Whats it like to live in South Korea?

Question

Sister moving there in Dec, wants to know if anyone has any good advice?

Answer 1

Been living here 4 years. I came with no prior knowledge and I think that was best. That said...
Remember the number 1331. Whatever you need, from a doctor to the nearest dry cleaner, just call them 24 hours a day and they will hook you up. It is the tourist information line - but it is more like the expat lifeline. Don't bother bringing your cell phone, they are on CDMA here, and you can pick up a good secondhand one for next to nothing in Yongsan electronics market. Ask a local or experienced expat to help you and haggle haggle haggle.

An aircon is not a luxury here it is a NECESSITY. Summers not so hot (says the antipodean) but they are #$%^^ humid. Winters cold with biting wind, but the standard feature of ondol floor heating is the best way to heat a house and destroy electronics and hairdryers. Do not leave things lying on the floor in winter unless you want them "well-done".
It is extremely safe here, no problems going out at night alone as a woman. I usually go inline-skating along the Han River from 10pm-1am during summer. (I am a woman.)
Read expat on drinking culture, but that is mainly for men. Women are not expected to be heavy drinkers. They will not force a woman to drink, but they will like it if you can hold your liquor.
Koreans can be spectacularly rude and spectacularly hospitable, so enjoy the hospitality and ignore the rude ones. There are more wonderful people here than rude gits. If you are teaching English - GOOOD LUCK. Read embassy sites for the warnings and know they are being polite. However, most people survive and have a good time doing it. Do not judge the entire nation by hagwan bosses. The industry seems to bring out the worst in people.
For women, it is recommended to hook up with SIWA in Seoul. They are a women's social networking group. No real expat community unless you count the drunk, homesick teachers and soldiers in Itaewon. ( clearly not my scene)
There are organizations like adventurekorea and tour2korea for travel tips.
Oh yes BRING A YEARS' SUPPLY OF DEODERANT, or get family to send you care packages of the stuff. It can be found in some foreign supermarkets in Seoul, but the stuff in Korean stores is more perfume than antiperspirant. No hyperallergenic stuff available.
Basic Korean is easy to learn and goes a long way. Not much English spoken here, so having a survival level of Korean will make your stay more pleasant.
A lot of people want foreign friends to practice English. Korean culture has friendship for a purpose so they really see you as a friend but it does not feel like it to you. Chalk it up to cultural differences and get over it. They do not mean to hurt your feelings. The best friends I have made have been through language exchanges where the language learning part is upfront and the friendship follows as a natural progression.
For accomodation try for a new building. There are "officetels" that are relatively inexpensive and comfortable. They are like studio apartments that can be used for business or residential purposes hence the name.
Enjoy the food. There is so much variety you will surely find something you like. Give Kimchi at least three chances if you do not like it the first time. It is a bit of a love it or hate it condiment, and it is served with everything. A meal is not a meal here without Kimchi.
Above all, have a good time and roll with the punches.

Answer 2

Depends on where she is going. It is crowded in the big cities. Personally I hate the cities, but I am from a really small town. Otherwise I love it here, I live in a smaller city called Chung Ju only an hour and a half outside of Seoul. The summers are really hot, and the winters are not too bad depending on where you are from. I find it not bad, but being from southern Ontario that might not help. The people here are pretty friendly. If you have any major questions email me. [e-mail]

Answer 3

what the users above me forgot to mention is a lot of your experiences living in korea will depend on WHERE you are. if you're in a big city (think seoul, busan, incheon, daegu) i believe you'll have only a limited range of issues, country living will be very different. in my experience (i've lived in a big city here for over a year now) is that hospitality is generally excellent if they have been introduced to you or know you somehow. strangers are rather rude (by western standards anyways) and not friendly. the dating scene appears to be decent enough for foreign guys, girls not really. korean men don't seem to usually want to date foreign girls, they just see them as an easy lay. the cost of living is very good! good food at good prices and lots of cheap booze. you can get western food too, but you will pay a bit more for it. i love korean food, so i hardly eat western stuff anymore and thus manage to save each month. acceptance of foreigners.... that's hard to say. for me, as a visible/obvious foreigner, i find some people to go out of their way to help me (usually young adults/uni age), while others (old men) hassle me a lot. while with the younger generation korea is becoming more accepting of foreigners, i personally don't think that's fast enough. racism. if it makes sense, as an english speaking foreigner you may encounter positive as well as negative racism. i've been given freebies for being a foreigner, but i've also had to put up with things, for example, i've seen a couple of "no foreigners" signs on bars here. attitude of locals, as i said, depends on where you go. city or country, both have pros and cons.

Answer 4

Living in Korea..well depends what you are doing here I suppose. I've been here for 5 years with my family. Considering the population of about 47 million, there are very, very few expats here (excluding the US military which numbers about 36,000) I've heard there are only about 60,000 expats here so that gives you an idea of how infrequently you will see another way-guek (foreigner) on the street ! The vast majority of foreigners here are English teachers. The rest of us are representing international corporations of one sort or another. Korea is considered somewhat of a hardship posting for international executives. If your sister is going to live in Seoul, she will be able to get most of the things she has become accustomed to in the West - at a price. Outside of Seoul, forget it - you might find some peanut butter or a few other basic things but from my experience there are very, very few foreign food products available here unless you are willing to buy them from the "black market" - these are goods which have been brought in duty free to be sold at a US Army base but are being resold at twice the price on the street. Although this is illegal, it is done openly. Traffic is horrible - I drive a few times a week between from Seoul to near Chungju (hello to the other poster !) - I hate the drive - it's like driving on a highway filled with 16 year old drivers, unsure of their speed - taking stupid risks (passing on the shoulder at 160kph -yes I've seen it many times), driving slowly in the left lane, just generally horrible driving. I'm sure you've heard all the talk about the general lack of civility or social conscience – it’s all true. Unless you are family, you are an obstacle to be ignored. Generally business offices are over staffed with under employed robotic individuals doing the bare minimum i.e. 12 people to do the work of 3. It’s OK to sleep at your desk as long as you stay at work until 9 in the evening - it’s comical to see how this plays out actually. You must be prepared to drink until you are embarrassingly out of control and ready to piss in the street before falling into your own vomit – you see, this is considered to be a team building exercise amongst employees – oh – and don’t forget to count how many bottles of Soju you can drink – it appears to be a very important and a topic of regular discussion when sizing up a fellow employee. Thank God at my level I can avoid most of this – but I see it and feel sorry for the people who obviously don’t want to take part but are extremely pressured by coworkers and friends – after all, it’s the Korean way.
Sorry this all sounds so negative..but ...well ..that's how I see it after living here for the past 5 years. Why am I here ? THE MONEY - and lots and lots of travel throughout the rest of Asia and South East Asia!!!
Anyway - my advice? 1) forget what I have said and come with an open mind 2) remember that no does not mean no and yes does not mean yes - instead of saying no learn to say things like "that will be difficult" etc.3) Korean's are incredibly insecure and really, really care what others think - as a result you will be judged on your appearance and possessions etc.4)Be prepared to be befriended by people who pose as friends but actually want to learn / practice English. 5) Be prepared to find that Korean hospitality can be fantastic and humbling to a westerner. 6) Read the book called "the Koreans, who they are, what they want, and where they are going" 7) Be prepared to eat a lot of half rotten (fermented is the term I think) vegetables that you would normally find in your refrigerator at home and immediately throw away – these are different varieties of Kimchi – famous Korean food. 8) Also be prepared to eat lots of very fatty, boney meat – cause the fat and bones are sooooo healthy. 9) Your sister should be prepared to experience some of the most prehistoric sexist behavior from men - but maybe she will be immune to it or not notice it as a foreigner.
I better stop or your sister will not want to come !!!!

Good luck !

Answer 5

AWESOME!!!
during the winter there are these places where vendors sells foods like the hot dog ppl
there are baled bunuhbang (gold fish shaped bread) and baked yams soo good and there are these spicy rice cakes (drool) night clubs karaoke movies gag concerts street magic so MUCH i regret cauz i never had to experience them all o i highly recommend u to visit korean magic shows its friken awesome

Answer 6

Students = study majority of the time. esp. in high school >_<
middle school studies a lot too, to prepare for high school T_T grr.
elementary studies quite some amount, depending on themselves and parents.

just overall: its crowded. summers are hot, winters are cold.
but living is just wonderful. =D

Answer 7

sometimes it's really crowded in malls and stuff (sat&sun).
kareoke is popular (very).
hot in sumer. buy a fan. or an air conditioner. its worth it.
cold in winter.... average below 15-20?... haha it will snow.
Korean ppl are really... (how do you call it) "amazed" when an caucasian person walks by. (Atleast I do when I was there...) They'll stare at you sometimes....
They'll be REALLY amazed when a caucasion person talks korean well. ^^
There's englsih channels in korea too - discovery channel. yay!!
They have fabulous clothings in Korea...
Hope your sis have fun ^^

Answer 8

Well, at Christmas there's these signs that go up everywhere saying "Remember. A puppy isn't just for Christmas - with luck there'll be some left for Boxing Day."

Answer 9

The ladies are unbelievably good-looking.

Answer 10

It's HOT!!!!!