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My wife and I (US citizens) have wanted to visit South Korea -- mainly Seoul -- for years, and we were gearing up to go in 2020 when... *waves hands vaguely*. We're looking at finally visiting in 2023. Neither of us know Korean but have picked up some basic phases and etiquette from podcasts and a beginner textbook, and we'll try to learn more before the trip. We can both stumble through reading Hangul very slowly, but our vocabulary is very limited. Despite reading a lot of travel blogs that cover travel and tourism in Korea, I still have some questions with outdated or conflicting answers. I'll just dump them here in case anyone has any insight. 1. Most of the blogs say to go in spring or fall. Is September/October still an okay time to visit? I'm hoping to stay for 7-10 days. 2. We'd mostly stay in Seoul and do the touristy things (palaces, temples, parks, museums, Hanok Village, etc.) but also want to check out some of the more local flavor. Good hole-in-the-wall restaurants, private karaoke rooms, street markets, whatever else. Is there a good resource for finding this kind of stuff? 3. I am anxious driving even in large US cities, and everything I've read said not to rent a car in Seoul. As someone with limited Korean language skills, am I going to be able to figure out the subways, trains, and buses? 4. It looks like Korean Air has massively scaled back their flights to the US since the pandemic started, and Delta operates most of "their" US flights now. And I guess they bought/are buying Asiana? Flying international carriers is generally much nicer than Delta/American/United, but it seems like that may not even be an option. Any ideas on this? 5. We'd like to spend a couple of days at Jeju Island, mainly just enjoying the sights. It looks like it's a short flight from Gimpo, and not too expensive. Is two days enough? Too much? Is there anything we should know? 6. How are COVID things going there? Are most things open with precautions? I'm full vaccinated and am used to being the only person in a public building still wearing a mask, so that's not an issue at all. As someone who hasn't done much international travel, this seems like... a lot. But it's an experience I've wanted for years, so I'm fumbling my way through it. I'd appreciate any insight or advice anyone has.
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Jan 1, 2023 02:25
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 07:25 |
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Redezga posted:It might depend on your location but check google for your nearest Korean Cultural Centre if you want to get some language lessons from native speaking Koreans. A lot of them offer free weekly classes on Zoom and in person, and also tend to provide free ebook versions of of the texts and very cheap physical versions of the texts. Thanks! The Korean population here is extremely small, sadly. The local Korean church offered free Korean lessons before the pandemic, but they were mainly geared toward children. No idea if they're still offering them, but I can ask around. Online will probably be the way to go. Bugblatter posted:2. I think 10 days is a bit long for just Seoul, give yourself a couple of days in Busan to make a better trip. It's just a 3-hour train ride. I love going places to new places and just... living there for a little while. I'll usually do touristy things for two or three days and then spend the rest of the time exploring food and activities that aren't necessarily geared toward tourists. Not having anything to do for a few days is a bonus, to be honest. I don't know anything about Busan, other than that the cast of Running Man occasionally make fun of it for being a backwater (but I think it's kind of like New Yorkers making fun of Chicago?). quote:3. Yeah all the signage and navigation apps have English. I know Seoul is rotten with English, but how common is it in other cities? Does Busan get enough western visitors to bother putting up English signs? Oh, and the OP says Google Maps is useless in Korea. Is that still the case? quote:5. If you go to Jeju you need to drive. Public transit isn't nearly as useful as on the mainland. Most of the best beaches are on the west side and northeast corner. Most of the sightseeing spots are on the southern side. Jeju city sucks, don't stay there. Seogwipo is a better base to travel from. You won't see everything in two days, but you could have a nice full itinerary. Good advice, thanks. I'd probably be okay driving around Jeju or anywhere outside the major cities, but city driving triggers anxiety even when I'm somewhat familiar with the place. I'm guessing Uber/Lyft-type services aren't a thing there?
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Jan 1, 2023 04:48
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I assume I'll need to change over to Korean mobile service while I'm there. Can one pick up a Korean SIM card with a short-term or prepaid plan and pop it into an unlocked western phone? I have a Pixel 6 that theoretically works with all carriers.
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Jan 1, 2023 16:34
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Now that my first round of 2023 travel is done, I'm making more solid plans to visit Seoul/Busan/maybe Jeju in early October. I know this is an unhelpfully vague question, but if I'm spending a week-ish in Seoul, is there a good part of the city to stay in? I'm planning to use the subways to get around, but finding a hotel in short walking range of lots of restaurants, shopping, street markets, etc. would be ideal. Doesn't have to be touristy. It's fun to show up at the best hole-in-the-wall spot in a new place and have the staff be surprised that a tourist found them. The biggest city I've actually spent time exploring is San Francisco, so I don't think my brain is prepared for the massive scope of Seoul.
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Mar 14, 2023 14:30
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I'm not opposed to leaving the city, but I'll admit I don't really know where else to go. It's sort of like... "Okay, I'm going to visit Chicago and also check out some of the midwest USA." Yeah, but where? A tourist doesn't randomly head to Akron or Fargo or Des Moines without a good reason. I've read some travel blogs and have a (pre-pandemic) guidebook, but much of the info I've found focuses really hard on historical tourism. Sure, I'd love to visit an old Buddhist temple. I don't need to visit 15 of them. My priorities: - Experience a bit of everyday life is generally like in Korea: walk around, take the subway, take the bus, people-watch. It seems to be pretty safe to just wander around, even in the dense parts of the city. I love exploring with no real destination in mind. - Eat awesome food. Not just Korean food (but definitely that), but Korean takes on other cuisines too. Well, maybe not the pizza. - Experience the nightlife. I'm not into trendy nightclubs or heavy drinking, but I'd love to see some live music, maybe visit a night market or two -- my friend recommend Dongdaemun? I'm a huge nerd, so stuff like board game cafes, arcades, escape rooms, and similar would be a big draw for me. - Do some embarrassingly touristy stuff. I DO want to visit some temples, parks, museums, historical or cultural exhibits. Heck, maybe even spend a day at an amusement park (Lotte World or Everland?). Outside of Seoul, Busan, and Jeju Island, where else might be worth spending a day or two?
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Mar 14, 2023 18:14
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Pentecoastal Elites posted:Seoul doesn't really have night markets like Taipei etc does. dong/namdaemun are both open late but they're not really night markets per say but worth checking out. quote:If you're looking for night life (clubbing), hongdae is in the west and gangnam is in the east, south of the river. Pass on itaewon. Busan is better for interesting nightlife, especially live music, imo. Someone might argue with me on this but I don't think you're going to find some uniquely korean low-intensity nightlife scene. quote:You can find escape rooms or board game cafes but if you don't speak, or at least read, the language you're not going to have a good time. quote:I also don't know how much fusion cuisine you're going to find outside of a few sino-korean staples (jjangmyeon, tangsuyuk) that's not really a hugely popular thing for the most part. Eat a bunch of street food, and stick to Korean restaurants. You can find very good non-Korean food in Seoul, but if you're only there for a little bit I wouldn't necessarily bother. quote:I would not go to an amusement park unless you have kids quote:Outside the city it depends on if you want a strictly planned visit or you're willing to explore. Admittedly you probably won't have a lot of success with the former, but for the latter you can essentially pick a town or minor city, google "%city_name% food" or temple or whatever, and take a train or bus out there and see what's up. Korea is built straight up so if you find yourself in a small town you'll be able to see most of it in an afternoon and you can just wander into whatever restaurant or cafe or bar looks interesting. The main draws are food and scenery, though, so if that doesn't feel like enough maybe stick to Seoul. Thanks for the advice!
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Mar 14, 2023 19:46
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Koramei posted:Korean theme parks are couple-centric more than kid centric. But very much skewing towards younger; Lotte World lets you in free (or reduced? I did not actually try) if you're wearing a highschool uniform, to give you an idea. quote:Bars/eateries/food trucks are absolutely everywhere (and nicer than in the US). Live music you'll have to actually seek out, but it's totally findable.
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Mar 14, 2023 20:01
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 07:25 |
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Bugblatter posted:I normally also advise people to get out of Seoul, but it sounds like with your travel goals you’d enjoy the week there. Yeah, I think so. I grew up as a suburbs kid and didn't really grow out of it, so cities seem less mundane to me than they probably are for most Americans. The idea of a big city that's relatively safe to explore is very appealing. We'll need to work out vacation timing, but I feel like an 8-day visit might be appropriate: five in Seoul, two in Busan, and a bonus day trip to someplace else. It looks like there's high-speed rail from Seoul to Busan. I assume like the other mass transit in Korea, it's modern/safe/fast/reliable?
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Mar 15, 2023 01:03
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