Seoul (South Korea)

...airport bus that runs into Seoul city centre and back to Incheon. When i was there it stated clearly it was an airport shuttle and is mainly blue in colour. But check that stuff out on incheon airport website. It is in english too!!

LANGUAGE BARRIER: The people are great and were really helpful to me, any questions you have they will try and help with. One really big point though, if you can't read Hangul then LEARN!!! It is really ...
...it!! If not then seoul underground system is pretty difficult.

GETTING AROUND: If you are gonna use the seoul underground then 2 points. Firstly try to buy a seoul travel card from the kiosks in the underground station (can also be bought from newspaper stands, not sure where else) and put some money on it. If you have ever been to london it is like the oyster card you always hear about and saves you money, time, effort and a lot ... more

Well If you are reading this then you are obviously interested in going to Korea. One major point even my Korean friends have commented on... if you like Koreans in UK they are TOTALLY different to native Koreans. By that I mean their behaviour and attitudes are really different. Also bere in mind when reading this review that everything I say is based on my OWN experiences there and things I say will be in GENERAL,therefore, just like every country the people are individuals and not everyone is going to act the same. Right, that out the way if you are thinking of going lets just say it is an amazing place and you will not be disappointed.

VISA AND STUFF: If you are UK citizen don't forget that when you get off the plane to fill in an arrival/departure card as you can't get through the gates if you don't. You find them on tables approaching the gates where they check your passport, and provided you aren't staying more than 30 days you wont need a visa. Check out the Brisith Embassy pages for South Korea long before you go as it gives advice on everything!!! It is really, really good!!!

CONVERSION RATES: money, money, money.... hmmmm. How much you take depends on what type of trip you want and how long you are going for. Things are really, really cheap over there, in general. However, be careful of rip-off prices but for things like food and drink you just can't fail to come home with money to spare, will talk about it more in shopping section. Check out the conversion rates, when you go to a bank and if you are using travellers checks they will tell you to convert to American dollars and then exchange them over there. I used english travellers cheques and went to KB*B, which is a bank in Korea. I had absolutely NO PROBLEM at all getting them cashed, all you need is your passport. The person spoke perfect english and was really helpful and patient. To convert your cheques don't cue with everyone else look for the foreign money signs, they are written in english and usually point to an upstairs area (don't take this comment as totally true as that was only the case in the banks I went in to).
Alternatively there are a few cash machines where you can get money out but they tend to be only in the underground stations and not really that many of them at that. better to use travellers cheques I would think.

LANDING AT THE AIRPORT: If you land at Incheon, now where most planes are landing, there is a very cheap airport bus that runs into Seoul city centre and back to Incheon. When i was there it stated clearly it was an airport shuttle and is mainly blue in colour. But check that stuff out on incheon airport website. It is in english too!!

LANGUAGE BARRIER: The people are great and were really helpful to me, any questions you have they will try and help with. One really big point though, if you can't read Hangul then LEARN!!! It is really easy to learn and wont take you long to pick it up at all but is ESSENTIAL, and I really mean it!! If not then seoul underground system is pretty difficult.

GETTING AROUND: If you are gonna use the seoul underground then 2 points. Firstly try to buy a seoul travel card from the kiosks in the underground station (can also be bought from newspaper stands, not sure where else) and put some money on it. If you have ever been to london it is like the oyster card you always hear about and saves you money, time, effort and a lot of hassle. they are easy to get hold of and you can top it up really easily, you can also use it on buses!!!
Secondly, you MUST know the last station your underground train stops at. if you don't then you have no hope, but the good news is the lines are coloured so you will just end up going thw wrong way if anything. It is not such an easy system to use say as the U-Bahn in Germany or the London Underground but once you get the jist of it then there will be no problems at all.
Now for the buses.... apart from the airport shuttle bus, for me, these were my travel nemesis. Basically I never had a clue where I was going. When you get on the bus you pay one of 2 standard fares depending on the distance you travel, for me it was either 800KWN or 600KWN. Bere in mind prices and systems do change though, but if you basically don't know seoul then what are you looking out for when on the buses?? there is nothing to say where the next stop is or anything. Best to use underground but if you are up for a laugh and don't mind being lost then go for it. They are fun and you often make a friend on one.
Taxi's... all I'll say is the drivers speak very little english, tend to overcharge but they do get you where you want to go if they understand. Better still get someone either at your hotel, hostel, etc... to write out cards of destinations where you want to go in Korean. Then hand them to the driver and that works, did it myself and had no problems. Don't forget to get your card back though!!
A little point about trains is they are easy to use, very clean and really puts our entire rail system to shame. They are like travelling first class all the way and really cheap. On the day I got a one-way trip to Busan for 30,000KWN and with the conversion rates at that time that is travelling to the other side of the country for 18 pounds.

IMPORTANT POINT: Although the country isn't very "foreign person" friendly if you can't be bothered to adapt a little or learn something about Korea and the people before you go then don't waste your time here. Blunt but true, if you have an open mind and some common sense then you will be fine, also on a similar point it is impossible to stay by yourself for long. This was my first trip out of Europe and I went by myself for 30 days. As soon as I was on the plane over to Korea I made friends with about 20 Koreans as once you get to know one then they introduce you to many more. Since I was backpacking I can only speak from an individual perspective. If you are going with friends then you can't fail to have a good time.

SHOPPING: Right now to the good stuff. One important point is from what I've seen Koreans love to shop. The shops are open till late, usually 22:30ish, so you can pretty much go shopping whenever you want. However, certain areas of Seoul are cut up into districts for shopping. Sooooo, if you want better clothes shopping there is an area that caters more to clothes than other goods. One great place is a big tower called Doota, it is a shopping mall but there is choice upon choice here. Learn things like "how much is it?" in Korean, better still take someone who actually speaks Korean. Shop prices are usually higher than what a native would pay as you can barter the price down, so shops put it higher to account for this. But seriously though the prices are good and what you save on food and drink you can't help but spend on clothes, cd's, etc.... Everywhere you turn though you will encounter a department store with Lotte on it or Samsung. They are big companies and these malls tend to really overcharge for goods, but you can be totally sound in the knowledge that your purchase is a great quality. You can even go to Lotte World which is a theme park owned by Lotte company. never went but really wanted to go, I've heard it's great so it must be worth a visit!!! There is loads of shopping in Seoul!!

FOOD: there are loads of food shops in seoul... you can't walk a street length without seeing about 5. Koreans love their food and this really shows, the food is gorgeous and very spicy. If you don't like spicy food then you really are limited to certain things. For fast food don't good to mcDonalds, etc.. try a Lotteria!! Very different burgers from what you are used to and really really nice and easy to find. For a general idea of the food try a Korean restaurant in the UK there are many more around than you would expect and if you want to know of a few I could recommend just give me a message. One thing though which I got a slap off my friends mother for doing is lifting my rice bowl off the table. Very naughty supposidly and that slap really hurt!!! hahahaha... but she was such a great woman and i know her so no hard feelings.

KOREAN TV: Yes this stuff is like gold.... I LOVED korean tv. Was a great way to wake up and really funny to watch, although all in korean you can get the jist of stuff. It is also useful for important bulletins for Americans, and if you are white you tend to be deemed an american. This can be really bad!! Due to the American forces remaining in Korea and posessing certain influences over the running of the country, needless to say the native population is not very happy about it and there have been riots on the base camps. Don't worry if you hear about the North and South shooting at each other they tend to do that once a month ,at least I've been told but we never get to hear about it in the UK. The country is perfectly safe and if you go on the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone Tour) you will see that there really is no worries. I strongly recommend you do something like this as it is an amazing experience!!

CULTURE AND SCENERY: Korean culture tend sto be based on a respect system. So best behaviour ok... remember everything you were taught as a child and always be polite. Just following this simple rule will help so much and if you are lucky enough to be invited to someones house for dinner, etc... TAKE A GIFT!!! It is the polite thing to do and seems to be a custom over there. Get a guide like Lonely Planet Korea, although there are some things in it that are wrong it is a really good general guide and everyone I met owned one. Regarding the scenery since about 70% of Korea is mountainous and Seoul is built on this terrain you will have hills. Quite a few depending on where you are living, but for some of the views they are WOW!!! You just gotta go see as I wont even try and explain.

NIGHTLIFE: However, if you miss more Western culture go to Itaewon!! Basically America Town but everyone there is Western mainly and there are loads of bars you can go to there. Personally I preferred a place called Jongno-sam-ga near Angkuk, a much better place. There seems to be two forms of clubbing... one where you go to dance just like in the western way and the other is somewhere where you can go to find you other half. Was told this was called "hunting" in Korea but never went and sounds a bit dodgy to me... if you want to find out more I guess you should ask a Korean about it as I really don't have a clue more than what I said. Alternatively you could just have a late night coffee and maybe a Karaoke... very funny with a few people.
There are these rooms called "game rooms" where you can go and play board games and someone will come over and teach you how to play the game, also you get unlimited free soft drinks. You just pay for the time you are there and it is really cheap. In line with this there are rooms you can "rent" with a tv in that you can then go and watch a dvd with some friends or even by yourself if you want. Never went to one but was told they are more for romantic occassions. Speaking of which kissing in public is not seen to be the right thing to do... not sure if this is still the case though, but best not try it, save the good stuff for home OK.

Well I can't really think of loads of other things to put in without making this a thesis on Korea. Basically read stuff around the country and MEET SOME KOREANS is the best advice. If you stay in a hostel they are really easy going places and quite easy to find, I stayed at seoul backpackers in Angkuk and it was really nice. You can stay in a "love motel" if you want as they are really cheap and you get loads for your money. yes they are literally "love" motels but if you're ok with that then they are a great place to stay. Hotels are reasonably priced and a good one is not hard to find but they can sometimes cost an arm and a leg... like anywhere really.
Go to your doctors and ask to see a nurse for injections as they will get a print out from the World Health Organisation telling you what you should have, there aren't that many so no probs there. Basically go, go go..... nope i don't work for the Korea travel agencies but it really was such a good experience and has made me want to see more of everything that is out there. If you are open minded and easy to get on with you will have an amazing time!!! Go have fun!!! 

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