Holidays in Asia

South Korea
June 30, 2010 4:14am CST
Hi all, I have lived in Asia for 10 years, so if anyone is thinking of Japan or South Korea as a destination let me know. Or anyone who has lived/visited in either place is welcome to chip in your opinions and experiences.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@sk66rc (4250)
• United States
4 Jul 10
I live in U.S. now but I was born & raised in South Korea. I was 14 years old when I came to the States. Now I'm 39 so I guess I've lived in U.S. longer than I have in Korea. I still remember few things from there. I keep meaning to visit & see how much it has changed over past 25 years. I lived in Seoul while I was there but I had family member in a place called "Inchon". Not too far from Seoul. Used to take about 30 - 45 minutes from where I used to live. It's a lot like Pusan in that there's a lot of seafood place in & around Inchon. A lot of history, too. Jeju island is famous for female divers. They do deep sea divings for seafood. Also they have very strong accent so even if you're somewhat fluent in Korean, you'll find it little more difficult to understand them. That's how it used to be anyway. It is very tourism oriented so it may not be anymore.
@sk66rc (4250)
• United States
5 Jul 10
I still do speak Korean. Matter in fact, I work as a translator part-time. As far as Inchon, I meant the one near Seoul. In 25 years, I've visited Korea once for my brother's wedding. That was about 10 years ago. I must have picked up some habbits or accents from U.S. because I went into a small store to buy something. I started talking to owner of the store & he said I sounded funny.
• South Korea
6 Jul 10
Hehehe that is interesting. I guess it is natural to develop an 'accent'. People here tell me they can't understand people from Seoul very easily. I can hardly speak although I understand some things. They seem quite particular about accent and intonation - it is hard for me. Do you never think about coming back to work for a while?
1 person likes this
• South Korea
5 Jul 10
Hi and thanks for the response. Is the Inchon you mean the place also famous for pottery? I know there is the Incheon werw the airport is and then another on the blue line in Seoul, the last is in Gyeongi area. You should def come back and visit. Mind blowing change I bet. I have seen major changes between my first visits (as a visitor from Japan) to living here. Do you still have family here, or speak any Korean?
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@bestben (13)
• China
1 Jul 10
Japan and South Korea are both countries i want to go.Mount fuji and hot spring are very attractive.Cheju island and Seoul are also desirable places.
• South Korea
2 Jul 10
If you want the BEST Mount Fuji/hot springs experience when you visit I recommend Hakone. You can take a supercool train from Tokyo, takes about 90 minutes. There is an all day or 2 day ticket available which covers the fast train and then a heap of other goodies such as the furnicular railway and pirate boat. You could stay at a hot spring hotel/guesthouse and maybe even take a bath outside (rotunburo), with a view of Fuji itself. Heaven :) Jeju is also lovely, and don't forget you can get there from Busan - which is really worth a visit. In fact you can take a ferry from Japan to Busan - combine the two.
• Philippines
30 Jun 10
i have been to japan but haven't visited Korean yet. though i'm planning to start a blog about Korea, the people and trends around the world with the influence of koreans.
• South Korea
1 Jul 10
Sounds interesting. What kind of things are you thinking of? I know the pop music is popular in a few countries now, and of course Korean TV dramas too. I like both :) Do you have plans to visit Korea in the future? How did you find Japan? Sorry, so many questions. I am kinda nosy!!
@pipi_gogo (133)
• China
30 Jun 10
i preferred to Japan ........
• South Korea
30 Jun 10
Hi Pipi, Can I ask why you prefered Japan? I lived in Tokyo for a long time and was also lucky enough to visit Hiroshima, Kyoto, Okinawa, Hokkaido and many other places. I found the people to be quite similar to British folk in mnay ways - perhaps as we are both island nations. The total silence on busy morning trains was very odd at first. I iss it now I live in Korea - which is the opposite in noise level lol.