It’s been a year and a half since we moved to Seoul. We are here on a 3 year commitment and so we are half way done living in South Korea. Didn’t we just get here? Three years can feel like a lot and then it can also feel like the shortest blink of an eye. It has been a while since my 1 year update, so thought I would add what has shifted and grown in the past 6 months.
What Has Gone So Right Living in South Korea
Living in a safe place. I mean really safe, leave your phone on the park bench for hours and it’s still there kind of safe. No violent crimes, no petty crimes. This will never get old, I will never take it for granted, I get giddy at the thought of not having to protect my purse or watch my back when I’m walking alone. America has a lot to learn about the safety of communities and its citizens. So how do they do it? No Guns, strict consequences for crimes and CCTV everywhere to capture crimes in action. There is also a general sense of peace among the people, rarely do you see people road raging or throwing tantrums at one another. There is a peace among them and communal sense of wellbeing. It is why I feel ok letting my teenager roam this giant city with his friends.
Technology everywhere. There is evidence everywhere of Korean’s high-tech lifestyle. Sensory operated lights, doors, keyless entries, easy-to-pay kiosks, heated bus stop benches, digital ticketing and more. There are robots that can carry your luggage to your gate, deliver your drinks to your table and free Public Wifi literally everywhere. Seoul has placed a priority on encouraging tourists to visit, so they have created a lot of tourist friendly systems and easy to use travel pay cards. I won’t even get started on heated toilet seats in public restrooms. Some technology is just brilliant.
What I Still Don’t Understand (And May Never) About Korean Culture
The Korean way of minding your own business. It is wonderful in an elevator when you don’t have to greet or small talk with every single person, but terrible when you see someone fall in a cross walk and everyone walks on by without helping. I believe they consider it a form of respect to mind your own business, while also not embarrassing others when something happens to them. But, I say, we are all human and need help when we stumble and friendly chit chat once in a while.
Irritating Korean Apps. There are so many wonderful apps that make your life more convenient, keep you connected and make travel a simple swipe to your next adventure. Spoiler: none of them are Korean. While there has recently been more of a focus on making tourist friendly apps, many Korean systems (taxi’s, communication, maps, purchasing goods) all run through Korean-only apps that track you by Korean phone numbers and Korean bank accounts, making it difficult for tourists and foreigners to function. Because many global friendly apps don’t work here (no google maps) you are forced to make it work.
K-Pop. This one might get me in trouble, but as an American pop music fan, I just can’t get into K-Pop. The actual music is not good. Despite that, it is a cultural phenomenon here, so much so that they hang banners around the city for k-pop artist birthdays. We live very close to HYBE records, which represents BTS and other popular K-Pop groups. There are always tourists outside their building trying to catch a glimpse, it’s a little crazy.
The Korean Siesta. The 2 hour lunch breaks that look like groups of friends walking with iced Americano’s all over town laughing and hanging out in the park. The lost art of a break in the middle of the work day. Koreans structure their work day quite differently than American’s, there is less flexibility with work hours and therefore, everyone takes a long lunch break, usually 11:30-1:30. It really is the busiest time of the day.
Screen Obsession. I am talking about the absolute chokehold screens have on every person in this country. In a culture so totally engrossed in technology, it is no surprise that screens play a large part, but it’s beyond anything I have seen before. In America, there is screen shaming for parents with kids on iPads, here it is par for the course. Every person on the subway, walking alone or even working out in the gym (think a guy on a weight machine with an iPad watching Netflix with an iced Americano). You will often see couples or families at a meal together, each on their own screen. It makes me sad.
Vanity, Out and About. You will often find women in curlers riding the subway, putting on a full face of make up and fixing their hair. There are definite beauty standards among Koreans, but it is entirely another thing to see it in your face out in public. You will also see people wearing bandages from getting plastic surgery, it isn’t a point of shame, it is a show of pride and possibly wealth. You wear it loud and proud.
Continuing to Explore
After this much time in Seoul, we are still very much foreigners, but we also live the pace of a normal life. We have made our friends, found our routines, have the usual weekend birthday parties, sports events and typical life errands that keep our days busy. Having seen most of the major highlights in Seoul, it now takes planned efforts to go out and continue to explore our city and make sure to see hidden gems and quirky neighborhoods.
Judging by how fast the last year and a half has gone, I know the next half of our time in Seoul will fly by. It reminds me to use our time wisely. So, what’s still on my list? Here’s a few.
- Visit Lotte World. It’s the Disneyland of Seoul, hard pass on the thrill seeker rides, but Korean’s know how to make a place feel magical, so I have no doubt its loaded with wonderful photo ops and incredible ambiance.
- Explore the Brooklyn of Seoul, Seongsu-dong. Supposed to have the best shopping, including all the fun revolving Pop-Ups, craft coffee bars and creative cafes in repurposed warehouses.
- Visit Busan, the 2nd largest city in South Korea and southern coastal town. A quick 3 hour ride on the speed train to experience a very different coastal city vibe.
- Have a beach weekend in Sokcho, the northern east coast of Korea.
- Explore several neighborhoods in Seoul, specifically the alleys of HBC and Hongdae.
Looking Forward to the Next 18 Months
All these bullet points aside, half way through this adventure of living in South Korea has me thinking about how quickly life goes. We have the opportunity to make the best of this chapter and I hope we are on most days. Before I go, shoutout to my son, who learned to make dumplings in cooking class and come home and made them for us to share. Also adding the best dumpling sauce recipe I’ve ever used, you’re welcome.
Always so interesting to hear about your
Life in Korea, thanks for sharing, dumplings
Look great
Thank you for following along Julie! Hope you are well back home!