My honest opinions after one week in South Korea

@Ceki, I still don't understand why going to Korea because of dramas and Kpop would be "the worst reason". You can understand that dramas are dramas yet still be intrigued to check things for yourself. I have never had any interest in visiting Korea because my list of travel destinations was already long enough, but I became really interested in visiting it after discovering Kdramas. I traveled extensively in my life and I had many positive and not so positive experiences. I went to places for a variety of reasons: food, art, landscapes, people, because of books that I read, because of what I heard, because of recommendations of others, because I wanted to practice the language I was learning, because of good prices etc. Korea moved to the top of my list as a place to travel to. I see no reason why me wanting to go there because of my fascination with the dramas would be "the worst one".

@Linus I totally agree with you.  Also i think anything that makes anyone want to get out of their bubble is a brilliant thing and i also think that travel is literally the best thing you do with time and money.  However, if you went to the US based on TV you would spend your time being worried about murder and serial killers.  If you went to the UK based on TV you should expect to be surrounded by ridiculous jokesters and miraculous adventures all the time.  I just don't think that travel to a place because you love the media of that country is enough.   the first time i went to korea i went because i love K-drama, but once i got there i did not expect to be in a K-drama.  I DID stay in hongdae because that's where the music is, and i still stay there  when i go, but i don't expect to see Jang Keun Suk in his Mary Stayed Out All Night outfits walking the alleys.  

I think a love of culture of a place should be enough to get you there.  and it's a GOOD reason to go.  but once you land, you should throw everything away and just experience the world around you with wonder.

My bestest friend in Seoul, I met because we had a furious argument when i checked into the guest house, because we got over it, and continued communication, i have loads of friends in Korea and so, it's always the most fun place i visit.

@ceki.  I live in Washington state, and there are parts of it that are fairy tale like.  But only for like a weekend of camping or summer on a lake.  And there's been a few places I've seen used in fiction here and they are described very creatively and not accurately haha.   When describing alace in fiction you don't tell the truth so it's ridiculous to want to go to a place based on fiction.  It's not true.  

@Katelynn,
Olympic National Park is AMAZING! 
The first time I visited the Hoh Rainforest, I was absolutely blown away. 

@Skye-n-rain

I think Washington has some of the most beautiful places in the country haha.  I so agree.  And where I live is beautiful, just not the town haha.  I love that part of the state although is live on the northeast side.  

so 2 things

s/he says s/he's not hating on seoul, but literally the only good thing they mention is hearing k-pop in an area they were in.

why is everyone assuming @MrBanana is a woman.  the tag is MrBanana or do you all know something I don't

The gender on MrBanana's profile is set as "female". 

I'd also like to point out that it depends on where she comes from. If she has never been in a huge city like that before, of course she would be shocked. I heard that the stench in NY and Shanghai is unbearable.

I am conflicted about the topic of travelling. On the one hand, I think that it's good to research a bit about the place beforehand, on the other hand it sometimes taints the experiences that could have been different had the person not been prepared for it. For example, I regret searching for the pictures of the Grand Canyon before going to see the said canyon. I didn't know anything about the Monument Valley before I went there and I was literally blown away by what I saw. With the Grand Canyon, I kind of knew what I'm going to see and the element of surprise went away. 

@ Naksen, Although I agree that people should not base their opinions of the place based on their representations in movies (duh! that should be obvious), I think we all are very much influenced by them whether we want it or not. We spend hours getting certain images in our heads and we can't simply block them. So even if we should throw everything we think we know about a place from a movie after getting there, I don't believe it is always easy or even possible. When it comes to not speaking the language... I don't think it's always a necessary condition to have a good time to be honest. 


I agree with you, @ Ceki, that travelling experiences are a mixture of weather, expectations, circumstances, travel companions, food, luck and other things. Two people can go to the same place because of a movie (The Sound of Music, anyone?) and have very different experiences.