My honest opinions after one week in South Korea

 HappySqueak:

Thank-you for sharing about your trip. I was planning to visit SK next year after having visited Tokyo. But I've been hesitant because of other reviews that the people there were not as friendly to tourists who may have questions and in general, like you have described. I have been researching about the cultural differences to expect. About the restaurants, I did watch some videos on youtube where it was explained that you basically have to yell for service, not like in western countries where a waiter or waitress will initiate eye contact or be waved over when you are ready to order. I don't know if I could yell Yahhhh! across a restaurant but in the cultural aspect I can see that is how it is different.  I am still uncertain about saving money for an SK trip just for the sake of fandom. Or if I should visit Japan again instead.

Nooo! You should go! I personally loved it. 

I went to Seoul last year in May for 2½ weeks and it was the best time of my life. I felt more home than I feel at my home country. The people were sooo nice and helpful. I obviously went with the mindset "no one is going to be as good looking as the idols and actors" and I was so wrong ! There were so many pretty people and Korean people are so stylish ! Clothes suits them better than western body type imo. And of course the ahjummas and ahjussis were funny to see IRL. What I really was surprised about is that in a country that centers around plastic surgery and having a perfect skin - they didn't really cover pimples or any imperfections. They just seemed to be fine with their skin and it made me feel good about my skin as well. I mean here in Finland I do my makeup every time I go out somewhere where I could see people I know.

You can read more about my experiences from my blog: http://www.jennahoo.com/search/label/Korea%20Trip%202016

And one more thing to add ! While I was in Korea - yes the air was dirty - I felt so much better ! I had no headaches and it was sooo easy to breathe well. Maybe it's because the climate is humid compared to Finland. Here in Finland I'm coughing all the time and have headaches all the time because of pollen and whatnot. 

I had the same bad experience with convenience store staff. But there are quite a bit of areas of interest in Seoul in my opinion. I spent 7 days there and there was still a bunch of places I didn't get to go.

My experience with Korea  was the more Korean that I knew, the better the experience.   I've been to Korea every year since  2014. When you compare customer services to places like Thailand and Japan,  Korea is no competition.  

When it comes to asking for help on the street. I used to get the wave a lot, because of two reason. I spoke  English and I spoke it fast. A lot of people don't realize how fast they speak their native language to a non-native speaker.  My second time going to Korea, I learn direction vocabulary and used to ask in English first. When I got the waved, I would attempt to say it in Korean. As soon as I said it in Korean, I was given help every time. A few occasions they even walked with me to where I needed to go.  

I love Korea, but like every country their are pros and cons. The image the dramas portrayed was destroyed as soon as I exited the subway and was greeted wit the scent they call the "smell of Korea".

I like your honest opinion about Korea!

Interesting discussion. I have a cousin who lives in Seoul since her husband is a expat chef at a hotel but I’ve never asked her about her experience there.

As to New York City, I live in Long Island and work in New York City. I can say that it’s a very big city and have it’s very posh areas and it’s not too clean areas. I work in Midtown Manhattan East and I don’t walk around the streets smelling stinky smell. There are even many restaurants that have sidewalk dining in the summer and I hardly imagine they would do that in a smelly atmosphere. In fact, Grand Central workers go around everyday along the streets cleaning up any trash and keeping the area clean. Also, many doormen and building workers maintain the cleanliness outside the buildings by washing down the sidewalks every single morning. Of course, I’ve also been in areas like downtown where there aren’t building owners or store owners maintaining the cleanliness of the city. However, to say that NYC smell stink, is not true generally. I’ve been uptown, downtown, across town, etc and most time any foul smell I come across are from any garbage left outside food places for the garbage truck to pick up or where homeless people or others urinate.