>>2847160
>is there something I am missing
I rather enjoyed the furniture museum...but yeah, Korea isnt very functional for foreingers.

Yeah, South Korea is kinda lame compared to the other East Asian countries. Still okay though, most of the historic and cultural sites are in North Korea. South Korea was the peasant backwater, so you gottta wait until daddy Kim lets in capitalist piggus if you wanna see the real Korea.

>want to go into shop to get some food
>NO SORRY NO ENGLISH!
>place also clearly has those electronic ordering things to use
>(proceed to say that's okay in korean)
>SORRY CLOSE
>sign is 24hr
>uhh okay I guess...

While it doesn't exactly bother me that much it's insane how dumb this shit is when you get outside of shit right around the main train station downtown. I've tried to find a place to drink and either I am doing something horribly wrong, like full retard mode, but every time I slip into a foreign themed bar it's full of either
A) Depressed old dudes who spent their 20's-40's there in the military now just here for the rest of it
B) Fresh from college military or English Teachers who know about as much as you do on anything fun to do "but at least it's not the fuckin USA LOL!"

>>2847160
>>you saw a picture of yeah hope you got an ARC card because you need to book it on our shitty government run app that barely works
>nooooooo what do you mean they don't allow rampet tourism to destroy their shrines
>>Ha paying with visa? chump, not accepted here why you not have Kakao pay? Oh yeah you need ARC for that lol.
Hardly an issue if you have half a brain cell
>> Yeah those are closed for uhh idk... Oh no it doesn't look like that really except one short part of the season that lasts for a week or so
See point 1
>>every subway smells like kimchi+garlic+fish even if you're on the 5am train it somehow still smells
Wow you mean it smells like their most popular foods that everyone eats?
>>every historic site is basically a reconstruction of what it might have been way back when Korea was a farming nation
Wow it's almost like Korea has been bullied by both of their neighbors for thousands of years now
>>want to go up mountain path or hike get asked "what are you doing here?" by every passing 50 year old park hand?
How dare locals want to know about you!
>>half the websites barely work when using an English function if you're a foreigner some shit is just completely off the table to attempt even if you want to pay cash
Almost like you're in a foreign country that doesn't speak English as their first language!
>>try to find some other tourist tips but it all boils down to "Seoul->DMZ->Gangnam!!! and maybe Jeju"
Reddit take
>>women are decent but have insanely weird expectations on things or full on crazy
wow, it's almost like you're in one of the most feminist asian countries!

Stick to Japan, it's definitely more your speed if you want to litter and shit up the local shrines with no care in the world.

>>2847265
Is SK good to travel to if you’re a female?

>>2847160
Idk, I think you just did SK wrong mate, there is plenty of cool stuff there if you do some research. Go to some other neighborhoods of Seoul if you hate Itaewon, go check out some markets, go hike in a park in the mountains, go to Hongdae, go to Busan if you can't stand Seoul. I kind of always though SK was basically Japan-lite without all the weeb stuff, although there is manhwa in South Korea and a fair amount of weeb things there. Anyways, I think you just did it wrong.

>>2847309
>Korean markets
The only worthwhile one is Chinatown and that's mid at best. Most Korean markets are secondhand used slop or actual chang shit that barely works.
> go hike in a park in the mountains,
The OP discussed this, there are issues with being bothered and yeah most are boring. Outside of Seoul it's a fun guessing game of "is this owned by someone?"
>Hongdae
I legitimately wish I knew why people bring this up, it's an incredibly shitty place. The shops are just more copy and paste of what is all around every mall in Korea. Maybe it was the shit before covid but it's mid at best, inb4 "go at night bro" oh yeah dude can't wait to go by copy and paste 70/80 karaoke clubs and shitty bars that won't let anyone none native/asian in. Wow bro so cool. The University is laughable.

>SK was basically Japan-lite
I thought that before I went there, now I see it as basically a place that looks at nature as kind of an afterthought. Sure it exists I went to busan already, and it was fine. Without sounding like a weeb/otaku, to Japan's credit I can basicaly google/search up <city> have everything, have google maps plot a hiking trail I know is open, stroll through, and find something unique.

Korea is
>download Naver/Kakao
>get shitty instructions on a day trip with who knows if the hours are actually correct
>get to place, after crowded ass train smelling of kimchi and garlic
>3/5 things closed in winter because fuck you, reading the trail sign shows nothing about being closed, 2 km in park hand mentions closed in winter
>okay I'll explore the town of Chuncheon
>old people wonder why the fuck I am in their town, explain I want to explore Korea and see outside seoul
>they look annoyed and just say something like oh okay
>try to find some place to have a local taste of the alcohol there lol nothing open till 6pm that isn't cass/tera
>go back home

Maybe if into clubbing it's fine, but dunno that shit's like the weekend only for me

>>2847265
>Hardly an issue if you have half a brain cell
Then what am I missing, some of the concerts I wanted to attend only allowed for Kakao pay as Visa and MC weren't accepted. Looking to pay in alternative methods is usually a reddit thread of "worked for me I went and used my ARC card and it was fine" CLOSED! Yeah I have a wowpass card for local card shit but it still asks for information I don't have as a tourist for a fair number of things unless I want to register into a tour group. Sorry grampa I am not going to go into a tour group to see a few things.
>Wow you mean it smells like their most popular foods that everyone eats?
I know this might be hard but most trains in asia don't absolutely fucking reek of breakfast/lunch/dinner like they do in india Raj.
>How dare locals want to know about you!
You know what I mean if English is a first language, it's the "what are you doing" in the tone of a cop or someone in authority who's trying to dick wave or just be an ass. It's annoying and you can't tell me you've not experienced this in korea. Been here multiple months to get around and yeah it's fairly mid.

>Stick to Japan, it's definitely more your speed if you want to litter and shit up the local shrines with no care in the world.
I've been to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, HK, Taiwan, Mainland China, etc etc. Outside some of the remote islands, mongolia, and indonesia I've been mostly to all the wrothwhile places.

Korea is just a fucking shock in how it bottoms out on promoting itself and tourism industry, I'm all for countries doing their own thing but come on. Tourism is legitimately free money for the country. I've genuinely tried to make the best of it only to be met back with middling results that make other adventures seem nearly senseless to do.

>>2847314
Ok.. how about Busan, Jeju, skiing in mountains in the northern part of the country, Gyeongju, Jeonju, Daegu? It isn't just Seoul you can visit, both Gyeongju and Jeonju have a fair amount of history and temples also if your interested in that stuff. It doesn't just have to be about drinking and partying. Yes, Japan is solidly better obviously, but I still think SK is not as terrible as OP is making it out to be. This isn't India we are describing here.

>>2847317
Ski season hasn't really started and as mentioned in the OP leaving mid next week.
I went to Busan it was fine... I road the KTX up and down already stopping at places that looked interesting from the resources online I could find.

Gyeongju and Daegu are laughable, they have some pretty sights I guess if you don't mind taking the most retarded hiking trails imaginable. Nothing like a good hike to some scenery filled in with 84 floor apartment sectors poking out of the city. Wolseong and surrounding is going through some heavy reconstruction so not sure if it's worth going all the way out there for, even if close to Daegu.

> It doesn't just have to be about drinking and partying.
I'm not saying it does, I'm saying the variety of it is all copy and paste. Hell even in Gangnam you could have told me I was in random part of Daegu or Daejeon's downtown and I probably would have believed it.

>I still think SK is not as terrible as OP is making it out to be.
I'm not trying to advocate as it being the worst place ever, it's just the amount of hiccups you get in Korea with very seldom information regarding alternative things to do is kinda demotivating to straight up frustrating. Sure if I rocked an ARC + proper KT txt number (not sure why some prepaid # don't work for places), had a full JCB card for payments or Kakao pay, and also had a Samsung phone that was native and could use NFC properly here; I'd be having a smoother time. However, I'm a tourist and the amount of hurdles I've been willing to jump through just to get some of the things I've done already is kinda pushing it. I don't expect a country to kiss my ass and hold my hand for me but holy shit Korea really takes the cake on visiting. At least in HK or Taiwan, google maps actually was relevant to me and if X was closed I could easily spring to Y as a backup. Here? lol enjoy shitty government run apps from the 90's

Maybe if I had done 2 weeks I'd leave it to whatever, nearing 3 months? hell no

>>2847265
>Wow you mean it smells like their most popular foods that everyone eats?
Trains operate from 5AM to midnight IIRC, 5 hours of cleaning and it still smells of kimchi and garlic? Might have a quality issue there Songyi

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>>2847309
>go to Hongdae
I'm convinced this place doesn't go outside in their home country. Hongdae offers virtually nothing over that of a basic college downtown outside a small threat of gun violence. Even now the nogs that flooded itaewon are flowing into Hongdae due to the decline and utter disrepair of it. Wow they have a place you can SHOOT A (airsoft)GUN!!! for a prize!!! and see K-POP STREET PERFORMERS!!! and best of all they have get this, CARFT BEER AND GAMES SHOPS. YOU CAN DRINK BEER WHILE PLAYING BOARD GAMES LIKE GAMES YOU DID AS A KID BUT AS AN ADULT AND HAVE BEER! POGGIES! After a drink or 3 (lol I drink the flavored soju because I am tough they told me) you can go to the s*x shop that's right THEY HAVE A FRIGGIN SEX SHOP ALLEY WAY WITH P*RN!! LOL! BOYS NIGHT OUT AMIRITE?

Korea just feels so fake regardless where you go, it's like they had a board of city planners and copy and pasted it all over the map at every train station or city central.

>didn't stay in hongdae and pick up women
You fucked up

The east coast looks lightly populated with a mountain backdrop, interesting to explore (but not in their freezing-ass winter weather). Four star hotel on the beach for $24 USD per night? Sounds pretty sweet. I'd have to shell out a lot more than that in fucking India. Doubt it'll be that cheap during the nicer months, however.

>>2847314
>day drinking
the locals were right shun you

>>2847374
Yes anon having a glass of local soju is unexceppabru and dishonorrrabu best to commit sudoku

>>2847378
day drinking is universally shunned. the only people who think it's okay are drunks.

>>2847374
>>2847380
>asia
>drinking is le bad
I know you're trolling but having a drink pairing of a local spirit is the norm, please go back to eating KFC/McDonalds.

>>2847403
>obsessed with america
>drunk
typical

>>2847160
is it really this bad? i wanted to go but now im kind of wondering if its really this shitty lol

>>2847318
I guess so, I mean I also never go anywhere expecting tourist infrastructure to hold my hand and don't mind jumping through some hoops when visiting some place new, but again I would be the exception and not the rule for most tourists as most people like things as simple as possible, cut and dry when visiting somewhere. Now I personally never had an issue using a credit card for payments in Korea so the whole Kakao pay thing is news to me although I am sure it was in use when I visited. Naver maps, OK I will give you that one because Naver is a pain in the ass to use and google maps are so much simpler. So if we re making the argument that SK is not an easy place as a tourist to visit, yeah i'd agree, Is it not worth to visit? I would disagree I do think it is still worth visiting SK, the culture is still interesting. Again, I had a good time visiting there so I am only basing this on personal experience of being in Korea. Anyone else who has never been to East Asia or Southeast Asia, I would say go to Japan first and foremost then check out the other countries if you want to explore more.

>>2847322
You totally missed everything else I said and just focused on hating Hongdae, but ok...

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>>2847306
Probably the best place for a female to solo travel.
>>2847422
People have different experiences. For me I loved South Korean. Locals were very friendly at me, some folks would smile back on the street, the atmosphere was freeing, easy to get around with basic English, food was incredible, and young women actually flirted back. Make sure you visit Busan for at least 3 days. Its gorgeous
>>2847527
kek

>>2847422
Stop being so easily impressionable. That's how you get suckered by scam artists.

>>2847160
no

>>2847265
Wow. He's completely wrong on every single point he's made? What an unbiased and convincing reply. I'll book a flight today!

>>2847422
Have you been anywhere else in East Asia? If so, you'll see it as a cheap Chinese knockoff of whatever place you visited before. No? You'll love it.

>>2847642
>a cheap Chinese knockoff
Hah, there are no such thing as "premium Chinese product".

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>>2847380

Don't go to Europe or LatAm chud.

>>2847160
I genuinely cannot comprehend how autistic and mentally retarded you have to be for this to be your actual impression of korea

unless it's just another weeb seethe post

>>2847518
Lot of festivals(if a fee is required, light show/drone show or carnival like thing) or concerts really only take Kakao pay.

In 2015 Busan was an incredible place to be. $2 taxis, public transportation, walking was reasonable. Way down south there was cool island camping (I taught ESL in Tongyeong). I didn’t like Seoul as much.

Not sure now. I was 22 and an edgy atheist with yellow fever.

I enjoyed PC rooms, singing rooms, weightlifting niche, $1 soju bottles. Saving $26,000 in 2 years after contract bonuses. Friendships, exploring holidays, bars and nightclubs played music I liked.

Busan Thursday Party had a niche of westerners with Koreans that were more likely to know some English but learning Gyeongsongnamdo province Korean slang is a lot of fun actually, find some language exchange friends, get multiple tutors, practice Korean every day, be okay with not being 100% understood.

I’ve been in Busan, Gimhae, Geoje, Seoul, Changwon, and lived in Tongyeong.

Reasons to go back are mostly just food for me. Real local kimchi is incredible, the spices in the southern province had a blend of robustness and spiciness.

I had more fun in Vladivostok but Korea made travel there easy(before the war).
I could visit Japan a few times with 30 minute flights and gave me a reason to try out New Zealand.

It’s got its perks, benefits, advantages, etc.

This board has always had ridiculous hatred (strong word) of Korea with a very very vocal minority.

Also, Christianity is growing over there. My ex took me to church(very hospitable) and I only went because I wanted to pound her pussy. It took me several years of exploring before I actually was cured of my atheism.

I think Korea is a victim of the "las vegas syndrome".

It either 100% hits for you or it's a one and done thing to check off the bucket list of things to do. A revisit of Korea is HARD. Oh Lotte world.... yeah cool once. DMZ great can't wait to be told 500 things again to look like a tool surrounded by boomers. Oh now way this city has a train station at the heart of it AND it's the mega mall? WOW! Wait what's that weird air pollution warning thing about?

Maybe this is my shit take but the seasons in Korea are stupidly short, not sure if I have just gotten unlucky 3 years running but fall and spring felt so quick it was hard to see a lot of it like in Virginia, Japan, Germany. Nature can be amazing with some of the rock formations but only if you catch it at the right time, summers in Korea somehow suck harder than any place I've been and I have no explanation as to why.

Really doesn't help that Koreans will shut down white people they assume are American without a second thought from entering an establishment. Been to a lot of places I 100% got the shit stain service and felt it because they had a grudge. At least Japanese while they hate you will bite their lip to milk you for some cash.

>>2847422
It's not bad but keep your expectations reasonably low to moderate and you'll have a good time. Korea really has a shitty tourism industry since it's basically all government regulated revolving around the tour bus mentality and Jeju.

>>2848096
>My ex took me to church(very hospitable) and I only went because I wanted to pound her pussy. It took me several years of exploring before I actually was cured of my atheism.
wholesome

>>2848096
congratulations on joining a cult. i hope it's the moonies

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>>2848096
>It took me several years of exploring before I actually was cured of my atheism
Based

I'm in Itaewon right now, I arrived at the beginning of the month, and I'm having a good time. I might stay longer than planned because I don't want to go back to Europe as of now.

Granted, it's my first ever trip to Asia so I don't have any point of comparison so far, but the food and alcohol is cheap and great tasting, so many things to try and I love the spiciness and weird flavors of it.
I don't have much trouble to pay for things with my Visa card, and if I do, I just withdraw cash at the nearest KB.
I don't make a lot of effort to speak and learn Korean but I can still get around with no problems, and I simply bow at cashiers and staff to be pleasant. I eventually learned a few strokes of hangul as the time passes by, and I have a hangul keyboard installed on my phone to translate stuff, it's funny to mess around with it.
Koreans don't seem to be the kind to mingle a lot with foreigners, in part because most of them don't speak good English, but I meet funny foreigners in Itaewon and Hongdae almost everyday, pretty interesting people from all walks of life.
The subway system is confusing for basically 30 minutes as you arrive, then it's a walk in the park.
I went to a few specific clubs I researched beforehand, and I can vouch for the fact that Seoul's nightlife is great.
Free WiFi is available basically everywhere I've been to.

I haven't even truly visited the touristic attractions yet. I went to Gyeongbokgung and Changdeok Palace one early morning after a night in Hongdae, but I didn't feel like dealing with tickets and security, so I just strolled around the nearby random streets, and I don't regret anything.
I just walk around districts and enjoy the atmosphere, try some different things at the convenience stores, look at what people do (drunk people in Itaewon during the weekends are the funniest), and for me this is extremely relaxing, to not abide by a checklist of things to do, but just go with the flow.

>>2847306
Yes. There is plenty of solo female travelers in my hostel and they all seem to have a good time here. Some are into the whole K-pop/K-drama thing, but some aren't at all.

That said, be careful if you go clubbing, there have been instances of girls having their drinks spiked with date rape drugs, so watch your drinks.
This advice applies everywhere around the world, but it's easier to forget in Korea because everything is so safe and nobody steals your shit (except umbrellas), so you might be tempted to think scumbags don't exist too, but they sadly do.

Otherwise, as >>2847581 said, it's probably the best place for a woman to solo travel indeed.

>>2847306
Korean women pussymog you incredibly hard. I just thought you should know that.

>>2847160
OP i’ve been living in korea for 8 years now and I agree with every single point you said. Every single thing you see here is fake, low quality trash. All those modern shiny buildings? Full of misaligned and mismeasured tiles, unleveled floors, etc. the girls themselves if pretty, are covered in layers of makeup and would probably melt in the summer. Fake as fuck shithole country. I’m leaving in a month thank god. And the people are so goddamn braindead they cant even walk in a straight line i shit you not.

>>2848631
Why did you live in such a terrible country for eight years?

I love every bad review of Korea. More space left for me to have fun. Go to Japan if you want to see Japan. Neither South Korea or North Korea are Japan currently.

>>2848644
Is North Korea fun?

>>2848631
That's (mainland) Asia, anon. There is no Germanic culture of perfectionism here. Efficiency is the goal. Construction takes so long and costs so much in America because everything has to be done with flawless attention to the smallest details.

All the same, I think Kyrgyzstan is more up my alley than Korea. I want primitive nature populated by stolid sons of the soil living a traditional way of life...not glitzy modern cities full of uptight looksmaxxed faggots who spend every leisure moment doomscrolling tiktok before huuuurrying to their wagecuck desks.

>>2848642
NTA but lots of military people stationed for 4-8 years here is common.
>>2848701
Jesse what the fuck are you talking about...

>>2848096
I used to go to South Korea (Busan) quite a bit for work from 2015-2018. Whats changed for the worst since then? Thought about going back for a visit, does it suck now?

>>2848774
Just everywhere else is better in every single way

>>2848701
>everything has to be done with flawless attention to the smallest details.
lol

>>2848783
Well no shit, but Korea always had a great nightlife and party scene (at least before COVID). It's a good place to go blow off some steam, or at least it was. Going to Korea for history and cultural shit is retarded (they have none), its not at all like Japan in that regard, the country is basically one giant, colder version of Miami- a shallow culture that is only really good for nightlife, girls, drinking, food and nightclubs. It used to be very good at this sort of thing, and it used to be pretty cheap too, not sure if it still is however, which is what I am trying to find out.

>>2848195
Could say that about every asian country. The only benefit they have is that they are bigger than Korea so it takes longer to see it all.

>>2848809
Disagree with that anon, I could easily go back to HK and Taiwan for fun anon. There enough things that if you just google tourism or events in <month> tons of stuff pops up. Korea is like, go to this obscure knock off site of social media that you need to sign into with an ARC or citizen ID then know it's happening that month so you can buy tickets through a Korea only payment service or service that blocks non korea IP's then go pick up your tickets at CU or GS from a guy who doesn't know how to handle the foreigner version of tickets and then go to the event where everyone assumes your lost even if you're not.

Most Korean cities are see mall in center of town->go to shrine that is in constant repair unless you visit in the window of spring and fall otherwise it's tourist boomers and literal flood of elderly people reeking of piss->sit down for shit pork or chicken->go to bar where most people are incels and women are nice but something always seems 'off'->rinse and repeat

>>2848325
You were lucky to visit Korea before going to Japan—enjoy Korea to your heart's content.

>>2847160
>is there something I am missing?
i haven't been to korea specifically but from my visits in japan and studying history it's clear that korea's destiny is to become a Japanese colony ... only as part of Japanese dominion can Korea achieve greatness and find spiritual realisation ... in service to the Emperor they did build some beautiful shinto shrines in the early 20th century , and there was great potential there. alas ...

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>>2848834
there is linguistic evidence for japanese presence in Korea even in prehistory - the Peninsular Japonic languages ...
i do agree that the japanese hate in korea is so manufactured

>>2848829
I went to Japan first and then Korea.
I still prefer the people and atmosphere of Korea.
Feels like I am able to relax

>oh you want to go to that cool shrine/temple you saw a picture of yeah hope you got an ARC card because you need to book it on our shitty government run app that barely works
Never heard of this, you could always just get tickets to anything at the place, except maybe concerts
>Ha paying with visa? chump, not accepted here why you not have Kakao pay? Oh yeah you need ARC for that lol.
Again has this changed recently? I know China is stuck on alipay but during my time I could always use cash everywhere
>oh that cool thing you saw of these temples/shrines/buildings? Yeah those are closed for uhh idk... Oh no it doesn't look like that really except one short part of the season that lasts for a week or so
Lol it's the opposite though
>every subway smells like kimchi+garlic+fish even if you're on the 5am train it somehow still smells
That's just line 1, the rest have their own unique smells, like cologne or alcohol
>every historic site is basically a reconstruction of what it might have been way back when Korea was a farming nation
Hm yeah maybe
>Itaewon is a fucking joke(wasn't expecting much but damn), drinking culture is okay(?) at best
It died a long time ago, used to be one crazy place
>want to go up mountain path or hike get asked "what are you doing here?" by every passing 50 year old park hand?
I got old korean people wanting to be friends
>half the websites barely work when using an English function if you're a foreigner some shit is just completely off the table to attempt even if you want to pay cash
Yeah true, learn Korean I guess
>korean men are some of the biggest incels I've met, it's like /pol/ irl
Lol yeah but they're simps irl
>every point of interest you try to find boils down to shopping mall, shopping mall connected to train station, or shopping mall+amusement park
You forgot solo karaoke

>try to find some other tourist tips but it all boils down to "Seoul->DMZ->Gangnam!!! and maybe Jeju"
Jeju is awesome though
>women are decent but have insanely weird expectations on things or full on crazy
Accurate

Resident for 10 years left a few years ago this is my take

Travel tips: don't travel during chuseok or seolnal, get a transport card right away for seoul, try to do seasonal activities with country people it's more fulfilling and they're interested in you, whereas seoul is literally seoulless. Eat as many different foods as you can, if you've never had korean good it has a unique taste, it's hardly the same as other asian countries, best to eat at local restaurants cooked by old korean women, hurry before they're gone