Surprises You May Encounter While Traveling Around South Korea

There are always surprises when traveling abroad. Some are fun surprises. Some are awkward surprises. Either way, we have to endure them while traveling. Here is a guide to some surprises you may come across while traveling around South Korea.

Soap

Many public places such as restaurants and stores use bar soap in their restrooms instead of a liquid-soap dispensary. This may not sound too bad if you have never encountered bar soap in public restrooms. But you may be in for a surprise the first time you come across the nasty bar soap that has been sitting in the bathroom for days or weeks at a time. Who knows how many disgusting hands have touched the bar of soap. Dirt is usually visible in the cracks of the soap. Washing your hands with the public bar soap may feel anything but cleansing.

Your best bet is to carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer with you.

Reading Korean

If you are traveling in major cities such as Seoul and Busan, you don't have to worry about struggling with reading signs. For the most part, signs are written both in Korean and English. This makes traveling by subway an ease.

A side note about reading Korean:

Learning to read Korean is fairly easy. A person can learn to read the alphabet in a day. Sure you won't understand the language, but it is helpful to learn the alphabet because a lot of Western words carry over into the Korean language. If you can sound out the letters, you'll do fine trying to order a hamburger off of a Korean menu.

Strange Encounters

Be prepared to be looked at if you don't appear Korean. People will gawk. Koreans will stop what they are doing and locks their eyes on you in amazement of seeing foreigners. This does not only happen in rural areas. Seoul and Busan have a huge foreign population, yet Koreans like to take more than a glance at the waegooks (foreigners) they encounter.

Fashion, Fashion, Fashion

Korea is a great country to people watch in. The younger crowd dresses up in the latest trends. Koreans are very fashion forward. There's no way of hiding it. It is fun checking out the different outfits people wear.

Look out for the couples that like to coordinate their outfits. A lot of couples will wear the same color if not the same outfit while roaming the streets hand-in-hand.

The only downside to Korean fashion is it appears that many people have the same style. I remember visiting Tokyo after staying in Korea for six months and being awoken by the variations of style. You kind of forget about diversity after being in Korea over a few months.

Mirrors

Perhaps there is a connection between vanity and fashion. Perhaps there is not. Either way, you will never be too far from a mirror. Koreans love to check themselves out in the mirror. There are huge mirrors placed in subway stations, malls, on the side of streets (okay, those are probably for cars but I always see people standing in front of them), and even above the copy machine in the office of my Korean employer.

Women in western countries usually carry compact-size mirrors in their purses. Don't be surprised if you're sitting on the subway or even at a bar and a girl will pull a huge mirror out of her bag, only to look at her reflections for more than a few minutes.

Western Restaurants

It probably doesn't come as a surprise that you will find McDonald's in Korea since McDonald's can practically be found anywhere on the globe. Well, if you need a taste of Western food and McDonald's isn't cutting it, you are in luck. There are plenty of Western restaurants to select from. Outback Steakhouse, Bennigan's, T.G.I.F., Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme, Burger King, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Dominoes, KFC, and Popeye's are popular in Korea. The menu is in English and, for the most part, these places carry the same menu items as back home. And don't worry coffee-junkies, Starbucks is all over the place.

But, whatever you eat, you're in Korea. Try some delicious Korean food. It is, by far, cheaper than Western restaurants. Don't forget to try Korean pizza. If you're not up for it, you should at least take a look at a Korean pizza menu. There are some interesting pizza toppings.

Transportation

Transportation is cheap and easy. The subway systems are easy to navigate through. Even Seoul's crazy subway line is doable if you take a few minutes to look over the map. As mentioned earlier, everything is written in English on the subway lines. Some buses, however, do not have the English translation. This is a good time to learn the Korean alphabet. Taxis are really cheap; although, it is hit-or-miss if you score an English-speaking driver. The KTX train is fast and reliable. It will get you from one end of the country to other in three hours.

In conclusion, there are many things that will surprise you while traveling South Korea. Have fun with the culture and make the most of your adventure!