Tag: Korea

My Asia trip began on June 1st when I landed in Incheon International Airport. My friend and I planned to stay 22 days in South Korea, a country neither of us had been to before- and honestly, neither of us did much planning in advance. I was completely open to anything, to exploring as we went. She had a wish list of things she had been wanting to do, and I was happy to be along for the ride.

Little did we know, in the span of the first week, so many life lessons would be learned leaving us with this feeling of: “No way we’ve only been here for a week!” and “Why didn’t we look into this ahead of time??” The overwhelm of planning where to stay and what to see day by day would also take its toll. But looking back, I feel like everything happened the way it should (yes, even the shitty stuff).

A few highlights to show how utterly manic this trip was:

• Tried on Hanbok and made a friend from Vietnam on our 2nd full day
• Went out for the first time on our 4th day, partied in Itaewon
• 2 doritos (30 minutes in our 2nd club) later: my phone disappeared
• Dealt with heartless bouncers and Korean law enforcement
• Got refused service by taxi drivers for not being able to communicate in Korean (even when we were using a translator, they had no patience with us)
• Took a tour to the DMZ zone, went down a tunnel into North Korea, and watched people moving around nearest NK city
• Experienced the most intense Thai massage ever (not great if you have blisters on your feet, I’ll tell you what)
• Took a highspeed train to Busan and Korea’s ancient cultural capital, Gyeongju
• Flew to Jeju island, the land of tangerines – where I spent the whole time at the hotel 😦
• Went to a clinic for aesthetic and nonaesthetic reasons
• Had a summer romance snatched directly from a Kdrama
• And the list goes on…

I think you can guess why it feels like I lived a whole life there. The high highs and the low lows, the culture shock you don’t usually feel when you’re a tourist in a country for less than a month (and much less during the first week of your trip).

But thanks to these experiences, I have a lot of stories to tell and lots of advice to give. Yay!

In this post, I’m going to focus on the shit that happened and how I could have avoided it. I’ll have more recommendations and recap facts in another post.

Day 4: The Premature Death of the Honeymoon phase.

I started the day in the best mood, ready to comerme el mundo, do it all. I wore the outfit I had bought at one of the many little clothing stores in Insa-dong the day before, feeling very Korean and cute. I love Asian fashion, the tendency to layer, even in summer.

Ah, sweet summer child… little did I know that this day would end with tears and frustration. This was the breaking point that forced me to see all of the negative in my surroundings all too soon.

I left a piece of me in Seoul — quite literally — and an expensive piece at that.

The only pictures and videos I have of this day were what I uploaded to my IG stories 🥲. A full day, gone — but boy was it a full day.

The few pictures I did take are uploaded and described on my instagram.

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Gwangjang Market

We started the day at Gwangjang Market – went to grab lunch, stayed for the shopping.

I felt right at home. The food stalls and tables set up, as well as the variety of shops and booths, reminded me of mercados públicos in any Latin American country. The prices were unbeatable, and we were able to eat real authentic dishes like tteokbokki (too spicy for me 🥲), kimchi, bibimbap, kimbap (my favorite, and not at all to be confused with sushi) and more. Plus, I tried Korean Sprite, Chilsung Cider — loved it! Comparing it to Sprite does not do it justice – the flavor is totally different.

We wandered inside afterward, bought souvenirs, and got a caricature portrait drawn. When we passed the new KAHI location in Gwangjang Market, we were drawn in by the offer of a free color test and product demo. This service is pretty popular in Korea, so I’m glad I got to experience it.

And it was free.99!

Sure, they were selling their products the entire time, but in the gentlest way possible. The girl that did mine was so sweet, and while she didn’t know much English, she used ChatGPT to translate and explain everything. She took off the base of my makeup and primed it using their skincare products before putting on their foundation and showing me which color palate suits me best.

I can’t quite recall what my results were, but I think it was deep warm colors (orange is popping in my head), not exactly what I would pick for myself. I felt skeptical about their methods, but it was still fun.

I ended up buying three products which have become totally essential to my daily skincare routine: the CAXA UP face-lifting device (always wanted one of those and with the discount the price was super attractive), an ampoule serum, and a sunscreen stick — my fave.

After all that shopping, we were ready to take the long trip to the other side of the Han River.

All downhill from there?

The rest of the day was a bit chaotic. I couldn’t help noticing that I was trying to control the outcome of our adventures. Additionally, in some way, my phone was contributing to my stress. I was navigating, scoping out our destinations and the surrounding attractions, looking up places to see if they were open, trying to live our trip to the fullest – all the while searching like crazy for ATMs.

In many aspects, Korea felt more insular than I expected. Global ATMs are not available in every convenience store, specific apps are needed to navigate without getting lost, and even the outlets need an adapter to charge – and lucky me, I forgot my powerbank and my adapter. Before leaving the area, we went around in circles looking for someone that could help me find a global ATM.

We wasted time only to go down to the metro station and realize that some metro kiosks let you refill your T-money card with a credit card. Cash is mostly an essential though, and I didn’t even realize at this point that my debit card runs in the Discover/Diners Plus network which is not common in most countries. Whoops.

Once I reloaded the card, I was good to go. We got to Seongsu 50 minutes+ later by bus and discovered that our destination was out of the question. We needed to book in advance to get into Haus Nowhere – a strange brutalist concept space mixing contemporary art and retail(?) with a strong sci-fi vibe. Plus, there was some sort of private event going on that day. Another reminder: always check two things before committing to a long commute – if the place is open and if entry is limited.

We turned around and headed to Gangnam to check out the Starfield Library without skipping a beat. While lovely, after all of the walking and bus/train hopping we did, being surrounded by books I couldn’t read that basically seemed like decoration was a bit underwhelming. Yes, there were people studying there, and the concept is striking, but it seemed like we were there just to take pictures and leave. It could be that I felt that way because we had crossed the entirety of the COEX mall, a huge, sprawling cluster of buildings with various floors and confusing signage, to find it. Either way, I was beat.

Finally, we said fuck it. We needed a drink.

We got caught in the rain as we left the mall and had to run to a convenience store to buy umbrellas — UV umbrellas, not rain umbrellas. The cashier laughed at us, but honestly, come on. To me it worked just as well, it’s just dual purposed. You can fight me in the comments. 😉

Next stop: Itaewon. We were ready to partayyyy.

Itaewon: the end and the beginning

Itaewon is an absolute shit show after dark. As is expected in a party district full to the rim with young people and tourists covering the sketchy types that take advantage of those spaces…

We went to two clubs: Dawn and the Mansion.

At Dawn, we brought the party, asking the DJ to put on reggaeton to liven things up because honestly, it was DEAD in there. All of the boring pop was undanceable – and not even K-pop was being played. 🙄 Before we left, we had filled the place up with our perreo in the big front window, attracting attention – so much so that they asked us to come back the next day and gave us free drinks.

We were on cloud 9, but it was getting late and we wanted to catch the last train at 12, so we headed out before getting sucked into the Mansion…

We were only there for about 30 minutes. We had our free drink and didn’t even leave our table. But as I would see in the CCTV footage later, I finally took off my phone off my wrist to do some twerking. As we picked up our things to go, I realized my phone was not with my stuff.

How?

I asked the bartender if a phone was turned in. Nothing. He and other staff struck arms across their chests. We dubbed it the “AHHH-NEEE” X of doom (the common sign for “no” in East Asia). I was in total shock. Somebody had managed to scoop it up somehow, right under my nose and out of view of the cameras.

And just like that, the party was over.

Losing my phone in Korea

Thank God for my friend who was with me. If it hadn’t been for her support, the rest of the trip would have been impossible. I couldn’t move my money around and had no way of navigating. Was this the detox I needed? Maybe, but the damage was more than I had expected. Without her, I don’t know what I would’ve done.

We went to the police precinct right across the street after being harassed by bouncers. This isn’t a place where you see Seoul’s kindest face. With so many drunk foreigners acting up every night, I could see the weary faces and negative biases.

The police were helpful enough. I could sense that this incident was probably a drop in the ocean for them, but they still dutifully gathered all the information I could provide. I reported the theft and tried to locate my phone, to no avail because without a safe device, I couldn’t get past the MFA.

Our only complaint was the lack of genuine empathy. I was practically despondent and had no way to call a cab or direct us back to our apartment. They noticed we had not left and basically told us we should leave, that they would be in touch. I tried to ask for help calling a cab. I was stressed knowing we wouldn’t be able to communicate easily with the taxi drivers… They said they couldn’t. Just…couldn’t. So, we went on the corner and waved our arms until we flagged them down and got turned down repeatedly. 🫩

Korea is not for beginners.

I thought I had done enough research. I knew about Naver and T-money. I knew I would need cash. But I still wasn’t prepared for how limiting my bank card’s network is there, how tricky dealing with taxi drivers can be, or just how dependent I would be on having the right apps.

Google Maps does not work, so you better download Naver. Naver is slow sometimes, especially when everyone in Seoul is probably using it at once. Uber is limited, so Kakao T needs to be set up with your Korean number stat. But then they may still cancel or take you to the wrong destination because the gps and locations are not so precise.

You can hail a cab, but most will not bother with a translator app, so expect to be put out if you don’t have the location ready and zoomed in — in Korean — on the map for them to see immediately. Taxi drivers aren’t known for their patience, but this was still the worst experience I ever had communicating with them, and I’ve dealt with taxi drivers in Paris (yikes).

I know taxi drivers in general are a tough demographic, but the amount that we were yelled at was unbelievable. They weren’t willing to listen to or read from the translator app when we tried to communicate with them. In our three weeks there, I can recall only three drivers who were actually friendly, and two of them weren’t in Seoul.

You’re also more likely to be ignored on the street if you have big luggage like we did. By week 2, both of us had 2 full rolling suitcases and 2 carry-ons, plus our backpacks and purses. Moving to a new accommodation was a nightmare. By our last week back in Seoul we made sure to stay in one place.

Another tip: make sure you bring an adapter for outlets in Korea. I had no idea those were different despite all my research.

We live and learn. But don’t learn the hard way. Don’t be like us.

The Comparison I couldn’t help but keep making (sorry): Japan vs. Korea

I struggled not to compare Korea to the other Asian countries I’d been to. Maybe that’s not fair, but it did bring me to some interesting conclusions. At the time, I only had Japan to compare it to. Now, I would say it was trickier to navigate than Thailand also.

In terms of culture, I knew that Korea is a highly competitive society, more individualistic (in SOME ways — not in all, like fashion, for example) than Japan. But I didn’t know just how different the hospitality standards were.

My advice is not to expect it to be like Japan – in every sense. It is its own country shaped by a unique history and identity.

The negative side of the inevitable comparison is the disparity between expectation and reality. My experiences in Japan have been colored by the fact that there has always seemed to be someone around willing to help a foreigner. Regardless of language barrier.

Although my Korean was too nonexistent to help much (at least I can get by in Japanese), when I tried, people were not terribly receptive. Much less fake “impressed.” No sugar coating here. I felt like I was inconveniencing people who I asked for help. When I did, the results were not so great.

Perhaps I was a bit spoiled. Japan seems to be more equipped to help tourists (even in Tokyo), while in Seoul, despite English being more widely spoken, general helpfulness and friendliness were not common from strangers. Most people are just trying to get by in their own chaotic worlds, and I can empathize with that. It’s just something to keep in mind.

Travel on Hard Mode

So, for 2 weeks, I lived like a tourist in the 90’s, before smartphones and information at our fingertips. What were the positives? I started writing – in a notebook, the old-fashioned way. On the train, while everyone was staring at their screens and doomscrolling, I was jotting down messy (practically illegible) notes about what I had done that day.

If I needed directions, I would ask someone or look it up on my computer and write them down. If I needed to remember common or specific words in Korean, or I learned or heard a new word, I would add it to a list in my notebook. On the metro the last week, I was reading the train lines and station names. Did I get lost? Sure. Did I butcher the Korean language? Often.

But I found that I was able to survive without my phone. Hell, people had survived without them for ages before the 2000’s. The experience made me realize just how dependent we are on technology for everything.

I joked saying I was traveling on hard mode, but I made the choice to do so with the sincere hope that the Korean police would be able to track down my phone. I got called into the station to review the cctv footage, I went back to Itaewon and asked if any phones had been turned in, and I practically prayed a novena – but it was no good. My Samsung S23 was gone for good.

I got a new phone — an A17 budget phone from the Samsung store in Seoul, tax-free — the last full day of my stay in Korea. It was a downgrade, but… the price was right, all things considered.

The picture quality is not the same. I couldn’t recover notes I had taken and pictures from the entire last day when I had my phone. This drove home another important point: BACKUP your phones, especially when traveling.

Seoul, My Soul

So… did Seoul steal my soul?

Well, it definitely stole my phone… as well as quite a bit of my patience. But it also taught me some valuable lessons. Oh, why must I always be forced to learn the hard lessons in life? I guess so you, dear reader, don’t have to!

Would I go back? Somehow, the answer is yes. Even after everything went wrong, I still look back at Korea and think: what an experience.

And there’s more where that came from. Stay tuned for my breakdown of where we stayed, what other parts of Korea we visited, and more lessons learned the hard way!