"Nearly three years in South Korea " a South Korea Travel Page by DSwede

I have been welcomed here, much more openly than I expected. Asia is traditionally a place where age earns respect and privilege, regardless of hard work or intelligence; younger people do not get much acknowledgment here. Saying that, they have been extremely hospitable and generous towards me, giving me respect that they don’t normally show to someone of my age or experience. In total, I spent over 6 months in Korea a few years ago and am currently back. So far the ticker is an another 5 months and counting.

Korea is interesting, its one of those places that’s hard to describe in words. Many places are extremely overcrowded and dirty in places, yet they are full of a rich heritage and customs. Imagine, I’m in Ulsan, their 10th largest city, with a population of of nearly 2,000,000. Seoul has over 10,000,000… all in a country only slightly smaller than Indiana. Its 1/80 the size of USA, with 1/5 the population.

It is extremely mountainous, not with tall mountains, but rather many shorter, but steep slopes. In all my hikes and explorations, I've seen little evidence of wild animals, most having either been hunted generations ago or killed as casualties of war. Most of what you will find will be a few lizards and birds. So you don’t have to worry too much about eating unknown food... unless it comes from the ocean.

The head inspector even invited me to his house in order to celebrate my birthday in Korean fashion. It was nothing special, just a family gathering. Birthdays, as well as other celebrations have traditional foods. Birthdays are usually the person's favorite dish accompanied with seaweed soup. But since I did not have any favorite Korean dishes at the time, they just made a variety that they thought I'd like, and had the soup. They have over the years adopted the birthday cake and candles too. They guessed right and got chocolate, but it was a rather mild because sweets in Asia are not mainstream.

It was a unique and humbling experience. He speaks decent, but ever improving English. His wife speaks none and his daughters were both studying it in high school, so they wanted to practice, but were too shy. They obviously understood what their dad and I are saying, but rarely piped into the conversation. I’ve gone over to his house a couple of times, and met up with his family at outside restaurants too. Like I said, they have been very welcoming to me.

I don’t know about square feet of their apartment, but I’d imagine their place has roughly the same plot as the basement and living room of my family's back home. That accounts for 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 master bath, kitchen and living area. It’s laid out quite well, so it feels larger. Their place is probably on the larger side, since he does well financially and lives in a newer building. It is extremely rare for someone in Korea to actually have their own house, its something that is usually only for the elite, since land is too expensive. I’d say 95% of Koreans live in apartment-like buildings of 8+ stories. As for the appliances and conveniences, they are quite modern, and sometimes have better stuff than we do.

On a more political note, like everywhere, there are mixed political views. Some South Korea wants unification badly, but the majority do not. And there are many mixed views regarding the US, for we helped them in the Korean War, set up much of their industry and helped with their economic development. The older generations remember this, but the younger generations have no clue. Regardless most of Korea likes the comfort of ‘Big Brother’, but feel they are developed enough to take the reigns on their own. This is a complete contrast to my experiences in North Korea (DPRK)!!

While working in Ulsan (S Korea's industrial capital), I made visits to many places, but here's a few that I've written pages for:
Changwon - a relatively modern planned community near Busan
Busan - one of Korea's largest trading centers
Kyongju - ancient capital and site of many famous temples
Seoul - commercial and economic center of Korea
Boryeong - West coast, famous for its mud skin cream and annual Mud Festival
Andong - Center of traditional folk villages and annual Mask Dance Festival
Yeosu - A quiet retreat on the Southern coast.
Daegu - The central crossroads of Korea.
Pohang - Fishing and industrial city on the East coast.
Muju - Skiing resort between Seoul and Daegu.
Suncheon - Industrial city on the south central coast.
Jinhae - The Cherry Blossom Festival center of Korea
Uljin - Quaint town on the north western coast
Kongju - Quiet historic center of the Baekje Kingdom. West-central Korea.
Mokpo - southwestern gateway to the Yellow (West) Sea and the Dadohae Haesang National Park
Geoje-do (Island) - Southern summer haven known for its cliffs and botanic garden
Samchok - North Eastern coast town, gateway to the mountains and caves
Gangneung - Even a bit further north... close to DPRK and the mountains

(for more pictures, feel free to visit my S Korea Gallery. If you enjoy the pictures, please leave a comment.)