Wow, Southkorea!
I'm glad we are 3 weeks in SK, so that we have enough time to explore this crazy city. Unfortunately, there's not many videos I found about SK in Social Media - compared to Japan. I already apologise now for comparing SK with Japan so much, because these are the only countries I have visited in Asia (apart from the Philippines).
At the Airport
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the airport is that there's less people working at the airport than in Japan, but they handle it pretty well! There was one guy telling us what to do (fill out the yellow Covid declaration sheet) and once we stood in line for immigration, I have noticed that for those who don't have the K-ETA, there is an area where they can fill out another paper. Now that's not the crazy thing... it's that they provide glasses for those who can't see well anymore. I've never seen something like that in my life before, that glasses (in different correction levels) are provided. I also noticed that in the museums; they provide books for those who cannot read the writing on the walls.
Immigration went so smooth, I was so surprised. Once I claimed my baggage, I found a tag on it, saying I have to go through a special customs counter. That's when I noticed that I forgot to remove my delicious calamansi from my suitcase. After I removed it and trashed it properly, the staff removed the tag and let me go enter South Korea. Funny thing was that one lady (part of the staff) was brushing her teeth in the back of the counter.
Anyway, the next thing that surprised me is how easy it is to get a t-money card. Basically a card you can use for the public transportation, you can swipe it anytime you pass through the speed gates. At the train station, there was a vending machine where you can purchase a t-money card and right next to it is another machine that lets you charge the card right away. So convenient!
Navigaiton in South Korea
The trains/metros are very similar to Japan, we could still navigate with Google Maps, however, if you would like to go to a place, it doesn't show the navigation how to get there by foot.
Once we have arrived in the city (cause the airport is in Incheon, and Incheon is litterally an island), we bumped into a huge protest. It was literally right in front of us, once we exited the elevator. First challenge was to find our hotel. Without Google Maps it was a little hustle, but eventually we got there. I know you can use Naver app, it shows you where to go etc. but it's everything written in korean! My translation skills will be so high by the end of this travel! :D
On the way we noticed that the pedestrian path ways aren't so luggage friendly and we bumped a couple of times into little rocks. The area we're staying is very much under construction. We could smell penetrating sewage odor. That might be the reason for the existance of so many mosquitos!
Every night, although we close the windows in the room, we find at least 3-4 mosquitos and try to catch them, so that they don't bite us in the night.
People in South Korea
Last night, we went strolling through the streets and found ourself drinking beer and eating chicken wings in a bar. Compared to Japan, people here smoke more in public and they like to be outside, which to me, as a swiss, felt more familiar. Also the music is more western, I knew every song they played in the bar, whereas in Japan, they mainly play japanese music.
I have noticed, that not everyone is so crazy about K-Pop here. In Switerland, there is a lot of K-Pop gatherings, where they dance in public and record it for TikTok. I didn't see that in Seoul so far. Maybe I haven't been in the right area yet. But I'm sure that I will see them somewhere someday.
All in all, my first impression of South Korea is very positive! I feel safe here and I am looking forward to the upcoming days in this crazy city.
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