Things to know about South Korea

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT SOUTH KOREA

South Korean lies on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula and has only one land border which is with North Korea. The West Sea (Yellow Sea) and the East Sea (Japan Sea) separate the country from it's closest neighbours China and Japan. There are many islands in the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula (at least 3000, of these 473 are inhabited) and probably one of the most famous is Jeju Island which is a summer paradise for South Koreans and foreigners alike.

The population of South Korea is 54+million people with over 9 million living in Seoul the capital city.(the whole Seoul-Incheon area is over 20million which makes Seoul a mega-city)

South Korea is a country of diversity with bustling cities, beautiful landscapes, brash new bold buildings, old temples, shrines and amazing mountains with breath taking views, museums and art, and the DMZ zone.

VERY BRIEF HISTORY

South Korea is also a country with a very turbulent history having been conquered by it's neighbours in the north and south, both China and Japan many times and at the end of world war two after the Japanese surrender Korea became divided. This division caused the Korean war from 1950-53 which has never officially ended and the two countries remain in an uneasy truce. The war devastated the country and many families were torn apart and to this day there are still repatriation attempts being made to bring those families back together.

The war over, life should have improved in South Korea but more than 30+ years of political instability took a toll, with ineffectual governments, coups, dictatorships, assassinations. It wasn't until 1997 that South Korea became a democracy (coming from an autocracy) electing Kim Dae Jung as the 8th president (he was once sentenced to death as a political prisoner although this was later commuted to exile) and things started to turn around for South Korea until today when it is one of the leading countries in the world and it's many brands are known the world over, Samsung, Hyundai, LG to name just a few.

It is also the land of K-Drama and K-Pop ( and I confess to being a avid watcher and listener and a proud iKONIC) which has become a cultural export loved the world over.

Throughout all their turbulent history the South Koreans have been fiercely patriotic and resilient while being friendly, polite, proud, passionate about their country and their way of life. They may be more reserved than other Asian countries but we found them friendly, helpful and cheerful and we had many laughs with them.

TOURISM IN SOUTH KOREA

People from outside of Asia often overlook South Korea as a holiday destination because they get it confused with North Korea, or because of the proximity of the capital to the border which is only about a two hour drive away. It is also not on a stopover route like some other Asian countries so unless you plan on going to South Korea you are unlikely to just stop there along the way. However with the Hallyu wave (Korean drama, music and culture, electronics and cars manufactured in South Korea) the country is becoming more popular.

South Korea is not as expensive as you would think it would be,you can get hotel rooms in Seoul for a lot less than what you would for the equivalent in Tokyo (but like anywhere you can go as expensive or as cheaply as you would like depending on whether you are after the 5 Star experience or youth hostels and everything in between.)

If you go one train stop up from the main tourist spots you can get great hotels for a fraction of the price (Hotel Maui in Dongmyo which was our hotel in Seoul) there are many good hostels and pod hotels too if you want to find even cheaper places to stay.

FOOD IN SOUTH KOREA

Food can be as cheap or as expensive as you wish it to be- there are many cheap options, and I am talking cheap like food from the 7-11 and other convenience stores where you can pick up some amazing food, to street carts, Korean BBQ, fast -food stores that are nothing like those burger joints you get here, restaurants with the most amazing soups, jijgae (Stew) and bipimbap. (By the way if you didn't know the food in South Korea is out of this world delicious) Be prepared to take risks and try something new because it's fun and you may be surprised with the best meal ever.

The coffee culture is big in this country and you can often find coffee and cake is more expensive than dinner. (They say that if you are on a date and having coffee and cake it can be more serious than dinner.)

LANGUAGE

The official language is Korean and English is not widely spoken (thankfully it is on signs and in train stations so it makes life easier to get around), so try and learn a few basics even if just please, thank you, hello and good-bye. Teaching of English has been introduced into schools in the last few years, so younger people are a lot more willing to approach you and practice what they know. However the language barrier did not pose as many problems as we had anticipated and the fact that we knew a few words of Korean seemed to break down any barriers that were there.

Hangul is one of the easier Asian languages to be able to decipher, as they have a clearly defined alphabet which is symbol based, so if you have addresses written down you will be easily able to work out where you are going.

CURRENCY OF SOUTH KOREA

The currency is the South KoreanWon (currently exchanging at around 820 won to $1 Australian) and has coins of 500, 100, 50, and 10 won, with notes of 1000, 5000, 10,000 and 50,000.

Credit cards are widely accepted in most major cities, but like most places in the world may not be accepted in smaller places so make sure you have enough cash on you especially in the markets and the great food stalls.

ATM machines can be found in most places-the best is probably the 7-11s so if you can't find a bank check out the convenience stores (great food to pick up there too....did I say how great Korean food is.) However not all the ATMs accept foreign cards so try and make sure you don't completely empty your wallet before you need to get cash again.

BEFORE YOU TRAVEL TO SOUTH KOREA

1/TRAIN TRAVEL IN SOUTH KOREA

If you are planning on travelling beyond Seoul (which is easy enough to do as the trains are simply put FAST and FANTASTIC) make sure that you do some research because picking up a Korean Rail Pass may save you quite a lot of money. You need to order the rail pass prior to travelling as this is not available to purchase in they country, you will receive a voucher which will be changed over on arrival in South Korea.Make sure you know what train travel you are doing in South Korea because the rail pass is not as good or as flexible as the one you can get in Japan. There are a variety of choices, you can get tickets which you use on consecutive days or were you use your pass for four days over a ten day period. In that time you are able to get two tickets per day which means a return trip somewhere. I did find that this pass did not give us as much freedom as the Japanese Rail Pass but we did still save as money as because there were four of us we spent W183,000 which saved us around W30-50.000).

2/ MEDICATION

If you require certain medications please check ahead of time what you can and can't take into the country as they have very strict anti-stimulant laws and you are NOT allowed to take in medication that falls under the Opium Act unless you have doctor's certificate so make sure you do it ahead of time (this includes ADHD medicine, sleeping tablets and some strong pain killers.

3/ELECTRICITY

Make sure that you have an adapter that converts from a three pin to a two pin (if you are coming from Australia) as the voltage is similar and should not cause issues. The adapter is the same one you use in Europe.

WHILE IN SOUTH KOREA

1/BE POLITE AND RESPECTFUL OF CUSTOMS

South Korea is a country of manners, etiquette and customs, you don't want to offend so be polite. It is a country where bowing shows respect and maybe you are uncomfortable with it but even a slight bow will become second nature to you.

It is also a country of polite conversation and the use of honorifics and while they will excuse foreigners who don't know any better if you are using your Korean, try and use the right 'form' so as not to offend people.

DON'T point, if you need to use an open hand to gesture, and don't crook your finger at someone for them to come over to you, you turn your palm down and make a 'come to me' gesture.

Use TWO hands to give and receive money.

When pouring alcohol use two hands, one supporting the wrist of the other, and ALWAYS pour for other people before you pour your own. If you are drinking with older people you should always turn your head to drink your alcohol.

Shoes are not worn in temples, private homes and some restaurants so make sure you have some cute socks to show off (or pick up a few new pairs at one of the many great markets in Seoul while you are away)

2/TOILETS

There are Western toilets and Korean ones in most public toilets within cities (outside of them Western toilets may not be as common so use the opportunity to improve your core and thigh muscles because when nature calls there's not much you can do about it.) Make sure you carry tissues and wipes because toilet paper may not always be available.

MOST IMPORTANTLY WHILE YOU ARE IN SOUTH KOREA HAVE FUN AND SOAK UP EVERY EXPERIENCE THAT YOU HAVE BECAUSE YOU WILL BE A BETTER PERSON FOR IT!!!!!!

#sOutHkoRea #tRavEltIps