For a city that was never near the top of my list to visit, I couldn’t be more grateful to have spent a month in Seoul. From the stunning mountains and scenic landscapes to the breathtaking waterfalls and adventurous islands to the spicy kimchi and tasty BBQ to the welcoming people and fascinating culture, Korea is an incredible place. Here are 10 reasons why you should plan your trip to Seoul soon:
1–No One Is Worried About The Conflict With North Korea
(note — this is what I found from my experience living on the ground in Seoul. If the little Rocket Man continues to accelerate his nuclear arms program, the situation may get slightly concerning). Let’s get this one out of the way first. We’ve all seen and heard through the media about the crazy little rocket man up north with nukes. The way the US media portrays things, it’s scary as hell! But the fact of the matter is that the citizens of Seoul really don’t have much to worry about, for a number of reasons. One — Kim Jeong Un wouldn’t be doing himself any favors if he tried to take over South Korea by destroying major parts of it, especially not Seoul. He has a hard enough time keeping the North out of extreme famine and poverty, without massive cities to rebuild. Two — the US military has blanketed Seoul with more layers of protection than you can imagine. North Korea isn’t getting in. We have multiple missile defense systems layered on top of each other — NK missiles could hardly touch the city if they tried.
The US military has Seoul blanketed with more layers of protection than you can imagine. North Korea isn’t getting in.
Three — we have a MASSIVE military presence in Seoul and generally in Korea. Visit Itaewon, the famed ex-pat community filled with American-style restaurants, bars and plenty of parties, and you’ll meet dozens of military personnel along the way. If any fighting broke out with NK, we have thousands of troops on the ground ready to go, across all branches of the military. Four — any fighting would be short-lived. If Kim Jeong Un so much as hinted at firing a nuke at the South, Pyeongnang would be wiped off the map in a matter of hours by counter measures. As crazy as he is, I think he probably knows he has an uphill battle to do any damage before his country was wiped off the map.
2–Food is Cheap, Delicious and Adventurous
If you love meat, then Korea is the place for you (note to vegetarians — run and hide, run and hide). Coming from being about ⅔ vegetarian for the better part of a year and a half, this was a big change for me.
The Korean cuisine is meat, kimchi, served with other meat, maybe some rice and a side of kimchi. Don’t get me wrong, Korean BBQ is awesome, especially if you’re only here for a week or so.
I was just a little overwhelmed after a month of it. But for someone who wasn’t particularly fond of kimchi back in the states, I grew to really enjoy this staple of Korean cuisine.
While you can spend a lot of money if you go to expensive restaurants and hotel bars, I’d say my average meal price, with a beer or soju, was $10-$14. And we had many great meals with drinks that came in closer to $7.
The famous markets are home to some of the most strange and bizarre things you can put in your mouth. Semi-alive octopus (cruel), all kinds of insects, gourmet chicken feet and more are all options on the table.
3–Soju Is A Miracle Elixir
I quickly fell in love with Soju — a type of clear, colorless distilled alcohol traditionally made from rice (although wheat and barley have also been used) — for it’s delicious drinkability and anti-hangover properties. With a typical ABV of 12% to 18% ABV, Soju packs a solid punch. The taste is comparable to watered-down grain alcohol mixed with mint , but there are a host of flavored versions for those who want a slightly sweeter experience. Extremely light, Soju tastes smooth, goes down easy, and is often cheaper than water. No joke — a 330ml bottle of Soju cost the equivalent of about 90 cents.
But wait there’s more! The best feature of Soju, at least for me and multiple other Roamers I’m traveling with, was the uncanny ability of Soju to prevent hangovers! I’m not kidding, not once was I hungover the next day after drinking soju. My only rough mornings in Korea were when I switched to beer or whiskey for a night. I can’t say that this worked for everyone — there were people traveling with me who weren’t Soju fans — but for the majority of us, Soju was a gift from god.
4–It’s a Hiker’s Paradise
South Korea is 70% “highlands”, which basically means it’s all mountains. And South Koreans LOVE to hike (and are incredibly good at it too). Of the five hikes I did in October there, my favorite was right in the middle of Seoul! Baegundae Peak, in Bukhansan National Park, is an intermediate climb through the forest on the outskirts of the northern half of the city. Much of the trail is under the cover of trees, but when you break through onto the rocks and make the final ascent, the 360 views of the city all around you are among the most stunning I’ve ever seen. Here’s the video recap:
There are plenty of hikes in and around Seoul, and dozens more throughout the countryside. I took a two hour trip east to Seoraksan National Park to hike next to the Pacific Ocean (here’s the video), and an hour and a half flight South to Jeju Island to hike the tallest mountain in Korea, Mount Hallasan. If you love to hike, you’ll love Korea.
5–Jeju Island Is An Easily Accessible Slice Of Heaven
Just off the southern coast of mainland Korea, Jeju Island is home to hundreds of mini-mountain peaks, beautiful beaches, stunning waterfalls, and an array of fascinating sights, museums and destinations.
I spent three full days there exploring majority of the island. I did everything from exploring waterfalls to climbing the highest peak in Korea to dancing at a festival to touring an optical illusion museum and more.
I covered everything I did and specifically how to navigate Jeju without a car in a previous post, so check there if you want the details.
And one more video from the South Course tour I took:
6–Korean People Are Incredibly Hospitable
I could never have imagined just how at home I would feel moving into a country where I didn’t speak a word of the language. While often timid when it comes to speaking English (they’re shy about speaking English if they aren’t experts at it), the people are more than willing to help foreigners out with whatever you need and couldn’t have been more accommodating. The locals are incredibly proud of their country, and they want people who visit to have positive memories of Korea (this is something America and many other countries could do a much better job with).
The locals are incredibly proud of their country, and they want people who visit to have positive memories of Korea
Other than by cab drivers who didn’t want to deal with the language barrier, I never felt unwelcomed once anywhere I went. Everyone was happy to help me and excited to introduce me to their culture and cuisine. Oh, and at least 100 people asked me to take my picture with them over the course of the month.
7–The City is Clean, Safe and Transportation is Great
For how big Seoul is (~10 million in the city and ~20 million in the metropolitan area) and how much it feels like New York City, I was amazed at how clean the streets were. The subway system is massive and can take you everywhere you want to go. But unlike NYC, the tracks are all enclosed, with doors opening to the trains when the arrive. Not only did that give the system a cleaner feel, but I was hard-pressed to find a piece of litter down there. People just don’t do it, which is awesome.
Download the CityMapper app to easily navigate anywhere in the city
The bus system is incredibly easy to navigate with the CityMapper app and the service is fast and reliable. Just be sure to pick up a T-Money card from any GS25 and top it up with 5k-10k won. Uber doesn’t work well here (often no cars available to request), which was a bit of a drag, but by using recognizable landmarks or translating with Google Translate, you can successfully work the cab system.
As an added bonus, there isn’t really a problem with locals trying to rip off tourists. While you always want to negotiate fixed rates on cabs or merchandise, you won’t see the level of foreigner price surging found in other Asian countries.
8–Karaoke & Rage Rooms are Uniquely Awesome
Most of us have done karaoke before, but I guarantee you not like they do it in Seoul. Dedicated karaoke establishments house multiple singing rooms that can be reserved by you and a group of your friends for less than $10 USD each. The Koreans take their karaoke very seriously, often singing for hours into the night completely sober. Yes, I know — crazy. My group of eight elected to put back a few bottles of Soju to give us some liquid confidence before we went in, and that certainly helped. I think we all thought we sounded a lot better than we did (reviewing the videos the next day confirmed this).
The karaoke rooms are often equipped with big TVs, nice couches, multiple microphones, small dance floors and random musical instruments to add to the experience. The place we went had built in synthesizers in each mic which made us sound a lot better than we actually were. When you have 8 liquored up amateur singers belting lyrics to 90s jams, artificial voice enhancement is much appreciated.
On the other end of the spectrum…Rage Rooms. This crazy concept for relieving anger and stress apparently exists in New York as well but I had never heard of them until I got to Korea. The idea is simple — you go into a room with a friend and two baseball bats and proceed to smash a bunch of plates, bowls, glasses and large electronics while listening to excessively loud death metal music. I bought a big broken old printer before we went to recreate the OfficeSpace experience, and I think we nailed it…
9–The Cultural Differences Are Fascinating To Observe
Korea has a host of cultural differences that I had the pleasure of experiencing while living there. First, eating is very much a group activity. Almost every meal I had was served family style, with everyone dipping in a central bowl, plate or stovetop grill with chopsticks to get their food. Very communal.
At the same time, almost ironically — many Koreans are extremely germaphobic. Seeing people wearing protective masks throughout the city is a common occurrence. I’ve been told that this is a combination of fear of air pollution as well as a way to avoid spreading germs if you are sick. How nice! Additionally, shoes are always removed when entering someone’s home (to not do so is a sign of great disrespect).
Personal space is not really a thing in Korea. You’ll regularly be bumped into by people on the crowded walking streets and in the subway. Waitresses will routinely help prepare your food and even feed it to you if you’re lucky!
10. The Nightlife is Top Notch
Korea is very much a drinking culture, and there are no shortage of excellent and unique bars and clubs to hang out and get your party on at night. Many of the clubs stay open until 5 or 6 am, and the bars serve up a host of great live music and tons of pop covers. Drinking on the street is legal, so bouncing from bar to bar (especially in the Itaewon neighborhood) is easy and feel free to stop in a park to mix with locals and the US military personnel you’re sure to meet walking around.
Final Thoughts
While I wouldn’t want to live in Seoul long term (just personal preference), visiting Korea for a month was an incredible experience — and was my first visit to Asia! The people you’ll meet, the stories you’ll hear, the history you’ll discover, the unique cultural experiences you’ll have all add to the grandeur of this megacity. To explore the entire city would take a lifetime, but you can immerse yourself in a few areas in a week’s time.
A friendly “Anyoung haseyo!” (hello!) is all you need to receive a warm welcome and fantastic service. The Koreans are the nicest, most generous hosts you’ll ever meet, and I have a newfound appreciation and respect for the cultural differences that make our world such a diverse and wonderful place. The best part? My journey is just beginning (my post on how and why I’m traveling). When will you start yours? :-)
