Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mercer Cheese]

A friend of mine recently passed through Seoul enroute to somewhere else. This was her first time here, and she only stayed a week. her verdict was that she absolutely loved it, and wants to come back for another slice of pie. Yes, she is very well travelled, so has plenty of other cities to compare it to.

This *kinda* surprised me, and yet, *kinda* not. As a foreigner living here, my opinion of this place is, obviously, jaded.

Don't get me wrong - I like Korea. I savour the good and accept the bad. But, as a moderately-travelled person, I'm not sure I'd really be so impressed with Seoul if I had just visited as a tourist, rather than came here for work.

My question is thus - If you came to Korea as a first-time tourist visitor, what do you think your impression would be?

Further to that - have you met many tourists here, and what were their opinons?

[indytrucks]

Wifey's sister, mum, and niece were all just here to visit for the first time. They all had the same opinion of Korea, and especially about Seoul ... they loved it. They thought Seoul was a very modern, hectic city full of character with PLENTY to see and do.

There you go.

[weatherman]

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[chronicpride]

[Swiss James]

and yet again a positive thread about Korea begins to degenerate into mud slinging.

Friends from Japan have been over here and can't wait to come back, my brother and his girlfriend recently came to stay for a week and my brother said it was the best place he's ever been to and would love to live here.
To be fair he hasn't travelled around asia but he has lived in three cities in England, one in Spain, one in France.

People need to separate Seoul as a place from their situation, because this can be a fantastic place to live.

[indytrucks]

[Patong Dong]

Out of the big cities I have been in Asia I would only rank Seoul above Taipei in terms of interest. But that being said I once stopped in Seoul for 3 days on the way to Thailand with a friend that had never been to Asia and as good as the beach was, Seoul was one of the highlights of his trip. All things being equal I would not recommend Seoul over a lot of cities but you could definitely enjoy some action packed days here as a tourist.

[kangnamdragon]

The kimchi is always hotter in the other's bowl.

[Swiss James]

I wouldn't say Seoul is the best place in the world, and if you match it up point for point you could easily find a place to beat it e.g.
Not as exciting as Tokyo (but a lot cheaper)
Not as beautiful as Zurich (but a hell of a lot better to drink in)
Not as cool as NYC (but....actually no, NYC is just ace)
Not as cultured as Barcelona (but a lot safer)

[kangnamdragon]

..........and, Seoul has the Hi-Seoul festival...

[funplanet]

Hong Kong-better food, more exciting night life, better shopping, friendlier people, more entrepreneurial spirit

Singapore-same as HK plus much cleaner, friendlier people

Tokyo-more exciting night life, better shopping though more expensive (quality much better on many things), friendlier and more interesting people

Shanghai-more exciting night life, better shopping, more entrepreneurial spirit, great food

Bejing-more cultural events and sights, good food, more entrepreneurial spirit

Bangkok-better shopping, friendlier people, more exciting nightlife , great food

Phnom Phen-wild west feel, more interesting, good food, entrepreneurial spirit

Seoul-boring nightlife, good cultural events, great food, bad tailors, so-so shopping, too many barriers to entreprenuerism

[jajdude]

Well it was a vacation. Of course it should be fun. And the place may be unlike any other (for many people at least). There are some unique things anyway. Novelty is fun. But I'd take BKK over Seoul almost any day.