It’s been six months living in South Korea as of today!
After nearly six months living life in Seoul, there are quite a few things I’ve found I love about Seoul. Here they are, in essentially the order I thought of them (which is essentially random):
1) The Seoul Workout Plan – In short: walking more, eating less, eating fresher, more (and nicer) greenspace, and much more.
2) Public transportation – One if by subway, two if by train, three if by bus – either way, you can get to where you want for a reasonable price without any need for a car. The train system spans most any place you’re interested in seeing throughout South Korea, and offers three different classes to balance speed and cost.
3) Customer service – At most stores you’ll be able to ask (or gesture) for something in a different size, ask for a discount, and so on. I’ve seen more than a few employees of a store literally run to the back room to see if they have a certain color or size. That they come out to greet you (or in E-mart’s case, actually bow to you as you enter the store) and occasionally follow you around may be a little uncomfortable at first… but use them for all they’re worth! If you need a different color or size, watch them as a few words (or gestures) from you springs them into action.
4) The twenty-something generation. This generation of college graduates is smart, willing to work, and willing to break a few traditions to get ahead and succeed. I can’t wait to see what direction they take South Korea.
5) The quantity – and quality – of things to do in Seoul. My mission has been to see at least one new place every week, and I’m convinced that even a year wouldn’t be enough. There’s that many places of historical / cultural / other interest to spend any free time exploring. Just take a look at any posts with the Destinations tag for proof of that.
6) The gorgeous Korean women (but see the caveat in the related post) – my first few weeks here, I had to literally pick my jaw up and not gawk at the ladies. The stereotypical view of Asian women is that they’re thin, take care of themselves, and are wonderful to look at. These are all true, but after almost 6 months it’s becoming easier to recognize them as normal – and they’re not all gorgeous. Some of them most definitely are – and it’s still hard not to stare.
7) Convenience stores – to have a GS25, a 7-11, a Buy the Way, or another convenience store within 200 meters of you wherever you are is absolutely wonderful. No matter the time of day or night, there’s always a place to pick up a bottle of water, an alcoholic beverage, a snack, or most anything you’ll likely need. Granted you’ll pay a little more for the convenience, and it’s no place to do your grocery shopping, but they’re ubiquitous as part of living life in Seoul.
8) The ability to create a ‘hybrid’ lifestyle, melding elements from the Western world (anything from chain restaurants to really good pizza; thanks to the internet, keeping up with US news is a piece of cake) and the Korean world (Korean food, great places to sight see or people watch).
9) The ability to explain almost anything by saying either: ‘I’m sorry, I don’t speak Korean’, or give that classic ‘tourist’ stare in the other direction. So what if I live here? No one outside of where I work and my friends know that…
10) The community of expatriates. While most are from American, more than a few hail from Canada, Austraila, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and many many other countries that they’re fairly commonplace around the city. While I haven’t made a special effort to make expat friends – we’re all kind of transient and on one-year contracts, even though quite a few of them originally came for a year and are still here several years later. I wouldn’t be surprised if I say the same thing in a year or three from now.
