Top South Korea hotels
Eating & Drinking Seoul
75 Reviews Hayeong is a newly-opened restaurant perched on top of a hill at the entrance of the Jungmun Resort Complex in Jeju. The restaurant serves high-quality, roasted black pork (for which the island is...
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Customs & Oddities Seoul
59 Reviews Unusual Male Urinal in South Korea. this male urinal is unusually long but is not the most unusual urinal here, they also have flat urinals in the ground wherein you just aim and fire hehehe....
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Other Stuff Seoul
17 Reviews Being in the subway made me open my eyes. If you ever take the subway you will notice the following: (1) There are mirror (mostly) adjacent to the platforms. I wondered why until I saw two Korean...
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Gift-giving Seoul
8 Reviews bought them as gifts to female friends. it cost about 5,000 won each if your buying 5 or more and 7,000 won if youre buying one. (no haggling means 7,000 won for 5 or more and 10,000 won for a single...
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Business/Money in Korea Seoul
7 Reviews Korean bills come in only 1000, 5000, and 10,000 Won notes. Coins come in 50, 100, and 500 won. Since the exchange rate is around 1150 Won to a dollar, you'll see that it takes a lot of paper to pay...
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Ceremonies & Holidays Seoul
8 Reviews Buddha's Birthday usually falls in late April or early May (in 2004 it was 26 May, and in 2005 it will be 15 May). At this time, the temples of Korea, especially Jogyesa Temple in Seoul, are decorated...
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Religion Seoul
7 Reviews Although Buddhism is still the dominant religion in South Korea, there is the emergence of Christians especially among the younger generation. As such, you will find more and more churches in Seoul...
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Historical Anecdotes Seoul
3 Reviews Here is a little story to tell when you are having lunch at the top of Namsan Tower (it revolves and little signs tell you what you are looking at in the distance). In Guui-Dong near the Children's...
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Relationships & Connections Seoul
4 Reviews On Korean fashion: One must at all times wear socks, major rule: never enter a home without socks to maintain the sanitation as you'll always need to remove your shoes in a tiny cramped entryway....
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Health & Well-Being Seoul
3 Reviews Unlike most westerners, it seems that most Koreans do not seek a sun tan. Good for them! I'm sure they have low rates of skin cancer. The primary manifestation of this trait is that, on sunny days,...
See All 220 Local Customs in Seoul
Sponsored Links
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that life in Jeju start and end with stone. The Tolharubang(fertility god) blesses birth. Then people live their lives in houses built in stone. They go to the Tangshinsang statue to pray. They live on grain grown in fields protected by stone fences. When they die they are buried in hillside graves made with stone.
It's hard enough asking literal-minded Koreans (who, by the way, will assume whatever you say first to be more true than whatever you may correct or add later in your dealings with them) to figure out (Western) sarcasm but if you add double entendres and slang things get even tougher.This can get pretty hilarious, as foreigners can get away with saying almost anything and no one would be the wiser. Also, Koreans mix up words and sayings for some unintended comic effect as well (one friend of mine always texted me "I'm getting off now!" when leaving work or stepping off the subway...of course this is only one of many examples).Also, in my gym they always played a rather dodgy song that had to do with licking a 'cat' and such...but none of the Koreans there had a clue what it was about.This can make getting one's point across a little tougher, though. And, if you explain the hidden...
It's a call the Bujeok.like a supernatural Power Paper, for the protection of lives and property and evil, calamity. generally put on above the houses front door or room door and front of building, temple, office, store and sometime hold on body.
If you've ever been to a Korean restaurant you'll know that things are not always as they seem.For one, if you ask for water (¹°/mool) expecting a glass of ice water (or at least cool water) you'll probably be surprised to get 보리차/bo-ri-cha (made by boiling barley in water) and it'll be anywhere from warm to hotter-than-the-sun (even in the Summer). Why is this? No idea, but I do know that it makes the taste distinctive and I think it was more of a nobleman's drink (as barley may have been hard to come by and considered a little extravagant to drink). As for the temperature, Koreans like 2 things: eating a lot and keeping warm (even in Summer, when it's actually considered healthy to have hot food and sweat a lot.If you want ice water you have to ask for 냉수/naeng-soo (cold water) or you can say 아이스물/aiseu-mool (ice water) in...
In addition to Kinds of Booze in Korea, Korea has their own renditions of non-alcoholic drinks as well. In fusion or modern restaurants: 고피/ko-pi (coffee, not to be confused with 거피/keo-pi which eans 'nose' and 'blood' or bleeding nose), 녹차/nok-cha (green tea) and sodas such as 콜라/kol-la (Coke) and 사이다/sa-ee-da (Sprite).Other kinds of teas in tea houses: 홍차/hong-cha (black tea), 대추차/ dae-choo-cha (jujube tea), 모과차/mo-gwa-cha(Chinese quince tea), 쑥차/ssok-cha (mugwort tea), 유자차/yoo-ja-cha (citron/lemon rind tea), 레몬차/lai-mon-cha (lemon tea), 생강차/saeng-kang-cha (ginger tea), 율무차/yool-moo-cha (Job's tears tea, a milky concoction),...
Many hotels in big cities and most people's homes have beds in them, but some (usually older, more traditional types, or those without the bucks to buy a bed) sleep on the floor still. As well, many 민박/min-park and 팬션/paen-shun (said like pension) places (these are basically bed and breakfasts) have you on the floor too.The good news about all this: the floors are heated (especially excellent in the winter!) and you get a futon matress (basically a triple-overstuffed blanket) under you and 2-3 (or more) blankets for on top (Koreans love to keep warm).After a little while you may come to like being on the floor--especially if you're living in Korea, as (due to a lack of floor space) being able to pack your bed into the closet and freeing up some ground really comes in handy.
Right...somehow that whole homosexual thing passed right over Korea (like the bird-flu and SARS) because of all the kimchi they eat.The truth is there are gays in Korea, but no one (or at least very few Koreans, especially older gents) even know exactly what it is. Picture explaining that you're gay (and I'm not, not that there's anythign wrong with that) to Mr. (Ward) Cleaver-Kim:"I should tell you that I'm gay.""Gay. Why you tell me you're happy. I can see your smile!""No, I mean I prefer the company of men.""Oh ya, me too! I like to go out and drink and eat and sing noraebang and even sometimes I hold man's hand. What's the big deal?""No, I mean I like to have sex with men.""Men? You mean woman: 여자/yeo-ja. Not man. you confusing. How can sex with man? You man!""Forget it, let's have a beer and hold hands.'"Ok!"(Dramatization, not an actual conversation.)
I used to think that my in-laws were a little formal with everything. Then I started thinking the same of their relations and friends. I can now tell you that basically all Koreans are a heckuva lot more formal than us Westerners (if they aren't then they are probably of low character, not to be snooty--this is just what I found).Along with the regular 'get your guest a drink' stuff they always seem to serve everything on a tray; even if just transporting one cup of coffee to a table (for someone else). Of course Westerners do this too, but I found that all Korean businesses and households have and use a little tray or two.
When shopping (this builds on my tip on money and numbers) there is always a volume discount. To show that you are a real Seoulite you should not only know the money numbers but also the counting numbers.The basic counting unit is gae (said similar to 'gay'). Numbers for counting are different, though:one - 하나/ha-na..........six - 여섯/yeo-seottwo - 둘/dool...........seven - 일곱/il-gopthree - 셋/saet.........eight - 여덟/yeo-deol four - 넷/naet...........nine - 아홉/a-hopfive - 다섯/da-seot........ten - 열/yeolSo, three things is simply '3개/sae-gae'. 8 things is '8개/yeo-deol-gae'. The only exception is one thing can be '1개/han-gae' or simply '하나/hana' (most just say hana).Putting this together, if an item is 4,000 won (sa-chun-on) each you could counter...
At first this was one of my pet peeves about Korea(ns): they sometimes leave the label on the sleeve of their jackets. I can only venture to think that it's because it shows now much they paid for it...that "Pure Cashmere" or "Lana Wool" can be quite eye-catching.Then I noticed that Koreans leave the labels on many things! Like my in-laws' T.V. They had their "It's a Sony" label (on the tube!) on there for months before I convinced them that no harm would come (in fact, they could now see 100% of the picture) if I removed it. They also keep the shipping sticker on their cars, and introduction stickers (on our fax it says "50 sheet capacity"; "10 page feed"; "Caller ID Ready"; and "Plain Paper" still) of their electronics (including wrap around the trim, as if taking it off might diminish its value or efficacy). I even saw a BMW (had been on the road a while) with the shipping covers...
Lotte Hotel Seoul Seoul
7 Reviews and 699 Opinions We stayed here for a week. It is very nice but DO NOT have your laundry done by them, a piece of...
The Westin Chosun Busan Busan
4 Reviews and 150 Opinions My wife and I have stayed twice at the Westin Chosun within the last three months. The rooms are...
Youngpyung Resort Kangwon-do
0 Opinions
Reviews and photos of South Korea attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for South Korea sightseeing.
Q: Hi all, I am traveling to South Korea from 4/15-4/21 for a friend's wedding on 4/19 in Seoul. The majority of the wedding...
A: Have a nice trip and fun. Be sure to visit the two tourist kiosks to get maps and guides. One is next to the express bus terminal while the other is beside the main train...
Read 2 Replies
Sponsored Links
