Safety Tips in South Korea

Common sense Acommon Travel rules as to where ever you go.

#1. Don't go where you shouldn't go.
#2. Follow the rule of law in the country that you reside.
#3. Adhere to the rule of law from your home country.
#4. Respect and "pre-" read up on the culture(s).
#5. Gain some familiarity with the country's national language prior to your trip.
#6. Practice the local language with the locals.
#7. If concerned with lodging then don't do what isn't familiar to you.
#8. Eat what has been cooked.
#9. Drink bottled water that has a seal. Open it yourself.
#10. Know your coordinates (esp. North & South). Memorize the major cross-roads prior to taking your trip.
#11. Have a copy or two of your Passport in a safe place (either on you personally or in an emergency place).
#12. Go electronic (with back up paperwork) when you can.
#13. Be reluctant to share your full plans with strangers.
#14. Be flexible.
#15. How you handle "it" determines whether it'll be a good event or day or not. Understand that something weird, funny, or bad might occur.
#16. Watch your travel companions as they might just as well cause trouble by accident / unknowingly or on purpose.
#17. International travel is not a time for pranks. (Stay away from pranksters that want to travel with you)
#18. Just try to remember that "nothing" is for "free". (This goes for women too! Crazy partying guys should know this.)
#19. Silently meditate as to rehearse (or re-play) plans.
#20. Always be prepared for a back-up exit plan (... where ever you are (and check for exits)).
#21. Travel with flex travel time on the front end but esp. back end of your visit. This'll reduce your frustrations if there happen to be delays.
#22. Pack light while being wise.
#23. Be nimble. (physically)
#24. If you have good judgment with befriending people (anywhere) then be social with out giving away too much information.
#25. Know your money. Where it is. How much is on you. Denominations in order. Minimize coins if possible (don't need to be heard walking around jiggling).
#26. When driving a rental car ... pay the extra for full coverage. (Take it from a guy that has had 2 separate flat tires and locked up engine all in the same trip. Can you guess where?)
#27. Walk like you know where you are going even when you get lost. The best way to not get lost again is to remember where you were when you were lost.
#28. You are not a "stick" in the mud if you choose to stay away from the "loud" crowd.
#29. Avoid traveling during the host country's elections.
#30. Be aware of political and labor union protest. Don't accidently get caught up.
#31. Never walk away from your open beverages and/or food. Once you've stepped away then pass on further consumption as to be cautious.
#32. Ladies and guys, know that you will meet lots of wonderful people plus some not so. Don't be fooled by "beauty" or a "handsome" face. Danger lurks. If you have a bad judgment of character domestically then it is not going to get any better outside of the country.
#33. If you're not considered "HOT" back home then don't be fooled when you are abroad. Money matters. It isn't really your looks.
#34. The money train gets you access but it can also generate trouble.
#35. Make certain Taxis / Limos drivers happen to be locked into the price and directions prior to departure.
#36. Know the weather conditions prior and during your trip.
#37. Read the local newspapers / journals prior to arrival. (seek to understand cultural, social, economic, etc topics of the day)

On July 1, 2003 Korea (maybe it was just Seoul, but I think all of Korea) entered a brave new world: one without smoking in offices or many public places. There was a full marketing push and signs were put up in all buildings (including in bathrooms and stairwells) giving notice to all puffers to take it outside.

Unfortunately, it hasn't worked 100% (at all). For one: if you are a senior in a Korean company or group you can do as you damn-well please. This includes lighting up. No one can stop you...so CEOs and such continued to smoke. As well, the rank-and-file (not being told of and punishment or consequences for breaking the rules, and relying on a code of silence from all others) simply took their office-smoking to the bathrooms and stairwells (where they could take a dump or socialize at the same time--what efficiency!). Some offices even made special smoking zones for employees (cafeterias or lounges) because having someone take a 20-floor elevator trip twice an hour can kill productivity.

Anyhoo, I've seen so many clients and higher-ups smoke right in front of me (without even a question or sideways glance) that I pretty much figure that the whole 'No Smoking" exercise was like many things in Korea: it was for looks.

(I'm putting these in Warnings because most people only go to these places if something is wrong.)

Pharmacies: There are some pretty big differences between Korean and Western Pharmacies. One is that you cannot get asprin, foot powder or Tinactin without a prescription (if at all, see story in website link, about 1/2 way down). (You can, however, get beer, wine and hard liquor at any corner store, no questions asked.) Yak-gooks, as they're called (I'm not making this up, it's just an entertaining name) have lots of vitamins and some Western remedies but Korea has an FDA-like body that regulates every drug sold. There are many, many products I have never heard of or seen before: such as the little brown pellets that you are to swallow if your stomach aches (but I think they look like rabbit turds, which makes things a little weird).

Suffice it to say, unless you luck out and get an English-fluent pharmacist (which can happen, it's just not guaranteed) you should get someone to translate your ailment to them lest you leave there with Prep H for your jock-itch or something.

Oh, and if you're after Ibuprofen you should ask for "burupen". There is a syrup (for colds) and tablets (for pain), so you'll need to choose that as well.

Where I come from rain falls in cold, bracing drops for days on end sometimes. In Seoul, however, rain seems to come down in blankets, for relatively short stints and it's kind of welcome. This is because the main rainy season here is in the mid-Summer, especially July, and it's kind of a relief from the heat. (Humidity at that time goes from 99% to 100%...not much of a change, actually.)

It usually rains at night, but there are showers during the day, too...seemingly without the rumbling and such that preceeds a prarie rainstorm. It just suddenly starts getting very, very wet.

Hint: carry an umbrella at all times, or at least 5,000 won (USD 4) to buy one from on of the opprotunistic merchants that set up shop all over the city--especially at the subway exits.

The problem with a phenonemon named "hwangsa" is getting more severe in South Korea. "Hwangsa" is the yellow sand which is blown into South Korea from the Gobi desert.

The problem has increased in the past two decades, as the desert regions in China and Mongolia are getting bigger year by year - not just because of global warming but also very much man-made, by deforestation, converting land into farm and grazing land, over-fertilisation, etc., thus paving the way for erosion and conversion of the land into sandy desert areas.

I read in a report from April 2007 that there were already six sand storms up to April. The average now is 10 to 12 per year, with rising tendency. Of course you cannot predict when the storms will set in but there is always a risk that you can be affected by one, the further north - like Seoul - the more serious it would be. The sand can be blown as far as Japan.

Gaigogi literally means dog meat in Korean. "Gai" means dog, and "gogi" means meat. Many dogs are raised and bread exclusively for their meat here, even though I've heard that this practice has actually been illegal here for a while. It still goes on. There are some dog meat shops here in Busan where I'm living. Its sad but true...

Sannakji is also a popular Korean dish, and involves eating live octopus. You can find this dish in classy restaurants or on street seafood vendors. Sometimes, the octopus's tentacles are cut off while it is still alive, so they are still wiggling and squirming on the plate when it is served to you. Many people drink soju with this meal and dip the wiggling tentacles into sesame oil before putting it in their mouth. You need to be careful to chew this thoroughly or it can choke you to death as it goes down (the tentacles, although technically dead, can still attach themselves to the inside of your mouth/throat, making it hard for you to breathe.)

The other way of eating live octopus here is to put a the full body head first into your mouth and start chewing. I personally think this is cruel, and inhumane and disgusting... I hope none of you do this while in Korea. Think of what you're putting a LIVE, and intelligent animal through (yes, octopuses are intelligent... research it.)

Although South Korea is becoming more Westernized, there are still a lot of the more traditional toilets that Asia is known for in restaurants or on the street; especially in rural areas. There are many in cities too.

Now, the squatting part isn't really what bothers me, its how dirty some of the bathrooms are and the fact that many of them do not have toilet paper. It doesn't make sence really why they don't stock toilet paper in some bathrooms... I've been to some restaurants where you have to ask the staff for toilet paper because they don't keep any in the washrooms.

My advice is to keep tissue paper and handsanitzer with you wherever, and whenever you're traveling through South Korea. You'll be glad you did

there are so many fake goods for sale here almost everywhere, if you are a purest like me, then only buy goods from branded shores. Your canon camera was made in Thailand or Vietnam, the quarnatee is invalid.