Going to South Korea in July

[The Helper]

My youngest daughter, 13 yrs old won a contest where she gets to go on a cultural visit to Seoul, South Korea for two weeks in July, this summer. I have to go with her because she is too young to travel alone says everybody I know so I will be in South Korea for 2 weeks in July. I am very excited to get the chance to go the only problem is I will be going alone because my daughter will be with her contest people but it is going to be an adventure!

 

[FireCat]

Wow, sounds awesome! But Just in case, get travel insurance!

Anyway, what kind of contest was it?

 

[Slapshot136]

I expect you to be playing at GM level by the time you return

 

[The Helper]

Wow, sounds awesome! But Just in case, get travel insurance!

Anyway, what kind of contest was it?

Essay Contest. Why they wanted to go to Korea was the topic.

 

[vypur85]

Congratulations to your daughter! And to you, a proud dad. Hehe. Guess you'll gotta pick up some common Korean language eh.

 

[The Helper]

They have a place you can go with interactive kiosks designed by the govt to teach the language lol and it is recommended by a bunch of sites

 

[camelCase]

Nice, I went to Korea for 12 days not too long ago to attend a friend's wedding(April).
Let's see.. Try the Busan beach I think it's not freezing cold anymore, so the beach is gonna' be loaded with hawt chicks. Oh, wait- Family holiday, right. You could go to hongdae for drinks and clubbing. Oh, wait- Family holiday, right. Umm.. Noraebang? (Karaoke?) Koreans loveee their karaoke!

Also, do try the soju, mekju and makgeolli (rice liquor, beer and sweet rice liquor) when your daughter isn't around =P And you can mix cider (the Koreans call "soda" "cider" or "saida") with makgeolli to get mak-sa which is what they get the chicks they're pickin' up to drink because it's so sweet that you can easily drink too much without realizing it and get drunk if you're a weak drinker. (Koreans also love drinking)

If you're going to be around Seoul, I would suggest going to this Mexican restaurant called "Chois' Tacos". There are two outlets. One of it is nearby Ewha Womans University. (yay, hawt babes everywhere!) The owner was a programmer but moved on to makin' Mexican food to earn a living. https://www.facebook.com/choistacos

Also, get this subway map app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imagedrome.jihachul&hl=en
You can select English after installation. It's got a map, a travel planner and even tells you when the next train arrives and whatnot. When boarding trains, there are express trains and regular trains.

Seoul is pretty English-friendly, I guess. Lots of signs are in English but I think you'd still benefit from learning some Korean. Also, Koreans aren't the dangerous type so you can be pretty careless with your belongings and whatnot and they would steal or pickpocket.

At the airport, because you probably look like a westerner (I haven't seen you before), you might be approached by a few men who will ask if you need a ride (in English, no less!). They're cab drivers illegally trying to earn a buck. They'll charge you a flat rate to go to whichever place you want, IIRC. If you turn them down politely, they'll walk away.

Oh, and the WiFi rumor? IT'S TRUE! They have WiFi, like, everywhere, man. But most of it isn't free. You have to pay 2000 won a day for a service with, like, T wifi or Seoulwifi or metrowifi, etc. but you in exchange, you get it.. everywhere there's a router associated with that service. If you think it's not good enough, you can even rent one of those portable WiFi hotspot devices for the exact same price.

Oh, and the cafes! There are 24hour cafes almost everywhere with, like, awesome atmosphere, air-conditioning, power outlets and WiFi! You usually order something and the receipt has a password for the WiFi.

And go to Myeongdong for shopping (it's a shopping district, so prices are usually higher than normal..). There's loads of stuff to see and you might even see some commercial or movie shoots there. And Gangnam, very classy place. You might also see some animal mascots walking around, those're good for your daughter to take photos with, I guess.

Food! I don't remember any of the names of the food I ate except tteokbokki (a chewy thick and short noodle) and bulgogi (marinated meat), sadly.

The older generation usually don't speak English at all but the younger ones can speak a little. If the old dudes and dudettes speak English, it's probably for business (probably not, too).

Also, while on the subway or elsewhere, you might be approached by men or women asking you to go to church. It's a thing there but most Koreans aren't Christians, though. Since you'll be travelling with your daughter, you might be approached and given a pamphlet about "being a good father" which includes "following the Lord".

Oh! And B-Boy shows! Your daughter will love Marionette (You might have to pronounce it as Ma-li-oh-neh-t for the ticket people to understand you). It's got awesome music, exciting moments and sad ones, too. Really, don't miss it. You can even take a photo with some of the Expressions crew members after the show. When you leave the theater room, you will see a line forming outside. Queue with them and after about 10 minutes or so, they'll come out dressed in the costume they wore at the performance and you can grab a photo with them. IIRC, tourists get a discount (30%?)
http://visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=1565720

Another thing to note: Cabs are really cheap in Korea. Like, really cheap. So cheap that I always tip when taking a cab there even though tipping isn't in my culture because I feel bad with how cheap it is.

If you don't have your cellphone and whatnot settled and you think you might have to make calls for whatever reason, rent a phone at the airport, it's about 30USD for 2 weeks, I think. You get free SMS and incoming calls and whatnot.

Also, get a subway card from a convenience store at the airport when you arrive, to save yourself some trouble later. They usually also come with coupons and whatnot for tourists to use (you can use that to plan your trip activities, too, I guess).

I guess that's all I have for now =P

OH! The hawt babes. It is, like, a sort of modern tradition for women to get at least three plastic surgery operations on their face while they're in University One for the chin, one for the nose and one for the eyes. So, yeah, there are A LOT of hawt Asian women in Korea.
LIKE, A LOT OF HAWT BABES! IT ISN'T A LIE!

Also, there are three genders (this is a common joke): Yeoja (woman), namja (man) and ajumma (old woman). The ajumma normally wear visors, sports shoes and some weird plasticky full-body suit.

 

[camelCase]

Oh, I just read that you said you'll be alone, LOL!
DRINKING! NORAEBANG! HONGDAE! CLUBBING! ALL THE WAY! GO!
Also, Chois' Tacos.

 

[Accname]

Lol, sounds great! Have a nice time. Try not to get there when the war with the north is starting. And if this aint possible, try to evade the grenades and bombs and the horrible horrible nuclear holocaust.

 

[camelCase]

https://www.facebook.com/choistacos...tal_comments=1&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment

Chois' Tacos' location.

Sure!
Sinchon store : Chois' Tacos - 13-27, Chancheon-dong, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul

- near Sinchon station, subway line 2.
Omokgyo store : Chois' Tacos & Burgers, Store 33 in the basement of the Paragon Mall,
917, Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul

- near Omokgyo station, subway line 5.

However, it's very difficult for foreigners to find a place in Seoul with it's address. You'd better search the maps with key words "map chois tacos" on google. and you can find the maps of both stores in English at "blog" part ,actually at choistacos.blogspot.com, the temporal blog of Chois' Tacos.
Tell him my phone number 010-3240-6901 if he needs help in Seoul.
Thanks, Justin!

 

[The Helper]

I am going to have to totally plan everything because my daughter is going to be busy and staying in a dorm at the college I believe. I have like 2 weeks of vacation there alone.

 

[camelCase]

Nice excuse for a holiday =P
Anyway, the owner's name is Thomas Choi. He works at the omokgyo outlet in the afternoon and the sinchon outlet in the evening.

You got any friends over in Korea?

 

[Accname]

How much money do you get for this camel? Come on, be honest!

 

[camelCase]

Zero dollars =(
But his food is really good!

 

[Varine]

Essay Contest. Why they wanted to go to Korea was the topic.

Why did your daughter want to go to Korea?

 

[FireCat]

How much does a travel to "South Korea" cost?

 

[The Helper]

My daughter has a class in school called Korean Culture and she got hooked. She is into the food, KPop, and just about everything Korean.

Since my daughter won the thing, I only have pay 500 for plus her passport and spending money.

My ex wife payed for my plane ticket there and back and I have to cover my passport, accomodations for 2 whole weeks there and my spending money. Grand total the whole trip probably will be somewhere around 8 grand where I had to pay about 6. About 3K on airfare for both my daughter and I, probably around 2k on my hotel and spending money for food and stuff do do and such.

 

[Varine]

Are you going to get one of the tube hotels?

 

[Accname]

My daughter has a class in school called Korean Culture and she got hooked. She is into the food, KPop, and just about everything Korean.

KPop? Blargh...
How about starcraft and league of legends? Thats the real deal over there.

 

[vypur85]

Grand total the whole trip probably will be somewhere around 8 grand where I had to pay about 6. About 3K on airfare for both my daughter and I, probably around 2k on my hotel and spending money for food and stuff do do and such.

That's friggin expensive. Damn. Share some cool photos when you get back eh.

Are you going to get one of the tube hotels?

Wasn't it Japan that has it? Korea too?