Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jdog2050]

Well,

I recently took a trip to Osaka for vacation, and man oh man was it hard not to constantly compare it to Korea. I liked Osaka. I liked Japan, and the Japanese. There was a calmness and civility there that I find so lacking here. For instance, more than once, my GF and I were in a bar or restaurant and I would go..."God it's quiet. I mean, music is playing, but my ears aren't being raped"

I went to their version of an electronics mart...and again, was shocked. They had brands other than japanese brands! It really put into perspective the absolute fear that Koreans have of competition. Right next to all the NTT Docomo phones, was a whole aisle of Apple stuff. And guess what, the Iphone is doing well there. Also, the abscence of 90 guys selling the exact same thing, yet yelling as though they'll give you a deal, was refreshing.

Also:
No gawking
No giggling when someone had to use their englishee
No sewer gas smells


The only downsides:

The subway is wayyyy more confusing. Way way way more.

The girls are...hold onto your hats asiaphiles...not that hot on average. However, that's tempered with the observation that they're probably a bit more interesting to speak to on average. Also, much less plastic surgery. I like that...I feel like I'm seeing the truth.

I could see "playing out" Osaka after like 3 weeks. It's not small...but it's small.

Do I even need to mention how expensive it is? We were dropping $10's like $1's and $100's like $10's.

[alpope23]

[Scotticus]

[endo]

I just got back from Tokyo and you just can't help but compare the two.


Seoul wins when it comes to the overall price of goods: i.e. subway, food, taxis, ect....

Especially food. It's much cheaper in Korea and IMO tastes better too.



However, when it comes to everything else, Japan wins hands down. At least in Tokyo.

- the people are much nicer
- the kids hardly gawk at you and not one ran up to me with the "hellooo"
- Japanese women (at least in tokyo) are better looking
- peoples styles are much more diverse
- the architecture is more interesting
- the people overall just seem more comfortable wth foreigners (at least on the outside)

[jdog2050]

[endo]

[visitorq]

[visitorq]

[endo]

The only thing that really bothered me about Tokyo were the east African hustlers.

Now some of them were funny, but it did get annoying after a while.

[pkang0202]

[JamesFord]

Yeah, I was in Tokyo for the break too. It makes Seoul look like a toilet.

If I were to live there, I'd try to station myself near the beer museum. Where else can you get a glass of guiness for $2.50?

[visitorq]

[JamesFord]

[reactionary]

i'm in osaka prefecture now. i really dont see the city being "played out" in three weeks. in re: night life, the main drinking district(namba/shinsaibashi) is probably double the size and number of bars as gangnam, itaewon, and hongdae combined. and yeah, the money flies...but i did find a horrid hip hop club offering all-you-can-drink for 3000 yen, if you can stomach the atmosphere. then there are also the 380 yen places where all drinks/food are 380 yen.

if you get sick of drinking, kyoto's an hour away. hundreds of significant shrines and temples...as opposed to maybe a couple of dozen in seoul.

and i keep bumping into great eats all over the place. conveyor belt sushi, yakitori...hell even the train station in my podunk suburb has an indian restaurant...with an indian owner.

going out to eat is more expensive than seoul. i definitely eat at home a lot more here. but you know, going to the supermarket, some things in fact seem cheaper here. western spirits and meat come to mind. the produce is high priced, though. it's a game of give and take.


only one month in though, so we'll see.

[aka Dave]