access even in my home country. But I have noticed that it may be difficult in a lot of cases to navigate Korea in a wheelchair, as some locations are in tight spaces, and some second floor places may not have elevators. In one instance at a restaurant on the second floor, there was a short and narrow flight of stairs to reach the elevator. In the times where my family and I had to drag full suitcases around train stations, the elevators were often at a far end of a platform, and in some cases we still resorted to carrying the suitcases up flights of stairs in order to save time. I realise that this is not a luxury everyone can have, and while I hope I am not discouraging anyone from travelling to Korea, it may be something to keep in mind.

10. Peak hours

Those who are unlike my family (sleep early, rise early), can rejoice! Korea tends to have daytime hours shifted a few hours forward than typical, such that most stores open later and close later. Malls and shopping streets don't open until 10-11am, and even some cafes were not open for my dad's 8am coffee fix. Because of this, stores tend to close late too, making for a good, relaxing sleep-in and making the most of night-life.



I'm not sure I've managed to record everything, but these were definitely points that I wish I'd known, or were handy to know before setting out on holiday in Korea. Take this advice or not - regardless, I wish you all the best in your journey.

Safe travels. xx