Hello world, I happen to find myself in Seoul, South Korea my first time to travel outside of Japan and into another Asian country I knew virtually nothing a week before going to visit So the one thing I did was to take a look at Google Maps and scope out the place from the air and the streets One thing I noticed was the clusters of residential apartment buildings I also saw some beautiful mountains surrounding the city and a huge river Since I knew zero about Seoul, I put the word out on the social medias and some kind people agreed to show me around so here's what I experienced during my one evening, two days and one morning in Seoul. And by the way, I was going to make this a Chronological video, which it'll kind of be... But I'm going to seriously get sidetracked and jump back and forth in time throughout the whole thing It'll be fine But we have to start somewhere, so how about at the amazing [ Incheon ] airport Yeah, I'm using Google Translate for all the Korean names because well, I'm guessing he's better than I am. Google Translate: [ Incheon ] I couldn't really ask for much more of the airport; beautiful, clean, spacious, modern Everything from immigration, to picking up luggage, to exchanging cash, to getting Wi-Fi was easy Although I did get dinged like five percent on the exchange Finding where the trains were was simple and my next task was to get some t-money No, no not this guy. These guys once in my hands I loaded it up at the kiosk and was ready to ride on the public transportation or buy some stuff at the convenience stores The train system was fantastic It's quite affordable, especially in comparison to fares around Tokyo, for example Getting into the heart of Seoul from the airport cost me four thousand one hundred and fifty won using the A'REX all stop train Which sounds like a lot--but it's really about four U.S. Dollars. Okay quick pause here I'll mention money a few times The quick and dirty way to figure out how much Korean currency is in US dollars is to divide the number by one thousand Yes one zero zero zero, one thousand. So if you have five thousand won, that'd be five dollars Okay back to trains Anyone who has traveled Seoul knows that it's about an hour commute to the heart of the city from the main International Airport Along my ride in, what caught my attention right away was the roads the width of the roads were a lot more similar to what I saw on my visits to the US and to what I was used to in Japan For example, let's pause it here. That's ten lanes in total in Japan the biggest expressways I've seen have six. While usually there are only four: two lanes going one way, two lanes going the other All right. So that's the highways, or expressways-- or whatever you call them The local roads were even more noticeable to me. In Tokyo, you can find some eight laners every once in a while But the design usually includes a median, more likely it's a 2 or 4 laner Honestly, some of the streets in Seoul reminded me a lot of some found in Vancouver in Canada And also like some cities I visited in the United States Anyways to sum it up: coming from Tokyo, I noticed that there were bigger roads and more cars in Seoul When I got more into the city, the train went underground and well the underground is boring footage So let's just skip forward to getting out and about at night Now, the point of my trip wasn't to go and party or do the tourist stuff. But because of what I needed to film Which was not actually this video I ended up staying in the university area of Hongdae where I'm told the young people like to let loose Here, check this photo out: Notice anything? My wife did. Arm holding After she clued me in, I opened my eyes and saw there were public displays of affection all over the place yep, PDA all over Seoul Now depending on where you're from. This may be mild or tame, but coming from Japan This seemed wild, absolutely wild. Anyhoo-- nice park, fun atmosphere Lots of people enjoying a night out with friends and lovers I was getting hungry and needed a bite to eat. Since my only friend in Korea ditched me. Thanks T Just joking, wedding anniversaries are important things. I had to try and solve my hunger issue all by my lonesome. I decided to limit my risk and pick a place with picture menus. Now I heard Koreans were fairly decent at English and I was in a university part of town So I decided to simply say the name of the menu item: Number one, aged beef steak. What I got back was a blank stare ( laughs ) But hey, that's why the picture menu so I pointed at it and it was all good I did do a couple hours of language study. But out of all that time The only thing I can say was [ Kamsahamnida ], which I think means. Thanks But who knows if any Koreans understood me when I'd mutter it. I know you're wondering. No, I don't think it was the number one aged beef steak in Seoul But I will say that within that building-- sure I'll give them that After eating, I went to some different areas These much more party like. I noticed so many things but to keep this video from going off the rails I'll just talk about one of them right now street food and street vendors It was a nice atmosphere and so much stuff that you could easily buy while walking the streets. Come to think of it, I only ever filmed people getting it. I didn't actually try any myself, but I'm sure it was all good Okay off to bed. I woke up and during the day I did the thing that I came to Seoul to do So we're gonna skip right to the night, where I did have some locals to show me the ropes. First stop was Korean BBQ Alcohol and meat, sounds like a fun time Yeah... I've got that whole Asian flush thing. What? You've never heard of it? Thanks to my DNA Alcohol makes my skin turn red It's called Asian flush and it affects about 36 percent of North East Asians with higher rates among Asian Americans Yep, so no drinks for me, but it was fun to watch The meat on the other hand, was great . It's the perfect thing for those of us on the low-carb diet Now I've been to Korean barbecue in Canada as well as in Japan, but it's fun to experience the real thing in Korea Of course Korean food in Korea is good After that I was going to go home but somehow another friend joined and I was off to a pub inspired by old-school Korea The ladies prepared [ Makgeolli ], which is an unfiltered rice wine You can see how it's cloudy. Since this is an old-school bar They used these golden bowls, which is reminiscent of what was used over a half-century ago And because you had [ Makgeolli ], you also need to get [ Pajeon ] which is a savory pancake There was also [ Naengmyun ] which are thin chewy noodles in a cold vinegary broth Of course, the ever useful scissors were used again. The food? All good I had to try a bit of [ Makgeolli ], Asian flush or not. [ Geonbae / 건배 = Cheers ] Okay, good morning. I showed up earlier than when I was to meet a couple fine folks. But really, kids to my eyes So I decided to take a stroll through the enticing gates at [ Deoksugung ] I had a chance encounter with this group. This was the changing of royal guards by the way I found it quite fortuitous, as it seems they had an eager following. To get my shots I didn't even have to run around like a groupie, lucky me Another type of group I encountered were students, some of them were having discussions in English So I'm assuming they were from the United States coming for culture studies. That'd be a cool experience for a Korean-American I believe most students were coming from within Korea though and in case not a bad field trip to take After leaving the palace gates I met up with my first set of tour guides Jonas and [ Yeon Joo ]*
*I hope this is right... if not, I'm sorry. I was expecting to solely go by subway and foot, but instead I was told that taxi would be the best way to quickly get where We were going taxis in Tokyo can be pricey so it was welcome news to her that taxis in Seoul are quite affordable starting at 3,000 won for the first two kilometers Where we headed to was an area in [ Nakwon-Dong ], it's full of small little alleyways and chic restaurants. Apparently it's not a foreign tourist hotspot quite yet, but it is popular among the locals It's taken an old area and made it hip with stylish cafes and shops And then there was time for lunch No, we didn't eat at this shop, which is making [ Mandu ]. We went to the more geriatric area just a few blocks over That's where I noticed this. I was pretty sure what was going on but I had to ask to confirm Yep, this random stuff on the road was saving parking spots In fact, I had encountered scenes like this in my first night in the city Kind of like how someone in Philadelphia will call savesies after they shovel the snow away Except in Seoul this seems to be happening without snow But back to our meal, I'll let one of my tour guides, [ Yeon Joo ] explain what we are about to eat. Okay, so this is cold noodle ( naengmyun ) There's two versions, with broth and no broth. We got the one with the broth. And this has vinegar and pork flavour Usually it's really chewy, so you have to chop it up with the scissors before you eat it. Koreans do the cross like this-- one way this, and one way this ( cutting noodles vertically and horizontally ) This is mandu. I think it's the same, equivalent to gyoza in Japan... But this is a steamed one. This one is kimbap It's similar to sushi rolls. Like maki. Pickled radish, and... what do you call, Some green salad and the most famous Korean dish kimchi fermented cabbage Next on the itinerary was going back to the west side of town to [ Mangwon-Dong ] Now we're standing at the entrance To the Mangwon market and this is close to the World Cup stadium So like until 3-4 years ago, one celebrity , They put this area on his show This place was quite bad but he revived this place and the market get famous with a lot of foods and like, snacks. So a lot of people visit during weekends with--for dates or family I was told this market was made by the Japanese, way back when. It makes sense as the overhead structure is very similar to what I've seen in Japan For example, this is an arcade in Asakusa in Tokyo However, the atmosphere is completely different. Whereas in Japan vendors sell their wares mostly in shops You can see here that the goods really bleed into the streets Reminds me a bit of the shops I'd see in Chinatowns Some vendors will be selling directly from the farm. So it's kind of a farmers market as well This store is where they sell kimchi, the most famous Korean food-- And they also have salted Side dishes (banchan) that you can eat. Everything, they put in gochujang, which is the red paste that all the Korean dishes use and they put salt, soy sauce, everything and you eat (banchan) with some rice. And it's really good Korean people love to eat with their dishes One of the things that visitors writing about the area seem to do is try and sample the large variety of food along the way I did partake in a few samples, but I was so busy filming and had only so many hours in the day So I sadly didn't take too much time to stop and taste everything I'd recommend spending more than 30 minutes that I did and to come with an empty stomach Despite some taxi rides I did find myself traveling on the Seoul metro system again. I found it quite easy to navigate The main system in Seoul proper is Seoul metro, which has nine color-coded lines. Every time you get on the metro. It's only 1,250 won with the t-money card for up to ten kilometers, which is incredibly cheap at just over one US dollar Every station I visited had protective walls Which was very nice to see, in Tokyo many stations don't have this and every year there are many accidental deaths One thing that was hard for me not to notice, was the relief goods storage area and the smoke masks on some of the video streams They also had a depiction of what to do in the case of emergency like a fire in the train I had heard that the trains can be loud with people talking-- and yes, people do talk on their phones at times, but it's much More quiet and orderly than public transit I've taken in Vancouver and out of the five or six trains I caught, volume levels didn't seem that drastically different from those in Tokyo trains Although I will say the Seoul metro system has way more video screens Now I really wanted to see inside different types of housing while in Seoul, I'm a creeper what can I say. But seriously, it's something that a tourist wouldn't get the chance to do and I wanted to be more like a local I totally failed in this regard, but I did get to know a little bit about the different types of housing That's because my next local guide, Peter who's an architect, was able to share a few things with me These buildings our office-tels which are rooms that you can rent for business But that also have amenities like a small kitchenette so that some people actually end up also living where they work Besides them and perhaps hard to distinguish, are the regular housing This area is really close to the old palace walls so right after you get past the skyscrapers you get these little houses crammed on a hill. You may have noticed that some of these are falling apart. Why is that ? I was told that some of these types of areas were redeveloped into clusters of skyscrapers Like this. Well, this area was on its way to doing so-- so why upkeep your place if it's going to be torn down and redeveloped? Like I said earlier. This is right near the historical palace walls. So redevelopment plans have been halted by the current Seoul City Mayor So this resident over here was telling us all about it And how many of the homes in front of him have been abandoned. others have decided to not play the waiting game and simply renovated their homes and Over the other side of the hill we encountered this completely redeveloped area If you use Google Maps on satellite view, you can see these groups of towers can be found all throughout Seoul In between towers I have to say that it's a very pleasant place to walk through There are amenities such as parks dotted all around and here's cafe seating-- sans the cafe I was told that some of these trees are very expensive imports from other areas, quite a different feel from the older areas of Seoul And what does an old housing area look like? Well, like this So the brick building in the back is where the most like Korean people lives with their family it has one floor for one house and a called villa in Korean and they're really old, so if you go inside it's really... what do you call--- the pipe and bathroom, kitchen everything is so old, like authentic Korean living there This is the one type of housing unit. I was able to get into as my guide Jonas was residing in one Here's a quick tour for all you curious people I don't even have a bed frame because it was sold out when I went to Ikea to buy it. So I've just never bought it since then I Noted three things that I didn't see in Japan or Canada. First was the bathroom. Yes the bathroom with no shower stall or tub So when it gets wet, it gets wet everywhere. A wet bathroom People, I tried really hard to see a more spacious and modern bathroom I hear they exist, but what I saw in another home was similar an all-in-one bathroom with no Separation between the shower, toilet and sink so that water would go down and drain and you need to wear slippers So as not to get your feet wet, but hey, I did get some video of a more modern bathroom- they do exist The second difference is the closed in balconies Most balconies in Japan may have a roof, but it's generally open air for drying clothes Even on the fancy new residential buildings in Japan. It'll be like this These old apartment blocks in Seoul have these enclosed balconies Lastly the third big difference is the roofs in these old buildings. It appears everyone has roof access. I I did a terrible job filming, but there was a little garden as well as racks for drying laundry Now you might have noticed evening was starting to fall, but I actually skipped ahead a bit So let me rewind back a little, before I went to see what some of the old housing was like I found myself back in the area of [ Gwanghwamun ] In the distance you can see [ Gwanghwamun ] gate, which is the entrance to [ Cheonggyecheon ]*,
(* Cheonggyecheon is not the royal palace. Gyeongbokgung is the royal palace, I think Greg just used the wrong sound bite :) ) the royal palace whose name means It's a palace really blessed by heaven. I didn't get in, too many other areas to travel to and through like the [ Myeong-dong ]* this stream used to be covered by concrete
* (This isn't Myeong-dong, this is Cheonggyecheon ) until in 2003, a project was undertaken to tear down an overpass and restore the stream While the walk along the stream is gorgeous today It actually didn't look like this before, when it was covered in concrete in 1958. In 1904, It looked like this After the Korean War in the 1950s, it was home to makeshift houses and was a bit of an eyesore In any case it's a lovely walk and the stream helps keep the temperatures down It's too bad that I could only spend about 30 mins here before moving on to the next spot... Which was [ Myeong-Dong ] I really only stopped here as it was on the way to somewhere else We were going. It's apparently a very touristy market And I'm told if you're looking for something more authentic you go to one like previously shown Next stop [ Itaewon ], first we had to catch a short bus ride to the area We actually traveled right through this mountain to get here [ Itaewon ] is the big boring area in Seoul There's a large US military base that's next to it called
[ Yongsan Giji / 용산기지 / Yongsan Garrison ] It has been scheduled for years to be converted into a big park like Central Park in New York, but it hasn't happened yet [ Itaewon ] is a lively area and even on the streets kind of feels like you're in the club Food. Yes, " I'm in to having food " is what Fifty Cent said Something that caught my eyes was the big open windows and seating. I can see everyone eating, from the outside! This is not just in [ Itaewon ]. But in all the areas I visited. Most restaurants I see in Japan seem more closed off and intimate While this area clearly has foreign influence, I felt that way about a lot of areas I visited. Some things were Chinese, some American and some Japanese I was actually surprised by the number of US fast food chains I could see -- KFC to Dairy Queen - [ Itaewon ] didn't just have a US presence. There was also a prominent Muslim section of town as well all in all, an interesting mix of cultures in the area We ended up tonight at a restaurant that served a variety of side dishes that you might find made in a family home I Didn't even ask my guide to explain all of them. As that would be an entire video in and of itself! And surprise, surprise-- again, the food was good Okay, so it's my last day in Seoul and I finally got to the Han River the massive river that bisects the city into the North and South. I'd been traveling around the North side So it was nice to get to see the South of it. This part of town, [ Yeouido ] is actually an island in the Han River and is Seoul's main finance and investment banking district What I saw yet again was motorbikes which had witnessed zooming all over town I thought Tokyo had a lot of motorcycle deliveries, but I was sorely mistaken. I really wanted to get a delivery I was told it was a popular thing to get chicken delivered while enjoying the waterfront along the Han River Alas, this was not to be this time around Something else I could see in the area were older style apartment buildings The numbering was similar to what I've seen with public housing in Japan, so I'm assuming it was public housing But I honestly don't know if this was the case So my guide for this morning was to show me the river park here where it's usually hustling and bustling on the weekends Quite a different scene during the weekdays though Something that I wasn't expecting to see was a high number of road bikes and a low number of city bikes In Japan, near everyone rides basic bikes. From mums with their kids, to grandpas out and about. I somehow figured it'd be the same in Seoul But it turns out that biking is a much more serious thing over here Kind of similar to where I used to be from in Vancouver. The day before, I had experienced fantastic weather But today was not to be the same. While it was forecast to be sunny later in the morning The fog never seemed to lift My guide told me that if the fog hadn't lifted by late morning It was actually smog and not fog One of my guides the day before had told me that many in Seoul are now learning to monitor the air quality through apps It's so much easier to see what's happening in the air. You can see the flow compiled from weather data And with that it was time to rush off to the airport, but not before I had one last thing to eat This time we went to a mall, which I think was the most non-distinct building I'd visited in all my time in Korea It could have been any mall in North America or Japan that I visited. Of course. The food court was a bit different though We did try ordering on a touchscreen, but it turns out-- Guide: You need a card, but I only have Samsung Pay.
Greg: Oh! So you can't even order.
Guide: Yeah :c I think this was the meal with the least amount of dishes that I had had so far a Big thanks to all those that showed me around Seoul and apologies to those I wasn't able to meet up with Thanks for watching, see you next time. Bye! Have you ever lived in, or visited Seoul before? What was your experience like? I'm... tired
