26 intriguing things only Impact Travelers experience in Seoul

Photo Credit: havehalalwilltravel

Continue with the previous writing on what an Impact Travel won’t do when in Seoul, here are what I did and learnt when in Seoul, South Korea:

1. Traveling by metro like locals do every day. Said straight no to taxi. Even Uber since it’s hyper expensive.
2. Using this app, I contacted several locals (who understands Seoul like the palm of their hands) BEFORE I even arrived at Seoul to settle our schedules to discover the city like a truly local.
3. Besides business meetings, I took a tour with the most energetic and caring local FIRST to confirm information I had researched before as well as enlightening myself of truth that only locals know.
4. Inviting my local expert to join my trips to the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art or National Museum of Korea and Seoul Museum of History as she understood the place as well as its culture and history. Best experience ever.
5. Another friend of our group, though, booked several trips to the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art or National Museum of Korea and Seoul Museum of History with a senior student whose major is Korean History. What made his trip such a great memory is the fact that he learnt the entire Korean history timeline for a day with the irreplaceable profound and precise local wisdom.
6. Getting back to my itinerary, on the first day, our awesome local expert picked me up at the closest MRT station (with her detailed guidance via Facebook messenger, I made it without getting lost). We enjoyed true Korean cuisine, shopped like a local and of course — paid at local price.
7. We were surprised to learn that foreigners can own real estate properties in Korea. Unlike in some countries, foreigner cannot own but long-term renting.
8. When travel in Seoul, you should either speak Korean or earn yourself a local to (1) help you bargain (2) help you ask information (3) help you order.
9. Besides Myeongdong and Gangnam, almost all other “gong” in Seoul are not English-friendly. Thus, travel with a local is a great choice to get to know how locals think, what they do, the order of Korean society.
10. More information on why do you need a local expert in a local restaurant — the one whose signs, menu and waiters do not show any sign of English — is because (1) young Korean people don’t speak English/don’t like speaking English even though they can listen and speak/don’t care to learn English (2) Korean who speak English and willing to help you are the middle-age citizen who have experiences working in the states — a middle-age man actually spoke perfect English and got my boss out of getting lost — surprised! (3) In local markets, vendors will be happy and give you a discount if you have a local expert with you.
11. Butter is truly local heaven to shop for souvenirs and home accessories. They have amazingly simple yet useful little things that make your life so much easier. I don’t see many tourists shopping here. Only locals do. I shopped for a bunch of useful gifts at 199 won/each. Totally 5-star rating for souvenirs and home decoration stuff. Don’t waste your time and money in Daiso.
12. Everything in Korea has a little bit of design in it. Meaning you will immediately figure out a way to use it.
13. Also, packaging and appearance are HUGE in South Korea. Everything and everyone should be beautiful/cute/sexy/attractive.
14. I won’t discuss in details about the cosmetics industry of South Korea. Since there are so many detailed report out there. However, it’s vital to know that the country’s cosmetic market is 7.8 billion USD (2014) and it is the fastest growing cosmetic markets in the whole world. In other words, beauty is a vital factor in South Korea. “Made in Korea” beauty products are trust-worthy, safe, considered to be “organic” and they are the reason why tourists come to this country. Especially women.
15. Vendors in Seoul speak amazingly fluent Chinese. Good for them.
16. Chicken is the cheapest food to buy then comes pork. Seafood is the most expensive.
17. Mangoes and grape fruit are expensive because Korean import them from tropical country. A start-up which is trying to figure out a way to grown mangoes in South Korea used to raise millions dollar.
18. Strawberries and Mandarin orange are easy to find and surprisingly cheap compared to other types of fruit.
19. Cheese has been a BIGGG trend. Everything cheesy comes easy and yummy.
20. Don’t stay in Myeongdong if you want to understand the real Korean life.
21. Education is vital for a citizen to survive and rise up in Korean modern society.
22. Classism makes the society strict and well-organized yet highly stressful for any citizen. Especially the ones come from lower classes. They can make exception if they belong to the top 1% of their school, universities, companies.
23. Korean citizen work hard. If they don’t work hard, they only work hard. Until they die from exhaustion. There is no other exception. Because they must.
24. Most citizen grow up dreaming to work for one of the 4 Chaebols.
25. It’s illegal in Korea to (1) leash pets (2) Use stem cells for cosmetics purpose (3)
26. Korean government is doing their best to support tech start-ups and they mean it. The K-Startup Grand Challenge 2016 gave the first runner US $100,000 and full supports from Korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. Why? Read (25). They are looking for changes and save potential tech ideas from being bought and killed by the Chaebols, as usual.

The key thing is that , as a tourist or regular traveler, I believe it will not be easy to learn deeply about the culture and hidden gems. But if you do, it’s not difficult to make your wish come true.

There are many ways to become an Impact Traveler and experience amazing life beneath the commoditized life that marketing and tourism want us to see. Stay tuned for other writings to become one in your next trip.