South Korea: completely different from Japan

some of my reflections of South Korea. Many friends told me I would find a lot of similarities between Japan and Korea, especially Tokyo and Seoul. And I could not disagree more.

First thing I noticed right away was people talking in the train. The way people conversed, moved around and handled themselves was very different than my experience in Tokyo. It actually reminded me of Spanish people. Very social with each other and a bit chaotic. This comparison followed me throughout the trip. I found Koreans loved to hang out and talk with other people. Though definitely not foreigners, which in a way, this is also quite similar to Spain. Spanish people are known worldwide to only hangout amongst themselves even when they travel or study abroad.

Even though I saw how open Koreans were, I also noticed that because they weren’t comfortable with their english, they just didn’t want to be bothered. When it comes to English, the country is well-equipped. All screens have English translations, English menus and the people will be able to converse with you about basic necessary topics. However, many will not actually dare to start a conversation, unless you are a Hongdae boy (fuck-boys). Funny enough, the people who were trying to flirt with foreigners had the best English. I guess being a fuck boy paid off in their education.

Another difference I noticed between Korea and Japan is that Korea is way dirtier and unorganised. The streets always had trash in the floor, they looked old and disheveled. I know it’ because I come from Japan, where being neat is of the upmost importance but still. In that regard, it still reminded me of Barcelona. Though I might actually believe Korea is slightly worse.

bitch face

Korean people really have a resting bitch face. In the train, in a restaurant, they don’t look happy to see you at all. When they serve you in a restaurant, they also look annoyed. I honestly believe in many cases it was just that they have that look as their resting face and it means nothing. In other situations, I did get the feeling they didn’t like me or were judging me. As a solo traveller, I was looked as a nuisance many times, specially in restaurants. The food culture there is not for one at all, it’s for groups, couples and families. Many restaurants didn’t even allow for only one to eat.

I had plenty of times that I decided to eat in a restaurant that was quite empty and even then, they looked at me as a pain. I tell myself that it is just their resting face and they were tired in general, and they don’t bother in hiding that fact.

woman

As a woman, the country is quite safe. I could walk at night without being bothered and I had no bad experiences with any man. It was safe, though it didn’t feel it. Men didn’t hide when they were looking at girls in the subway. I noticed their gazes. If they were looking at a girl from behind, they would joke around with their peers. They didn’t actually talk to any of these girls or actually bother them but I still felt that there was disrespect and sexualization in their gazes. If I was walking in the street, you definitely feel you are being noticed. With my red hair, I know people can see me a lot, but there is a difference between people looking at me like ‘Oh look a red hair foreigner!” and men looking me up and down. Men’s looks here were more crude and vulgar.

crocs

They love crocs in this country. I saw so many people from all ages and backgrounds wearing them. There was also so many pop-up stores with different crocs designs. Also, something I found hilarious is that there is so many crocs accessories everywhere: souvenir shops, retail stores, subway stations… It is apparently a trend to decorate your crocs. So many cute crocs pins were available everywhere. Some crocs were even designer crocs with very flamboyant styles.

car-centric society

Something they like more than crocs is cars. All Korea, even Seoul, was quite car-centric. The subway in Seoul was quite good and efficient, but still not everything was connected. And when that happened, the transportation options were very limited and time-consuming. Probably one of the reasons why taxis are not very expensive. Taking a taxi after a work reunion, party or when you are tired is very common in Korea. At first, I tried to always take subways but after a while, if the public transportation was too long or I had to walk too much, I did use the uber’s. And oh boy, I loved being chauffeured around. Specially because my feet were in pain for a lot of days that I was in Seoul. But mainly because I was just picked up and then dropped off in the most convenient place. I envied rich people in that moment. What a comfortable life they experience.

In Seoul, I used taxis for specific routes or when I had luggage. I still tried to use public transportation. In smaller cities, this was not an option. Buses were scarce and many routes didn’t exist. A car was a must. The uber fees were even cheaper than Seoul but not that cheap for you to want to use it multiple times per day. For doing tourism, this is a bit annoying. Something I found out there a bit late, but also was mega weird is tourist taxis. Basically, they offer a 3 hour taxi experience. You get your own personal driver, you can pick 3 spots and the driver drops you off there. This is really the epitome of the tourist checklist which I hate. Going to a place for tourism and just seeing it, taking the picture and swiftly leaving for the next one. I like taking as much time as I want in seeing the tourist spot in many different ways, sitting and reading about it, etc.

However, I must admit that I still needed the taxis to go to a lot of the places I wanted to visit and if you take individual taxis is way much more expensive than this 3 hour experience. In some areas I visited, I struggled to find a taxi. I was somewhere where all the apps said that cars couldn’t reach there. The only option I had was walking 4 km of a car road in the scorching heat and hoping they would pick me up there.

In the end, I found a car that seemed like a taxi and just went there hoping I could pay in cash. It felt a bit sketchy but I still had no choice. The taxi itself took less than 10 minutes to arrive to my hotel, so I wasn’t that far, but taxis just didn’t want to be bothered to pick me up. These small towns, even though they are very famous for their seaside, definitely don’t tend to get carless tourists.

picture obsessed

Everywhere I go, there are people taking pictures. Many tourists of course, but also many locals. A nice sunset. Picture. A new outfit. Picture. We are hanging out. Picture. We are bored. Picture.

But I don’t blame or judge them because I ate it up. Here there are photo booths and photo spots everywhere. Subway stations, cafes, clothing shops, malls, museums….

Going to a photo booth and taking a picture with your friends is a social activity. You are having fun together, just had dinner, you see a photo booth, let’s go. There are so many different photo booths as well. Ones imitate real life scenarios like subways, supermarkets, others are more creative like being inside a laundry machine or being inside a pool with fish. My favourite one was a store that allowed to create your own sticker pack. I will try to imitate this photo booths in my next house party.

Not only the photo booths but many different spots always included a place specifically for pictures. A lot of mirrors as well, so people could take their own pictures. As a solo traveller, I enjoyed that very much.

When I booked activities like when I did SUP in the beach or surfing. They always included in their plans that they would take pictures of you. In both activities, there was an assigned time for pics. In the SUP, I actually would argue that that was the whole activity. The coach taught how to SUP, and then told us to do 2-3 routes and he would wait in the position for the pictures. He didn’t teach anything else, just try a bit until I take your pictures and then free time and left. I found that quite hilarious. Though I didn’t get a lot of pictures because he was shy to speak english so he would not engage with me that much. Sad.

walk them like a dog

Korea is a very love-obsessed country. I knew that and I saw it too. People are paired up and couples will love showing their affection and union. Matching clothes, key rings, couple activities, couple meals…

What I found hilarious and also ties with the picture obsessed paragraph is that girls make of their boyfriends their assistants. When the girls want to take a picture, the boys need to step up and know how to take million pictures. They carry the bags, they take as many pics as she wants, they follow their girlfriends to their every whim, they must dominate all the perspectives and get nice shots. And I think that’s beautiful.

A lot of the times I was watching these couples, I couldn’t help but hear the song ‘walk them like a dog’. It was very on point. Though, they looked very happy and willing. I call this balance.

beauty is white

The country is full of advertisement. Skincare, makeup, soju bottles, handkerchiefs, buses… Everything has a face and a celebrity. These celebrities are famous Korean actors and idols. So, you see famous people everywhere. I knew and expected that. However, I was shocked that, besides the celebrities, all the fashion or makeup brands used western models. Even the fashion stores used western models to show their clothes. The Korean celebrities were the face of the brand and image, but the actual modelling was only by white people. At first, I thought the brands I was seeing were targeting foreigners, but the more I saw, the more small Korean pop-ups I saw that were using western models. It seems it’s the “cool” thing or the “beauty standard”, which is a bit shocking when most people are Korean.

united states fans

I understand historically why South Korea loves the US. Without them, they would literally be North Korea right now, but still there is such a love and appreciation for the US that I found crazy. They view the United States as so advanced. Anyone who travels there, studies there, etc is immediately better, smarter and more privileged. I got the feeling, which probably ties with the beauty thing I just explained, that they desire to be more like the US. The influences there are very clear. Even though I have never been to the US, I went to Mexico where they explained to me all the concepts that are very American. I felt like Korea was very much alike in all these things: car-centric, big stores, big cars, shopping-obsessed, a bit pretentious, even dare to say, loud.

The fashion had definitely a western influence. Technically Korean girls don’t like to show shoulders as it’s deemed as not proper. However, because of this western influence, I saw so many younger girls completely ignoring that and wearing their fashionable sleeveless tops. Unlike Japan, where if you wear these tops, you definitely notice the judgemental looks. In Korea, it was completely normal. It felt like a better mix of western and asian culture.

some pics as a gift

for those without my instagram. here are some pics.