About the Destination
During the summer of 2022, I spent two months in Seoul, South Korea attending a Korean language school. It was my first time in Asia and I loved (almost) every second of it. Besides learning Korean, trying new foods and making many new friends, I also experienced a flood and caught food poisoning. My two months were challenging, but also very enriching. But my decision to spend two months in South Korea happened rather randomly..
In the last few years, South Korea has gained a lot of popularity, especially through the rising adoration of K-pop and K-dramas. Through watching K-dramas like “Crash Landing on You” (which has actually some scenes filmed in Switzerland), “Start-up” and “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo” I had a slowly growing interest in the country and its culture. When I was considering travelling to Asia in the summer of 2022, it was my brother’s idea to do a language school in Seoul, so I could learn more about the country.
At that point, I’ve lived abroad twice. I spent a semester in California and almost a year in the UK. So I really liked the idea of staying in one place and being able to really dive into the culture. When travelling around it can become hectic, the focus lies too much on sightseeing and doing and seeing everything.
During my time in Seoul I probably only did a few very touristy things, like visiting Namsam Tower or renting a Hanbok. The rest of the time I just lived life there. I had a daily routine and was able to discover the city over the span of two months. I learned about the culture and the food and that’s basically what slow travel is all about.
To be honest, my slow travel trip to South Korea was a big inspiration to starting this blog. I’ve always felt like I couldn’t get enough of visiting places abroad and I always wanted to stay longer than just a week or two.
Slow Travel in Seoul, South Korea
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The Language
Different from other Asian languages, Korean does not exist out of signs but has its own alphabet, which is called Hangul. The Korean alphabet has 24 letters in total. 14 consonants and 10 vowels. If you’re interested in learning them, there are many great videos on YouTube that explain all the letters and give you tips on how to remember them.
The Language itself has a different order than English or German for example. To this day I’m still a beginner but I’m fascinated by the language. Did you know: that the word for delicious (맛있어요) consists of the words mas (맛) which means taste and the word itda (있다) which means to exist. So when Koreans say something is delicious they are literally saying “it has taste”.
The Airport
Flying into Incheon Airport is a fascinating experience, as the airport is located on a little island. When my plane started landing all we could see from the window was water. Only shortly before the actual landing land appeared. By bus or car, it takes around 45 minutes to an hour to get into the city.
The Technology
Korea is a highly developed country. You will notice this in many different areas. For example, when eating out. In many fast food restaurants or cafés, you can order with a touch screen. In restaurants, there are little call buttons on each table, with which you can call the waiter. When you’re on the subway you will also notice that most people are on their phones. I’ve seen more flip smartphones than I can count.
Speaking of the metro, I heard you can also load money for the metro on little charms instead of just the t money metro card. (Take this with a grain of salt though, because I haven’t tried this so I don’t know how true it is.)
Travel Stories from South Korea
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1. Activities (Especially 노래방)
In South Korea (especially in Seoul where I was) there is always something fun to do. Like 노래방 (Norebang = Karaoke) places are everywhere. If you don’t feel like singing you can also go to an Arcade and play some games with your friends or visit a theme café and pet a cat or dog or paint while you enjoy your coffee.
2. Korean Food
If you’ve read my “about me” page, you know I’m a foodie. I love all types of food but Korean food is on another level. There are so many delicious dishes to try and the best thing about them is there are often lots of vegetables in them (so you don’t have to feel too guilty). (Btw if you’re curious about what Korean food exactly is, here are 5 Korean dishes).