Korea

Well, since you are a girl, I don't suppose you will be visiting the red light district right?

 

which part of seoul?

the red light districts were outlawed a few years ago. theyre still around bc enforcement isnt that tight.

why are you going to be in korea?
what ethnicity are you?
what do you want to do?

 

I've been to Seoul...albeit, a very long time ago...I stayed at the Hyatt and there is a club that's pretty hoping on Saturday nights...I shopped at Itaewon (msp?) and found tons of bargains and bought a suit and shirts there...A lot of hot ladies, IMHO...mmmm....

 

I just got back. I've been 6 times between 10/2004 and 10/2008. I stay at the Novotel which is in the Gangnam-gu area.

What is the name of the hotel?

EDIT - If you get the chance take the DMZ tour, but go with the tour that is operated by the USO. If you're lucky, you get to stand inside North Korea with that tour.

 

Itaewon sucks. I wouldn't bother going there. However, I would definitely recommend the cultural market in Insadong. There's a street near Tapgol Park (which is worth checking out itself) that has tons of neat little shops that sell all kinds of Korean items. That's definitely the place to go to pick up a Korean souvenir or two.

Also, make sure to visit Gyoungbuk palace. It's within walking distance from Insadong and is pretty incredible. It's the largest palace in Korea.

The war museum is neat, if you're into that sort of thing. They have a lot of tanks, planes, guns and other military vehicles outside that you can climb onto.

I would avoid Namdaemun market (too crowded and just sucky overall).

For food, make sure to try Sam-Gye-Tang. It's a chicken ginseng soup, and my favorite Korean dish. Also try Bulgogi (marinated beef) if you can, although it might be expensive. And of course, if you are in Korea you need to have at least one meal of Sam-Gyup-Sal (grilled pork) a.k.a "Korean BBQ."

If you are associating with Korean business people, they will take you out for drinks at some point -- I guarantee it. Soju is the most common alcohol (it tastes like weak vodka), but I would recommend Ma-Ka-Lay (also called Dong-Dong-Ju). It's a type of fermented rice wine. The taste is hard to describe, but it's very interesting and pleasant.

Finally, if you get a chance, you should try to see the show "Nanta!" It's a comedy performed on stage that combines cooking with percussion. There's no spoken dialogue, so you don't have to be Korean to understand it. Here's their site with more information about the show: http://www.nanta.co.kr/en/nanta/intro_synopsis.asp

I highly recommend it.

Hope you have a fun time in Seoul!

 

Yeah, the DMZ tour is pretty neat. The best part of that was when you go down into the 3rd tunnel, which is one of the secret tunnels dug by the North Koreans as a means of invasion.

Some friends of mine did the USO tour where you get to "stand inside North Korea." It sounded pretty lame to me. They just took you into a big board room and you are allowed to walk around a big table and stand on the North Korean side of the room, and because of that you are technically in North Korea.

I was fortunate to have the chance to do a real NK tour last year of the Kumgang Mountain area. We were bussed across the border and processed by the military at "customs" which was an interesting experience. I felt like I was a captured POW in a Steven Seagal movie or something. There were soldiers everywhere. You'd look off into some random empty meadow and see a lone soldier standing there on a grassy knoll watching. It was crazy. Unfortunately, I don't think they do that tour anymore because some South Korean woman was shot for trying to walk through a restricted area or something; not really sure.

 

If you like spicy stews, you should try kimchi jigae. It's my favorite Korean dish.

 

Also, Incheon airport is quite a ways from Seoul, so cab fares can be a bit. Check to see if there is a bus that goes to or near where you are staying. Korean Air (KAL), runs a "limousine" bus that tends to cost 14000 KWR and runs until around 9:00 PM every day.

 

namdaemun market is actually pretty good if youre looking to buy eyeglasses.
you can get really good deals and lenses are so much cheaper than the states...

bulgogi is alright but if you dont try galbi then youll really miss out...

ive tried sam-gye-tang. if you dont like pungent herbal taste, then i dont recommend it.

the rice wine is rough. not my favorite.

itaewon is alright if you want to get caught in a tourist trap... but you can buy a lot of really cool knock-offs. you can get a folex for $200. looks and feels like the real thing. my cousin bought one and brought it back to the states. a rolex dealer couldnt tell it was fake until he cracked it open to switch out the battery.

id try to check out shinchon and hong-dae. lots of shopping, restaurants, bars, and clubs. college crowd in those areas. 3 universities in very close vicinity (yonsei, ehwa, and hongik)

gang-nam and apgujong is pretty fun but youll spend mucho mula in those areas.

hyehwa is pretty cool. lots of theaters/restaurants/bars and pretty close to the palaces and insadong.

if you like gambling, you can go to the walker hill casino. dont forget to bring your passport. only foreigners are allowed inside.

if you have time, id recommend doing some hiking if your into the out doorsy stuff.

also you can take the bullet train down to pusan. (i havent been there though so...)

 

i went to seoul about 5 years ago...the airport was really nice.


Funny story was after my dad and I got settled into our Hotel my dad wanted to take a nap after the long plane ride so he laid down in the bed when I went to walk around the neighboring areas.

I was walking by a store when this pretty cute korean prostitute came up to me speaking in broken english -(she did know the key words and phrases) I declined since no way I was going to sleep with some girl off the street in a foreign country..

but so the next day my dad and I get back from a a sight seeing tour and I see the same girl coming out of a room two doors down from ours. She sees my dad and I and smiles and waves at me.

My dad looks at me and asks if I know her and then asks where I went yesterday when he was asleep

 

You must head a few miles North. We have all of the military might you can stomach and you can watch Dear Leader's Daffy Duck collection.