south korea

[The D Funk]

Hey all, I am moving to Seoul in 10 days and i was wondering if anybody on the board has any advice or travel tips for me? what to bring where to visit, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated??

[Blane]

i'm sure you'll be able to get plenty of advice here. Hamilton lives(d?) there, KevO lived there, I lived there and have been back a few times since.

Any specific questions?

In terms of what to bring, you can get most anything you'd want there (except maybe really good cheese), so I'd say pack light.

Where to visit?

In Seoul, you'd probably start with Insadong market, a bunch of the temples are cool, there are great mountains for climbing just outside of the city, etc.

In the rest of the country, I like Kyungju, Jeju Island, Sorak-san (mountain), Chiri-san (mountain), and a trip to the DMZ is kinda a must.

Have fun! Korea is an interesting place, and in my experience, it really grows on you.

[Sarahbelle]

Oh korea is a pretty interesting place. I expected to be more... "thai" than it was. It's pretty conservative...

The things that I missed the most was Coffee... they don't really have reg. coffee there... I bought mine at starbucks. They don't have a lot of the same food we have here either... a lot of it is Korean food (which is really good by the way...) but if you want things like doritos and cheese they are harder to find but not impossible.

I would suggest bringing sheets cause they use blankets more than sheets.

Maybe bring a few things that remind you of home for your place.. like pictures for you walls!

I got a lot of stuff there like dishes and an small cd player (which I'm sure U can get pretty cheap or from someone U know that is leaving...)

I agree that Insadong is one of the coolest places in Seoul.. In may they have a big parade around there for Buddah's birthday.. it's pretty neat.

Seoul also has a lot cool art Galleries around!!!

Itawon is the 'foriengner's' section... They have a lot different types of food.. and my fav. bar Bar Nana is there.. it's really small and off one of the streets.. ask someone how to get there!! However, it has a 'seedy' quality to it.. so if you really want to learn more about Korean Culture I would avoid spending all your time there.

One big suggestion I would make is try to learn how to read Korean. IT's not too hard to learn and it makes things A LOT easier... ( like buying food in the supermarket and such)

Also one thing I did that I loved was doing a temple stay.. U can stay over at a temple for a night or 2, it's really worth it and it's not expensive. However you will probably have to wake up at 4 am.

If there's anything else U want to know let me know!!!

[The D Funk]

wow thannks so much guys for all the help, it means alot to me, i just wanna be a lil prepared for my adventure,

thanks agian everything helps

[Sarahbelle]

good luck man... I had a really hard time but I learned A LOT...

[The D Funk]

hard time in what sort of ways!!! just language or employment ways!!

[Sarahbelle]

language wise... yes very very hard that way. when I got there I pretty much knew NOTHING about Korea... I barely even knew where it was!

It's hard for women as well.. it took me a little time to figure that one out, but it's wierd being a 'foriengner' and a female there.. cuase you're invisable but very visable at the same time... if that makes sense. If ur a guy going over it will prob. be easier for u...

[AD]

If ur a guy going over it will prob. be easier for u...

decision time d-funk - what's it gonna be?

[The D Funk]

oh the decision has been made!! along time ago..

[DevO]

Hey D, I've got plenty of tips! I'll post again tonight. What school you working for and whereabouts in Seoul will you be living?

[Jaimoe]

Korean cinema has been particularly hot for the past 5 years or so. Check out these films sometime (the first three are part of a trilogy):

I cried my eyes out in this one. Wonderful film though:

Hugely successful and excellent monster movie with an eco-twist:

Strange, but interesting film:

Edited February 26, 2008 by Guest

[The D Funk]

wow thanks i definetly will, Kev I will be working in Bundang, which is a suburb of Seoul, and the school is called Wishing Well. I got linked up with them through Global English Teachers. Looking forward to hearing from you, thanks for the flix jamioe!!

[Jaimoe]

No problem Funk. They are easy to find too. All but 3-Iron were big international hits (although 3-Iron won a bunch of awards). Oldboy is the most famous and remains hugely influential, even moreso than Host (the Korean all-time box-office champ).

[DevO]

That movie The Host was a huge hit last Summer when I was there. I didn't know it was out here (or that it was called The Host) but I'm glad I can see it now in English!

Some great tips posted above for sure. Insadong is a neat place in Seoul. Check out 'Flying Bird Tea House', cool opium den like atmosphere with odd trinkets all around and little birds flying around inside. (Excellent date spot if you ever get a date!)

Check out the musical instrument market, which is in a big ugly building at the south end of Insadong. I can't remember the name of the market at the moment unfortunately but you'll find it sooner or later. I bought a melodian there.

Bar Nana is my favourite place to go in Itaewon as well, and Sarahbelle and I danced together there many a night! DJ Conan was my favourite DJ in Seoul. Check out my friend's band Saint John the Gambler. Say hi to Mark the frontman for me! They're a good gateway into the expat music scene.

Definitely learn how to read Korean. You'll be surprised how fast you pick it up -- really it just takes a couple of hours of study and that's it.

Eat lots of beef galbi in the Mapo area of Seoul.. Oh man its so good!

I worked down in Bundang a few times but didn't spend much time there. It'll take you almost an hour to get to Itaewon and a bit longer to get to Hongdae.

Hongdae is the club/bar district, and where all the Seoul hipsters go. Hongik University is there, which is the artsy university. There are lots of these cool underground lounges hidden in the back alleys where you sit around on cushions and smoke hookahs. This is also the area where most of the live music clubs are. Good shows come around but not all that often! Check out Pastel Music - Korean record label with some cool stuff going on. Mono (from Japan) usually make it over once a year. Mostly they get DJ's.. Tons of house/techno.

I could go on forever! Any questions, just let me know.

Oh re: North American groceries.. Its worthwhile getting a Costco membership. They've got great deals on a lot of the things you'll be craving. Cheap cheddar cheese too.

[DevO]

My biggest piece of advice would be this: Make the most of your time there, make friends with Koreans and do the things that they do. Avoid becoming cynical and jaded, don't get sucked into habit of sitting around bitching about Korea and Koreans. This may sound ridiculous but SO MANY expats waste their time doing this. It used to piss me off to no end. Korea isn't perfect, but either are you! Also don't let the rockstar status that you will sometimes receive just for being a white Westerner go to your head.

Also, try to overcome those insane hangovers on Saturdays and get out to do something before the night creeps up on you again!

[hamilton]

No problem Funk. They are easy to find too. All but 3-Iron were big international hits (although 3-Iron won a bunch of awards). Oldboy is the most famous and remains hugely influential, even moreso than Host (the Korean all-time box-office champ).

I thought The Host was horrible, but all of the other ones on that list were excellent. There are boatloads of good Korean films out there - you may also want to check out "The King & The Clown" which was a fairly big artistic hit here in the summer of 2005(?).

[Ms Zimmy]

Best Korean Film

Also, try to overcome those insane hangovers on Saturdays and get out to do something before the night creeps up on you again!

Time is weird there because you work later in the afternoon, so most people stay up really late (bars bnever close) so what kev is sooo true

Bring some curry. I was in a smaller city, and it was hard to find spices, until I found a walmart. Bring little gifts, go to the dollar store and grab some maple leaf pins...you can bribe your students with them.

Their candy kinda sucks...if you have a fav. bring some. If you have really big feet you might wanna bring some extra shoes...

their dryers suck...they ruin your clothes. Eat galby...mmmm I am veg now but I miss galby.

They have a rainy season. Rain coat.shoes would be something I would probably bring.

Have fun...you won't believe your eyes at some things...go to bath houses...I dream of them.

Once I was out with friends and decided to go home early, I jumped into a cab, and the driver asked if I was hungry (more liked made the motions) I said yes, so we went out and ate at this little place that no foreigner went too and got super drunk together, we couldn't understand a word that came out of the others mouth but we both talked and talked and laughed anyway...then he drove me home. Free fare lol weird

Edited February 26, 2008 by Guest

[The D Funk]

this might be a dumb question, is it better to bring electronics like alarm clock and clippers and electric shaver or will they even work over there, i have no idea, what about computer plug in i have a mac do i need a special plug in?? thanks for all your comments i feel better about this already.

[hamilton]

You'd need a converter/adapter for any electronics. The plugs are different here (two round holes instead of two prongs; not sure about current).

[The D Funk]

ok i have heard its better to buy stuff like that ( clippers, beard trimmer, alarm clock, ) there instead of using the convertors?

[hamilton]

Probably. I actually never brought anything electronic or electric (other than my personality, of course!) from home and haven't had any issues finding things. You may have to look a little harder for a beard trimmer - facial hair isn't very common here - but you should still be able to find one somewhere.

[Jaimoe]

The same director, the great Chan-wook Park, did this film before his Vengance trilogy. It was extremely big in Korea and is considered one of his best films. BTW, he usually uses many of the same actors in all of his films, so you'll see a few in this flick from Oldboy and the Sympathy films:

And I still stand by my recommendation of The Host. It's a monster movie for sure (and not really scary, but that isn't the point), but it's more about the eco-message and certain aspects of Korean politics, and the performances are across the board excellent (the female lead was in Lady Vengeance, J.S.A. and the male lead, Kang-ho Song, was in Mr. Vengeance and J.S.A.)

[The D Funk]

one more question , I was wondering about student loan payments. I have a hefty student loan payment that is always due on the 15 of every month. what is the best way to make these payments from SOuth korea, I have no idea, i know that scotiabank is not availble in SK so i will have to do money transfers(which can be costly) or something?? anyone else run into this issue before, thanks agian.

[bokonon]

Online banking should work from anywhere, no?

[Blane]

one more question , I was wondering about student loan payments. I have a hefty student loan payment that is always due on the 15 of every month. what is the best way to make these payments from SOuth korea, I have no idea, i know that scotiabank is not availble in SK so i will have to do money transfers(which can be costly) or something?? anyone else run into this issue before, thanks agian.

Careful, I have to pay 15 bucks per transaction to receive international wire transactions with royal bank. Forget what it is to send though. YOu may want to either do it in lump sums if you can manage (like every few months).