Seoul Survivor

Like travel in any foreign country, Korea has its positives and negative.  One of the drawbacks; the glaring lack of Steak n’ Shakes.  One of the big positives; the minimal risk of EVER running into a dangerous situation after dark.  In the US we evade back alleys and poorly lit streets without even thinking; here it’s just as automatic to USE those same options.  Not once have I felt unsafe while walking the streets, which is kind of nice.  Well I consider myself a smart traveler, not just a tourist, so I was ready to abandon that approach to Korea this week when I traveled North.  With over 10 millions people strong living in Seoul, Korea’s bustling capital is the world’s 8^th most populated city.  Not the kind of place I want to be wondering down dark alleys right?  Not necessarily.

The reason Korea is absurdly safe is…the people.  Outside of their incessant stares and disregard for personal space, Koreans as a whole are completely harmless people.  For the most part they respond to foreigners like I would react to…let’s say…a bear.  Imagine I’m walking the streets of Columbus, Ohio and I come upon a bear.  First thoughts would be, “What is that doing here?  What should I do?  Should I keep staring?  Oh crap it saw me!  Just ignore it, maybe it’ll go away.  Nope, still there.  If I make it out of this alive I can’t WAIT to tell my friends.”  I imagine, based on the shocked expressions plastered on most of the Korean faces I see, that their inner monologue is quite similar.  Given the sheer SIZE of Seoul I wondered if people there would react similarly.  Turns out, we’re not a big deal there.  Being in Seoul was like temporarily stepping OUT of Korea.  There are so many foreigners that for once I didn’t stick out.

While in the ‘big city’ there were two important things on my agenda; get some American food and take in as much culture as I could.  The culture was more difficult than I anticipated.  We only really had time to hit two museums, and take a quick cable car ride up to Seoul tower.  Seoul tower was, how do I put this lightly, weak sauce.  Much shorter than I would have thought (given the hype) and the view was a laugh because of the pollution in the city.  I could barely see anything.  Sigh.  The National Museum of Korea didn’t really catch my interest a whole lot.  There were more replicas of old things than there were originals it seemed.  So my saving grace was the war memorial museum.  Has to be the most interesting collection of boats, planes, tanks, guns and helicopters I’ve ever seen.  And you could sit in them, and touch them and it was just great.  I was like a kid in a candy store.  And that was just the outside.  Inside was display after display of swords and daggers and arrows and old uniforms; it was the most fun I’ve had since being in Korea.  Without a doubt. Call me a nerd.  We were there so long we had to leave because it was closing.  I could have stayed for three more hours.

 

As for the other item on my list…most disappointing.  I had Taco Bell, McDonalds, Quiznos, Subway and Krispy Kreme.  All of them overpriced and tasted nothing like back home.  Guess I learned my lesson.  Eat Korean food while I’m here and save the American food for America.  The nightlife is the other real draw about Seoul for most people.  I hate alcohol, smoking, loud music and crowded small spaces so unfortunately that appealing part of the city didn’t do much for me.  All in all I’d say it was decent trip, but for the money I spent it should have been unbelievable.  I’m a fair person and I’ve always been about second chances so I’m going to give Seoul another shot to impress me before I pass judgment.