Anyone been to South Korea for a holiday?
- Thread starter Helen Barber
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I can't believe it's been over a decade since I went to Tokyo but I remember it as if it was yesterday. Probably the best holiday I ever had and if I had the chance to go back i'd do it in an instant
Surprisingly - NoGreat post
I think I'm leaning towards Japan more now
Is it crazy expensive in Tokyo?
Thank you
Don't get me wrong, it's like any large capital city, you can spend silly money on a wagyu steak, but on the other hand, you can find reasonable accommodation and food easily. I'd even say it's easier to eat well on a budget in Tokyo than in London.
As an example, you can have a simple sit-in meal for ¥1,000-1,500 (£6.60-£9.20) at so many places and this is kind of the range for most of the everyday meals I had.
You can even go to somewhere like Matsuya or Sukiya and get a gyudon set for less than ¥500
Coco Ichibanya curry can be had for as little as ¥900 (£6) whereas in the London store you're looking at more like £15 for the same dish.
Accommodation can also be quite reasonable You're looking at £60-120 for a business hotel and around £160-£225 for a lower-end ryokan, which I'd definitely recommend in one of the more traditional towns like Kyoto, Nikko or an onsen town.
Coco Ichibanya had a place out the back of my office in Seoul, they had some money out of me on "fish days" in the canteen at work.
I lived in Seoul for 2 stints both around 2 years long.
While I loved the place and had a great time there is would not describe it as a tourist place. Maybe because I was there for work and lived there for so long after many many work trips before moving out there.
Seoul seems to cater for Chinese people coming to spend money on "cheap" designer goods, though they ain't cheap you can buy them cheaper in London. I never got the shopping drive in Korea things are expensive there, even if you go to the E-marts.
If i was going to jump on a plane for 10 hours+ i'd rather go to Malaysia, Indonesia Thailand or Vietnam. All cheaper and more fun places to visit.
However if you havent been to "developed asia" before Korea is probably a very good start, I found it easier to get around than Japan and much easier then mainland china.
I lived in Seoul for 2 stints both around 2 years long.
While I loved the place and had a great time there is would not describe it as a tourist place. Maybe because I was there for work and lived there for so long after many many work trips before moving out there.
Seoul seems to cater for Chinese people coming to spend money on "cheap" designer goods, though they ain't cheap you can buy them cheaper in London. I never got the shopping drive in Korea things are expensive there, even if you go to the E-marts.
If i was going to jump on a plane for 10 hours+ i'd rather go to Malaysia, Indonesia Thailand or Vietnam. All cheaper and more fun places to visit.
However if you havent been to "developed asia" before Korea is probably a very good start, I found it easier to get around than Japan and much easier then mainland china.
Caporegime
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Funny that the one food place you mention is a Japanese curry house!
To me, Korea is consumerism first, fried chicken and beer, group eating, social drinking next, not much palaces or temples....they are not as impressive compared to Japan (there are probably more Unisco Heritage site in Kyoto than the entire Korea. The one on the cliff side at Busan is cool I suppose.
Korea is fine, best if travel with a friend or partner because some places won't serve singles. Google maps don't work, you will need to figure out how to use Naver Maps. Google Translate sucks at Korean translation, fun time trying trying to communicate in Coco Ichibanya actually with that. Papago is a better translation app for Korean. For a tourist I think Taiwan and Japan is better. Up until recently, like 20-30 years, Korea has been really really poor, it explains why so many immigrated to the US. Only the last 10 years it has started to be the modern day Korea, that means there is a huge elderly population that is under the poverty line. The last generation was really poor, it translate to less historical things to do as there wasn't the money back then to build them. All the stuff that remains are the Palace and the Hanok Village. Everything else is brand new, everything else is about the latest trend. Korea loves a new trend. Although that does not translate to colours, everyone wears Black, White and Grey. Same as cars, nobody wants to stand out.
Inside 5 days in Seoul i went to the big palaces, the Hanok Village, Lotte Tower, Lotte Theme Park, the Namsan Tower, Gangnam statue, Starfield Mall etc, walked all over but I didn't find it as interesting as Japan. Plus, on a bad day, Seoul's air pollution is awful.
After 4 years is Seoul I have a love hate relationship with there food, Some of it is amazing, some if it is just toxic to me now. I HATE kimchi the smell of it just turns my stomach now, I didn't mind it to start and used to eat it but its everywhere it just became too much.
Group eating is the only way to go in Korea, if you go to eat by yourself they look at you like your crazy.
However if you go with a group its an amazing night out, unless they make you eat the live octopus stuff, that wasnt great (bet with my korean colleges that nearly lead to me puking on the table).
That and Soju gives me the worst hangover in the world... feels like someone has rammed screwdrivers in your eye sockets the next day.
Fried chicken and beer after work was a ritual and Fridays in the office mostly consisted laughing at the korean guys falling to sleep in the bogs (at least they had nice heated seats for them).
I was in Seoul 2010 and 2016, in 6 years the place changed loads. But once you get out of Seoul the old Korea is still there, like a lot of Asian countries there is a massive gap outside the big cities.
Group eating is the only way to go in Korea, if you go to eat by yourself they look at you like your crazy.
However if you go with a group its an amazing night out, unless they make you eat the live octopus stuff, that wasnt great (bet with my korean colleges that nearly lead to me puking on the table).
That and Soju gives me the worst hangover in the world... feels like someone has rammed screwdrivers in your eye sockets the next day.
Fried chicken and beer after work was a ritual and Fridays in the office mostly consisted laughing at the korean guys falling to sleep in the bogs (at least they had nice heated seats for them).
I was in Seoul 2010 and 2016, in 6 years the place changed loads. But once you get out of Seoul the old Korea is still there, like a lot of Asian countries there is a massive gap outside the big cities.
Caporegime
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I don't mind Kimchi but I treat it as a condiment, not the main. It's something to cut the grease. Had a Bibimbap which is just red, red and red (spicy soup, spicy kimchi and spicy rice), was way too much and everything tasted the same.
Lucky that was day 1, learn not to do that the rest of the week.
That part of the world is crazy beautiful 
#GlamorChina Tourists enjoy themselves as they visit the cherry garden in Huangla township, Anshun, Guizhou province. The township has in recent years focused on developing #tourism industry in an effort to boost local income. #cherryblossom
China Daily on Twitter: "#GlamorChina Tourists enjoy themselves as they visit the cherry garden in Huangla township, Anshun, Guizhou province. The township has in recent years focused on developing #tourism industry in an effort to boost local income. #cherryblossom https://t.co/meR2IpHqjH" / Twitter
#GlamorChina Tourists enjoy themselves as they visit the cherry garden in Huangla township, Anshun, Guizhou province. The township has in recent years focused on developing #tourism industry in an effort to boost local income. #cherryblossom
China Daily on Twitter: "#GlamorChina Tourists enjoy themselves as they visit the cherry garden in Huangla township, Anshun, Guizhou province. The township has in recent years focused on developing #tourism industry in an effort to boost local income. #cherryblossom https://t.co/meR2IpHqjH" / Twitter
First rule of Korean food:
Red = super spicy hot.
My first day I got done up with the spicy radish kimchi, made we wary of everything.
Bibimap was ace and I love Korean sashimi as well though watching them murder a fish on your table is an experience. That said in china and Indonesia I've seen then kill things much bigger up to a cow at my wedding in Indonesia.
I miss Asia its the longest I've gone without being there in a longtime now. That said ive got a chance to go working with JGC this year so hopefully time for some time in japan.