Photo Trip Report: South Korea

[pharvey]

As usual buks, a great report and photo's - must admit, I do look forward to the reports of your various "Road Trips". I have to say though, this trip (both Korea and Japan) really was of great interest to me as I have spent a fair bit of time in both all be it some years ago and not exactly on holiday!!

The reports have truly been incredibly entertaining & informative and as I've mentioned, really pushed me to make a visit again - certainly Japan, but perhaps not so much Korea. That said, Korea seems to have changed somewhat from my time there (aside from expense). Loved the look of some of the food on offer during your visit, but in my time it was pretty much the Korean BBQ which was all we could eat - could not stand Kimchi and that was a dish served morning noon and night! Some big differences in the cities, but still it seems the local areas with past and traditional links - all highlighted in your photo's

I'm tempted with a visit to Korea should the LHG and I get to Japan in the future, but have to admit I'm not keen on a return to Seoul.

Thanks for the reports and long may they continue!!

[EDIT] Oh, I forgot to add - How did you get on with the liquor in IMG_20231113_194229.jpg? Something I managed to get in China fairly cheaply and was nice on occasion with some meals....

[migrant]

Great pics and report, as usual. I was in Korea 1980 before the olympics there. Obviously I don't recognise anywhere now. Japan and Korea are on our plans, maybe this year.

[caller]

Yes, truly enjoyed what really was an illuminating report. Japan I had some knowledge of, because of planning for further visits other than the one I have made so far, it's just that life, work, other things and places got in the way. Korea I knew next to nothng of, I found it all fascinating. Keep 'em coming!

[buksida]

Comparisons to Thailand and Japan

Driving and transport
We didn’t drive in Korea but it appeared to be similar to Thailand without the road carnage factor. Everyone wants the biggest flashiest car they can get and they like to drive fast and use the horn, the total antithesis of Japan.
However, the public transport system in the major cities was superb. Using the metro in Seoul was marginally more expensive than in Tokyo or Osaka since it charges you per trip instead of on distance travelled. That said, it was still very cheap with the average train ride costing around 40 baht.

Japan wins this category hands down, Korea in second, and Thailand is never going to score anything for driving and transport!

People and hospitality, language
Koreans are closer to the Chinese than their Japanese neighbours. They’ll go where they want whether you’re in the way or not so within a couple of days in the country I started to miss Japan and its social civility.
Korea was closer to Thailand in terms of its people and their behaviour, especially the aggressive driving habits and tendencies to not stop and zebra crossings.
The language barrier was not really an issue as most people under 30 spoke a decent level of English.

Japan wins this category hands down with Korea and Thailand coming in a joint second!

Food and beverage, costs
I think we were spoilt in Japan with its marvellous minimarts, cheap wine and whisky, and a massive choice of food and beverages.
Drink in Korea is similarly priced to Thailand, the difference is there are many different beers to choose from. Whisky is very expensive as is wine which was on a par with Thai prices.
Eating out in Korea is more expensive than both Japan and Thailand which came as a surprise. An average meal in a restaurant (nothing fancy) for the two of us was around 2,000 baht, however, the servings are huge so you get a lot for your money.

Korea comes in third for this category.

To follow: accommodation, tourism, environment

[Big Boy]

People and hospitality, language
Koreans are closer to the Chinese than their Japanese neighbours. They’ll go where they want to whether you’re in the way or not

I can relate to that from my river cruise in July. I initially thought the boat was packed with Chinese and Indians. It soon became apparent that many of what I had assumed to be Chinese were actually Korean.

They were so loud when boarding, and trying to push everybody out of the way in search of their reserved seat. Their manners at the dinner buffet were appalling. This was my first real encounter with Koreans, and it wasn't a very nice one.

[buksida]

Accommodation
Accommodation was as expensive, if not more, than in Japan and way more than in Thailand. We found that Airbnb apartments were cheaper than hotels having stayed in both.

Again, Thailand wins hands down in the accommodation availability and price category.

Tourism and attractions
We only visited two locations but went to a few places, some were free some paid. As in Japan, there is no dual pricing in Korea and entrance fees were not over the top.
Tourism was nowhere near the scale that Japan or Thailand has, but popular places were busy, mostly with locals.

I’d put both Japan and Thailand ahead for this category but to be fair to Korea, we only had a week there.

Environment
Korea is clean and efficient, not quite on Japanese levels but way ahead of Thailand. There was no trash anywhere, no feral dogs or roosters, and no noise aside from traffic in the major cities. However, there was an annoying public announcement system warning people that they’d get fined for letting their foo-foo rat dogs shit on the beach.

Korea was cleaner than Thailand on many levels but not quite up to Japanese standards.

Korea comes second to Japan but is ahead of Thailand.

Living there?
I didn’t stay long enough to get a real feel for the place but from just the week I’d say no. The cost of living was much higher than in Thailand, the weather was a lot colder, and the people came across as indifferent to foreigners and tourists.

We had a great week in South Korea and experienced a lot of new things, but it couldn’t compete with Japan for me.

Thanks again for the comments, until the next road trip ...