Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
– Orison Swett Marden
Thursday, March 25, 2015 (DAY 1,116)
Living in Seoul—the second largest city in the developed world with a population of over 25.6 million people as of a 2014—this megacity metropolis has been quite the experience both as a budget traveler and as a Korean-American adoptee. During this past year, along with other the other 19 different countries I've hunkered down in and called home, I've naturally developed a love-hate relationship with Seoul, the capital that has been relatively nicknamed "the land of the morning calm." As with any place around the world, there are of course pros and cons, and I thought I would share with others just some of the slight annoyances that I've experienced. However, with that being said, I have also written several other articles demonstrating the positive side of Korea—the first being, Funny Things I Find about Korea and the second, 12 Interesting Facts about Korea. Therefore, I still have an absolute fondness for this city, the people, the culture, and of course...the food! But, let's get to the five things that I find a bit annoying with Seoul.
Living in Seoul—the second largest city in the developed world with a population of over 25.6 million people as of a 2014—this megacity metropolis has been quite the experience both as a budget traveler and as a Korean-American adoptee. During this past year, along with other the other 19 different countries I've hunkered down in and called home, I've naturally developed a love-hate relationship with Seoul, the capital that has been relatively nicknamed "the land of the morning calm." As with any place around the world, there are of course pros and cons, and I thought I would share with others just some of the slight annoyances that I've experienced. However, with that being said, I have also written several other articles demonstrating the positive side of Korea—the first being, Funny Things I Find about Korea and the second, 12 Interesting Facts about Korea. Therefore, I still have an absolute fondness for this city, the people, the culture, and of course...the food! But, let's get to the five things that I find a bit annoying with Seoul.
MY FIVE SLIGHT ANNOYANCES WITH SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
5. Some of the best local restaurants do not open until 5pm or later, and often even when they clearly post the restaurants' business hours (both opening and closing) these are more of suggestions than reliable. As both an entrepreneur and business consultant, this is a massive flaw of course because many times I've tried to go to a neighborhood restaurant knowing their posted hours, and the lights are off and no one is around. Therefore, even when I get the craving, often I don't even bother walking there, because it's a crapshoot as to whether or not the business will actually be open. Secondly, as a solo traveler and business owner, I often create my own schedule and even when these restaurants are open, I have actually been refused service because I am without a companion. Even when I've tried to explain that I will pay for two people, this still is not acceptable in some restaurants.
4. Described as the world's longest multi-operator metro system, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, is fantastic in terms of how efficient, clean, and inexpensive it is, especially in comparison to other major cities I have visited such as; New York City, Paris, Tokyo, Chicago, Rome, Singapore, etc. The annoying factor is that it does not operate 24-hours a day, but normally the last trains end between 11:30pm-1am, AND on holidays (which is understandable, I suppose) there is an adjusted schedule, meaning the 'last train' is earlier than normal, BUT my biggest annoyance is that EVERY weekend there is the adjusted schedule—holiday or not—where everyone is constantly searching for the time of their last train, otherwise it's staying out all night, paying for a taxi, crashing out in a cheap jimjilbang (찜질방), finding a number of the infamous Noraebangs (노래방), or wandering until sunrise when the subway begin operating around 5am.
3. The banking hours and overall system needs to be evaluated and adjusted! For example, banks typically open at 9am, but they close for an hour from 12pm to 1pm (ok, understandable to a degree), yet what baffles me is the fact that they close at 4pm! This in a country where Koreans work second-longest amount of hours according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Yes, there are both online and mobile banking options, as well as 24/7 ATMS, BUT when I'm in need of utilizing bank resources or questions, first of all the English options are limited, and in my personal opinion when I constantly hear from both the media and individuals that Seoul wants to be and should be recognized more as a major player on the international stage, I feel that addressing these types of service options should be carefully reviewed in the ever-growing globalization. Also, on a disappointing note, I recently read in the Korea Times (from the Saturday, March 14, 2015 issue) that unfortunately through a survey, Tourists Find Korea Unkind, at least in comparison with those surveyed via tour.com over a three-year period.
2. Frustration with aspects of technology. For some odd reason, many sites in Korea and throughout Asia have been THE MOST DIFFICULT to deal with because they are using, in my opinion again, limited outdated capabilities, such as Internet Explorer ONLY sites in order to make purchases (personally experienced this through the Asiana website) and many sites are built using Adobe flash. When I first noticed this, I was wondering if I was using dial-up Internet from the late 90s?! In spite of this fact, Korea is still booming of course when it comes to technology and both free Wi-Fi accessibility in Seoul and blazing speeds. Therefore, I chalk this up to possible Tech Wars between Korean based companies LG and Samsung versus that of Apple. On a side note, while researching for this blog entry, I found a great article from The Guardian "An ubranist's tour of South Korea: a glimpse into the future of world cities."
1. I fully understand and try and be respectful of cultural differences, especially being a global traveler of more than three continuous years, but my biggest qualm is the fact that many people in Korea cough without covering their mouth. They just let it fly! This is especially annoying on packed subways, rounding a corner to have someone surprise you with coughing germs directly in your face, etc and etc. Therefore, the reason I began wearing what Dana so elegantly called it, "face panties" or a washable medical mask in order to try to keep some of these germs from entering my body! I am also aware that these are not 100% effective from a medical standpoint, however, I feel that it is a bit of a deterrent at the least.
In conclusion, while I do have these small annoyances, once again overall Seoul is an incredible city and in my opinion in comparison with New York City and Tokyo, it still beats both of them in terms of things such as: public transportation, technology, food options, entertainment, personal safety, cost of living (once again if done correctly from a budget travelers standpoint, even amid living here for a while to replenish depleted bank accounts), and etc and etc. Therefore, I constantly tell friends and family that if given the choice visit Seoul over Tokyo for all of the previous reasons mentioned! Haejuseyo (해주세요)
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