One of my goals this year is to write about more than just product reviews on my blog and, while I’ve started a whole bunch of other posts before, I feel like they all end up being gibberish on my end – more word vomit than anything. However, while I was in Japan, I had this idea about not only writing about what I do while I am abroad (and Instagramming like crazy) but also working on a guide to my travels and sharing my experiences abroad. So, since I get the most questions about South Korea, I thought that this would be the best place to start!
So here’s a little about my experiences with South Korea:
I first visited when I was younger (possibly in the single digits) with my parents on a business trip and – let me tell you – Seoul was incredibly different back then. I actually distinctively remember that no one in my elementary school knew what Korea was and, when we played games, I would always choose to be Korea so that no one would ever call my country and I would never have to run for that dreaded ball. Oh yes, I was a sneaky little kid.
Fast forward all of these years and I have actually spent a significant amount of time in Korea. Aside from all of those business trips, I also stayed in Seoul for six months back in 2015 as an exchange student at Yonsei University. Living by myself and experiencing the country like a local, it definitely gave me a different insight in comparison to what I saw as a tourist – and I think that that is very important. South Korea puts massive importance on their tourism industry and, for that reason, there will be a lot of touristy areas and tourist traps over there which are fun at first but… it’s not the real Seoul you want to experience.
So, far this series of posts (and I have no idea how many I will write), I’ll be sharing with you tips and advice about travelling and navigating in this wonderful country, misconceptions about South Korea and… of course, the best place to go shopping. I’m your personal tour guide, here to help! This first post will be all about preparing for your trip – what to pack, where to stay, getting around from the airport and things to know in advance!
Ready? Let’s go!