Rafting in Yeongwol

Over the weekend, a few friends and I went rafting in Yeongwol, a nearby town about 25 minutes away.  It's currently typhoon season, but luckily the rain stayed away Saturday and it couldn't have been a better day to go.  I was kind of expecting white-water, Colorado style rapids, but Korea didn't quite live up to those expectations.  But it was a great time nonetheless!

We were the only "foreigner" raft on the whole river, so of course many people stared at us and some even shouted some friendly "hellos" our way.  We quickly learned that it is Korean custom to splash the rafts that you pass or that pass you while you make your way down the river.  Koreans made the splashing bit look really easy, but I proved to be a terrible splasher...it was definitely harder than it looked!!  You had to smack you paddle across the water to splash the raft alongside of you...or if you're me, you try to do it, fail, and then cover your head so you don't get water in your eyes.  I definitely let my raft team down in the splashing competitions.  Oh well, I made up for it by being a great paddler.  

About halfway down the river, we were able to anchor the raft and swim for a bit.  Many Koreans can't swim because they don't get a chance to take swimming lessons and their aren't any outdoor, recreational pools anywhere.  Because of this, I'm a little surprised that rafting and other swim-related activities are so popular.  Because Koreans can't really swim, everyone had to wear lifejackets and helmets the whole time on the raft...bummer.  But it was still a great time!

A friend on the trip had a GoPro and was able to get some great shots of us on our trip.  Here is a link to a video he made with the footage...check it out!    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNY3cqt7WUE&list=UUVO3AX99iovlmun5WfkHrgw

The rafting crew!

Snappin' a few during our swim break...

Busan: The "Miami of Korea"

A couple weeks ago I traveled to Busan, Korea's second largest city which is located on the country's southern tip.  I would describe Busan as the "Miami" of Korea because of its infamous beaches, coastline, warm weather, and skyscrapers.  Until then, I hadn't seen the south of Korea at all, so it was a nice change of scenery.  Korea's southern regions are supposed to be very beautiful, and Busan did not disappoint.

My friend Cara and I took the 6:30am bus from Jecheon and arrived in Busan around 11am.  We took the subway (which is a much, much smaller version compared to Seoul's system) to the Haeundae area. We stayed in a really fancy high-rise-apartment-turned-hostel with an awesome view overlooking a pier.  After checking into our accommodation, we wasted no time and headed to the beach.  Unfortunately, it was still a bit chilly to swim, but it was nice to walk on the beach nonetheless.  My beach experience in Korea was definitely different than any beach experience I've ever had in the U.S.  Koreans are very conscious of the sun and don't tan if they can help it; so instead of seeing people scantily clad in an assortment of bikinis and swim trunks, people were much more covered up (I'm talking long-sleeve shirts and pants).  To be honest, I maybe saw one person in a swimsuit (and it was a foreigner)!  Maybe that's because of the fact that many Koreans can't actually swim either.  As we were walking along the beach, we stumbled upon a sand-castle competition.  These weren't your average sand-castles either.  They were giant piles of sand with elaborate carvings in them.  Most had some sort of animal/jungle theme going on.

At Haeundae Beach

Sandcastle at Haeundae Beach

Haeundae Beach

Beautiful view from the hotel

Because of it's coastal location, Busan is very famous for seafood and it's fish markets.  We decided to walk through a fish market, and were astounded by the variety of fish/sea creatures we saw...and to think that they are all edible!  We went in looking for a specific type of fish, and we most definitely found it.  I'm not sure the scientific name for it, but it's nickname is the "Penis" fish.  I'll let the picture do the explaining...I'm sure it's not hard to guess why it's called that.

Penis Fish...yes, it's edible..but no I didn't try it.

Fish market findings

After we found THE penis fish we had heard so much about, we headed towards Busan's Cultural Village.  The cultural village is sometimes called the "Santorini" [as in Santorini, Greece] of Korea.  While Santorini's building are all white, the cultural village's building are a rainbow of various colors.  There wasn't really anything to do at the cultural village besides snap a few pictures, but it was still a great sight to see.      

Culture Village

Also while in Busan we decided to go see a temple, because honestly, what is a Korean trip without seeing a temple?  Haedong Yonggungsa Temple was built in 1376, and it was different than the dozen others I've seen because it overlooked the water--most temples are in the mountains.  It was a royal pain in the ass to get there (a 25 minute ride on an overly-crowded city bus, standing room only), but again, I guess it was worth it because the weather was absolutely perfect and the place was very picturesque.  It seemed that everyone had the same idea as us that day, because the temple was quite crowded with other tourists.  We took a quick selfie by the giant, gold Buddha statue (when in Korea, do as the Korean's do..), threw a penny in a well for good luck, and walked around the temple grounds.

Oh hey, Buddha!

Unfortunately the only thing I found lacking about Busan was the nightlife.  While the streetside adult slushies and cocktails were amazing, Seoul still takes the cake in the nightlife category.  I guess it's a good thing Seoul is closer to me then!    

One last stop before we headed back to Jecheon was Shinsegae Department Store.  It also happens to be the largest department store in the world!  It was filled with high-end stores like Gucci, Armani, Prada, Burberry, and Hermes.  Needless to say, I didn't buy anything...haha.

Dating and Couple Culture

This week I thought I would address a topic that I haven't really talked about at all in my blog: Korean dating and couple culture.  To foreigners, Korean couple culture may seem strange and vastly different than western dating, but after ten months here, I've come to find it really cute and charming.

In my opinion, couple culture is a topic that is brought up a lot because Koreans love to pry into everyone's love life.  They are obsessed with asking, "Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?" and if you say "no", they want to know why.  But, if you say "yes" you do have a significant other, there's a very good chance you were set up through family members or mutual friends on a blind date.  Koreans absolutely love to play matchmaker!  In the U.S., many single people meet potential dates randomly at bars, at work, through friends..basically anywhere; in Korea it's very different.  Koreans don't typically strike up conversations with strangers and ask for their phone number.  I've heard that their usually too shy to do such a bold gesture, so they rely on people they trust (aka friends and family) to set them up on a blind date.  Korean singles also like to date a person around their own age, plus or minus a couple years.  I believe it is pretty rare to date someone significantly older or younger than yourself here.

Once you have established an actual relationship with someone, the exciting "couple" things begin.  Once the relationship is official, couples will begin to document their time together by counting days.  While western couples will say they've been together for "X" amount of months, Korean couples will tell you they've been a couple for "X" amount of days.  It's very common for someone to say, "We've been dating for 62 days".  Reaching the 100-day mark is a very special occurrence for couples, and they usually celebrate this milestone anniversary by giving one another gifts.  Every 100 days after this is also a reason to celebrate (i.e. 200 days, 300 days, etc.)  Think it might be hard to keep up with the exact number of days?  Don't worry, there's a phone app to keep track for you!

Another way couples show their love for one another is by wearing couple clothes/outfits.  It is very common to see couples walking down the street wearing matching shirts, shoes, pants, hats, and even socks.  Sometimes they just might wear a matching shirt, or a matching shirt and hat, but other times, they wear the exact same outfit head-to-toe.  I am very curious as to how they coordinate this; do they text each other before going out and say, "Hey, wear your striped shoes and black button-up shirt today"?  I may never know.  I used to find these matching clothes a little ridiculous, but the more I see it, the more I think it's quite cute.  Another "couple" signature staple is the couple rings.  Not sure if someone has a girlfriend or boyfriend?  Look at their hands.  If they are in a relationship, they will most likely be wearing a couple ring.  Once couples are married though, you would think they would continue wearing rings, right?  Well think again.  Most married Korean couples don't wear wedding bands or any type of ring to signify that they are married.  I'm not really sure why couples wear rings, but after marriage you take them off.  So how do you know who is married or not?  I guess you don't really know, but kind of just assume.  If a Korean is over 30 and not married yet, they usually get a lot of pressure put on them by family members to find a spouse.  So I think most people assume that once you're over a certain age, you're most likely married.  Also, the couple clothes stop at marriage as well.

Two different couples wearing matching "couple" shirts

Couple Shoes

I observe a lot of this couple culture on the street just by walking around in town.  Things like couple clothes are very obvious symbols of a relationship.  Other things I notice are how doting the Korean guys are on their girlfriends.  I often see the men carrying their girlfriend's purse...and with no shame! (not that there should be any shame in carrying a women's purse, but I definitely don't see this being done in the U.S.)  And if it happens to be raining outside, you best believe that the woman is not holding the umbrella, because that is left up to the boyfriend to do. Little gestures like this are things I notice a lot just because it's different than what I would see at home.  

One thing I found very interesting is that families play a limited role in Korean couples' dating process.  Korea is a very family-oriented society, so I expected parents to be somewhat involved with their son or daughter's relationship; but actually, I've found that almost the exact opposite is true.  Many times, parents don't meet their kid's boyfriend/girlfriend until they're getting engaged.  Meeting the parents here is a pretty big deal because it means the relationship is very serious, like on a marriage level.  Of course not every Korean relationship is like this, but from what I've heard from both Koreans and non-Koreans, meeting the parents usually occurs very late into a relationship.  I find this odd for for various reasons, but one reason especially being that the majority of Koreans live with their parents until they get married, and only then do they move out.  It's very common to be in your late 20s or even into your 30s and still living in your parents' house because you're not married yet.  Korean couples almost always hang out outside of the house (i.e. coffee shops, movie theaters, doing outdoor activities, etc) because going to one another's house would mean having to meet the other's parents...and what Korean wants to face that, especially after only 200 days of dating.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading about Korean couple culture.  It has definitely been one of the more interesting topics I've learned about in my time here.  Remember that this is all generalizations too.  Obviously not every Korean couple follows these traditions/rules.  And I don't have any first-hand experience, but I have learned a lot about couple culture through my Korean friends.  It's always fun to hear about differences from one culture to the next, especially about a topic like dating.


























  

     

Stuff Koreans Do: "Asking Who is the Most Attractive"

So I am going to start a new segment of my blog titled, "Stuff Koreans Do", which will be similar to the popular YouTube videos, "Shit [insert type of person] Say".  I'm hoping that this segment of my blog will allow readers to understand a little bit of what I see/hear on an almost daily basis from Korean friends/coworkers/students/strangers/etc.  These will be subject matters that still confuse/astound/or interest me even after being here for 9 months.  I hope you enjoy!

My first segment of "Stuff Koreans Do" will discuss the topic of beauty ideals.  I have yet to write a proper blog post about this, but beauty standards are taken extremely seriously here.  Korea is one (if not THE) world-wide leader of cosmetic and plastic surgeries--but more about that in another post.  In this post, I want to tell you about one of the first questions I encounter when meeting a group of Koreans.  It never fails, upon meeting a new group of people, someone will always ask me or my friends to pick:

"Who is the best looking/most attractive?"  

(of the group)  

It is such an awkward question to be asked altogether, much less after knowing the asker of the question 10 minutes after meeting!  But to Koreans, this type of question is standard conversation.  One particular instance where I remember being asked this question was when my friend Cara and I were at the local bar, Rock and Roll.  We happened to be sitting at a table next to a group of 4 younger Korean guys, and we were casually talking to them.  Of course, their English wasn't perfect, but we were able to communicate some.  After talking a few minutes we were both asked to choose the one guy of the group who we thought was the most attractive.  Koreans are very self-aware of their attractiveness level though and accept it.  They know if they're pretty/handsome or if they got the short end of the stick in the looks department.  Because of this, the most attractive person at the table will usually be the one to bring up the question "Who is the best looking?".  Funny, right??

When asked this, I typically try to dodge the question the best I can.  I will compliment each of them on something, or say looks don't really matter, or something along those lines, because who wants to answer that???  Anyways, this is definitely a question that gets brought up when meeting new people and although I come to expect it now, I still find it strange.

Tokyo, Japan

Lucky for me, there were two national Korean holidays last Monday and Tuesday (Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday) that resulted in a lovely 4-day weekend.  Some friends and I decided to trek over to Tokyo, Japan (the biggest city in the world!) to take advantage of our time off.  Tokyo was about a 2.5 hour flight from Seoul, which was longer than I expected.  My friends' left on Thursday (because their schools were nicer than mine) so they left without me, so I flew alone and met up with them on Saturday.  Narita International Airport in Tokyo was about an hour and a half from the actual city, so after my flight, I had to catch the bus into Tokyo.  My phone doesn't work anywhere outside of Korea, and I was unable to pick up a wifi signal at the airport, so I had no way to contact my friends about what time to expect my bus to come in.  I was a little nervous, but luckily they tracked my flight and guessed (correctly) my arrival time, so they were waiting for me.  Once I got in, we called it a night because it was pretty late.  For the first couple nights, we stayed in an apartment that we rented.  It was small, but doable since we weren't going to be there too long.  The apartment we stayed in was in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo, which we discovered was also nicknamed "Korea Town" because of the large Korean population there.  This was totally by accident, as we didn't realize this when we had booked our accommodation.    

On my first full day in Tokyo, I got to cross off quite a bit of stuff off my Tokyo to-do list.  First, we had to take the subway to  Akihabara.  As I have mentioned before, I'm a huge fan of the subway system.  I've used subways in multiple cities and it is by far the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to get around any major city.  Well Tokyo's subway definitely threw me for a loop.  Yes, it was cheap and quick, but definitely lacked on the "easy" part.  It was so confusing, because each different line is owned by a different company so it can make transferring from stop-to-stop a little tricky sometimes.  Luckily, my friends had kind of figured it out by the time I arrived so I just relied on them to lead the way!

So our first stop was Akihabara, which is Tokyo's infamous anime area.  There were multiple anime shops (toys, comics, etc.) and even the buildings were covered in anime posters and designs.  I'm not a fan of anime, but it was interesting.  While in Akihabara, we stumbled upon a 7-story sex shop.  Well, of course we went in...it was a 7-story sex shop, so why the heck not??  Lots of interesting people and things in there to say the least.  I should also mention that porn is illegal in Japan, but that doesn't mean there aren't ways to get around that law.  Japan is known for it's pornographic cartoon comics, which includes tentacle porn.  Tentacle porn involves tentacles (yes, tentacles from sea animals like octopus and squid..) and women.  Use your imagination and you'll know where I'm going with this....if your imagination is inadequate, just Google it.

An example of the anime artwork on buildings.

After that adventure, we decided to check out the maid cafes which we had read about on a list of "Tokyo Must-Do's".  Basically, a maid cafe is a cafe that is decorated like a childhood girl's dream.  Lots of pastel colors and decorations.  All of the waitresses are "maids" and dress the part too.  They are required to talk in high, squeaky voices.  I believe these cafes were created for Japanese men, as they think the act the maids put on is cute, but now the cafes have become popular for tourists.  The cafe served a variety of food including alcoholic cocktails, ice-cream sundaes, pancakes, cake, etc.  All of the food was decorated in a cute way.  I got the "Roar, Roar" ice-cream sundae which included cookies and whipped cream to make it look like a bear.  I noticed another table ordered pancakes and the waitress was drawing faces on them with syrup.  At one point, the lights dimmed and a disco ball came on and one of the maids did a dance performance.  It was a fun experience, but unfortunately pictures were not allowed (only pics of food could be taken), so I don't have many digital memories of the cafe.

"Roar, Roar" Sundae

The maids at the Maid Cafe (not my picture, I found it online)

After we filled up on ice-cream sundaes at the maid cafe, we made our way to the infamous Shibuya Crossing, aka the "Times Square" of Japan.  It's a major intersection and when the "walk" light signals the go ahead for pedestrians, watch out!  There are hundreds of people crossing the street at once and it was very crowded.  This area also was a major shopping district with stores like Hermes, Gucci, Guess, and others.

People waiting for the "Walk" signal

Crossing the street...so many people!

All the hotties must hang out in Shibuya

After eating Japanese curry (yes, curry! It's randomly popular there), we headed to the Roppongi District of Seoul which is supposed to be good for clubbing and night life.  We had asked around about good places to go out and were lead to Club Six.  It was pretty much all Japanese people, but we had fun dancing and drinking.  A group of Japanese girls came up to us on the dance floor and were practically our own personal fan club all night.  They didn't speak English but they loved us and our dance moves so much that they imitated almost everything we did!! We were definitely popular!  Two of my friends had to leave early, so Cara and I had to take a taxi home.  We weren't thrilled about taking a taxi because we had heard how expensive they were in Japan.  In Korea taxis are really cheap, so we were less than thrilled when we had to pay $30 for a 10 minute ride.  Boo you, Japan!!

At about 5am that night, my friends and I awoke to find our apartment shaking rather intensely.  I was pretty groggy and initially thought one of my friends was shaking the bed, but I was wrong.  We were experiencing a 6.0 EARTHQUAKE!  It lasted about 20 seconds, but it seemed longer than that because everything was shaking so bad.  We fell back asleep afterward, but when we woke up a few hours later we had remembered what happened and looked it up online to confirm that we hadn't made it up.  Sure enough, there had been an earthquake...actually, the biggest earthquake Japan has had since the 9.0 one in 2011.  I thought it was really cool to experience a real earthquake, since that is something you just cannot plan!

Day 2

The next day we decided to press our luck at one of Japan's many casinos.  They were literally on every street corner.  Pachinko is the Japanese game of choice, but I opted for the good 'ole slot machines.  I thought I'd have a decent shot at winning some money because my friends had gone a few days before and won $170!  Unfortunately luck was not on my side, because I gambled my whole $10 and lost it all.  But it was fun!

The Casino

One of the things I was most looking forward to doing in Japan was eating real sushi in the place that it had originated.  Well, we finally got our chance and ordered a few rolls.  It was good, but I think I'm too accustomed to American-style sushi, so I was a tad bit disappointed.

Sushi!

That evening we decided to see the Robot Show, as it had gotten really good reviews.  It was about an hour and a half show of pure randomness!  The show featured dancing, drum playing, singing, and robots.  Real robots.  It is hard to explain because there wasn't much order or a single theme to the show, so I'll let the pictures do the explaining.

We waited in the Robot Lounge before the show started.  It was very elaborate!  I felt like I had stepped foot into Liberace's playground.

Posing with one of the robots.

After we had had our fill of robots, we headed to a Prison-themed Bar.  It actually turned out to be a Prison-Haunted House-themed bar.  We sat at a booth, which modeled a prison cell.  We ordered really cool drinks that came in science beakers.  At one point during our time there, the lights dimmed really low and scary music started playing.  Then, people in scary masks and Halloween costumes would occasionally walk by our cell and rattle the bars and open them.  It was kinda freaky!

My drink in a science beaker!

Behind bars!

That night we stayed at a capsule hotel.  It might've been my favorite part of Japan.  Most capsule hotels only accommodate men, but fortunately we were able to book this one, which had a floor dedicated to women travelers.  We paid $40/night to stay there, which was a little expensive, but it was definitely a must-do while in Japan.  There were probably 50 capsules on our floor, along with a communal bathroom and luggage room.  It was super nice and clean which was pleasantly surprising.  Each capsule came with a pull-down shade, a TV, and a built-in radio/alarm clock.  The hotel also provided pajamas for every guest.  I always judge a hotel by the bathroom's cleanliness, and I must say that I would give this place an A+.  I was a little confused when I used the bathroom though, because the stall would play music when you would sit down.  My friends and I concluded that this must've been so that no one could hear you doing your business and gave you a sense of privacy...how cool!!

Hanging out in the capsule! (That's the TV in the top left corner)

Day 3

It was time to take off and go back to Korea.  I really enjoyed my time in Japan, but like any vacation, I'm always ready to go back home at the end.

Korean Festivals

Spring is upon us, which also means 'tis the season of Korean festivals!  Koreans are crazy about their festivals, and there are different themed ones around the whole country.  In Korea, each city is known for something unique, whether it be a particular food dish, herb, plant, etc.  Jecheon, the city I live in, is known as the "Healing City" and is famous for its oriental medicine; while other cities might be famous for something like a specific kind of tea, a certain food, etc.  Most festivals will be directly related to its host city's unique hallmark.  Korea is home to mud festivals, lantern festivals, film festivals, a butterfly festival and even a world DJ festival.  There really is a festival to suit anyone's interest.  As for myself, I have been to a strawberry festival, ice-fishing festival, and a cherry-blossom festival.  Jecheon hosted a medical-oriented festival, so I went to it as well.  I'll also be going to a wine-tasting festival in a couple weeks, which I'm obviously really looking forward to.

While each of the festivals I have attended have offered a unique aspect, they have also been very similar.  I think Korean festivals are very much like Eldon's Turkey Festival, Versailles' Apple Festival and such.  The ones I have experienced typically have had multiple booths with various vendors selling food, gifts, and other miscellaneous items.  For example, the Noonsan Strawberry Festival I attended had vendors selling anything and everything strawberry related: strawberry jams, ice cream, candles, fresh cartons of the fruit, strawberry-shaped crafts for kids to paint/decorate and there was face painting of...strawberries!  The same went for Jecheon's medicinal festival, except everything was related to medicine and health: herbal teas, spices, health foods, etc.  Besides booths and vendors, there are usually kiddie rides and games available, as well as a live entertainment stage where local entertainers (comedians, dancers, and singers) come to perform for the crowds.  The festivals also range in length, with some going on all month long to some only being for a single weekend.

 Cherry Blossom Festival in Chungpung

Cherry Blossoms only bloom in spring and only last about 3 weeks or so, so you have to see them while you have the chance!

Strawberry Festival in Noonsan

My favorite festival thus far has been the ice-fishing festival I went to in January.  Upon arriving, I was given an ice-fishing pole and a quick instruction on the technique.  There were multiple sections of a frozen pond roped off for fishers.  After about 2 hours fishing on-and-off, I eventually caught two fish. I paid about $3 to get one of them cooked and gave the other away.  There were also other ice-related activities besides fishing.  My friends and I took a frozen canoe ride in which a guy on an ATV pulled us in a canoe across the frozen ice.  We were also able to witness a competition involving a giant swimming pool filled with fish and a group of volunteers who had to jump in the pool and try to grab a fish with their hands.  You just never know what you'll come across at a Korean festival!  I hope to attend several more this summer if I have the chance.  

Still excited at this point...

 Finally got one, after waiting and waiting, and taking a break and coming back to try some more...

It was delicious too!

 The competition to see who can catch a fish with their hands first

As for now, I am busy packing for my Japan trip.  I have a long holiday weekend and plan to take full advantage of it by exploring Tokyo!  I'm ready to eat real sushi, sleep in a capsule [hotel], and see the city!  

              

Seoul vs. Jecheon

During my time in Korea, I've visited Seoul several times and have become quite familiar with the city.  Seoul is a great escape when I feel like getting out of Jecheon for the weekend because it's a whole different  atmosphere and it's only two hours away by train or bus.  I know New York City is nicknamed "The City that Never Sleeps", but I think Seoul definitely has the qualifications to take over that title.  Seoul has something for everyone: historical landmarks, every kind of food you could want, an abundance of restaurants/coffee shops/nightclubs/bars, museums, shopping and of course a wide variety of people.

To be honest, my favorite thing about Seoul is the food I can get while I'm there.  The city I live in has no McDonalds, no Burger King, no Mexican restaurants, nothing; so when my friends and I go to Seoul, our top priority is to eat foods that we know we won't have for awhile...burgers, Taco Bell, American-style brunch, etc.  Eating in Seoul tastes like home, and it's always a treat.  Also, Seoul has a few foreign food markets that provide hard-to-find international grocery items.  The first time I walked into one I thought I had teleported into an American grocery store.  It was fabulous.  BUT, there is a big downside to foreign food markets.  While they have items like PopTarts, root beer, Campbell's Soup, Herbal Essence shampoo and a slew of other things, the prices make you want to cry.  One time, I splurged on a 16oz block of cheddar cheese; it cost me $12.  Because the prices are so high, I just try to avoid the foreign food markets unless I'm really desperate for something in particular.

If you love shopping, you would absolutely love Seoul!  There are so many places to shop that it's overwhelming.  No wonder it's quickly becoming one the fashion capitals of the world.  Gangnam (yes, as in the song "Gangnam Style") is the most notorious Seoul shopping district; it is also known as the most high-class too.  The song "Gangnam Style" describes the Gangnam district as the place where Korean fashion trends are born.  Koreans are very fashionable people and usually look very polished.  I don't often see Koreans out and about in grungy sweatpants and T-shirts.      

Seoul is also a very convenient city.  My second favorite thing about the city is the underground subway.  I've ridden subways before, and the Seoul subway isn't really any different from my previous experiences, but I can't stress enough how awesome public transportation is.  For someone who hasn't driven a car in almost eight months, I have to rely on other means of getting around.  Seoul has a LOT of traffic, so the subway is the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to get around the city.  I have a T-Money card that I load money onto and just scan it at every metro station before getting on and after getting off.  There's also a subway app for smartphones that you can type your destination into and it maps out the fastest subway route for you.  The whole process is incredibly quick and simple!

Seoul is also English-friendly.  What I mean is that everywhere you go, there will be an English speaker, an English menu, English signs, and taxis even have free translation services.  This is incredibly different from Jecheon, where I have to rely on speaking the little Korean I know to do daily tasks.  My American friend who teaches in Seoul doesn't know how to read Korean and doesn't know basic Korean language skills either, while I can read it, write it and know enough to kind of get by.  We have both been here for the same amount of time, but I have a better grasp of the language because I have to rely on it everyday, while in Seoul, she doesn't have the same need to use it because the city caters to English speakers.

Seoul really is an amazing city, and there is always something new to experience there, but at the end of the day, I'm glad that I have Jecheon to come home to.