First Impressions

The shock of coming to Seoul has (almost) worn off, and therefore it is time to summarize my first thoughts about this unusual place for those interested.

I must admit that when I arrived to Seoul I had a minor freak out. Reasons were my severe sleep deprivation, jet lag, culture shock and, most importantly, the size of my room.

Being a cheap bastard that I am, I rented a goshiwon, which is really a glorified closet with a half of a bed. Seriously, I have played on beer-pong tables that cover a larger area than my room. I can touch the opposite walls of my room with my hands at the same time.

A good thing about my room is that it has a bathroom. You think peeing in a shower is gross but I have no other option, seeing as my shower and my toilet are attached.

Another good thing is that I don’t have a window, therefore I can sleep at any time, seeing as I don’t know whether the sun is out or not! Also, no seasonal depressions (just a full-year one I guess).

Okay, so once I picked myself up from this coffin of a room I decided that I should explore Seoul to get my mind off things. Well, guess what. Korean language is a bit different than the Latin languages. You would think that in a metropolitan city like Seoul, English would be enough for basic communication, but you would be wrong. Even mundane tasks like ordering food has been a challenge for my s(e)oul (many more soul puns coming).

A critical reader might point out that my troubles are my own fault for being a cheap and language-ignorant chump. Which is a fair assessment, so I shall proceed to more objective matters.

Seoul is a big city, yet it is not a city for big people. All the shops are compact, so I find myself knocking things over all the time with limbs that were meant for empty plains and deserted islands. I also had no idea how big it is until I had the glorious idea of walking home after the public transport stopped working, which resulted in a 3 hour long sobering walk, where I almost died a couple of times in a forest right next to the highway.

City and nature clash in Seoul

So far I’ve had positive experiences with Koreans. Though their English level is still below-average unless they’re students, they are very polite and kind. They like their food spicy and their liquor flowing. In fact, the national Korean liquor Soju is the cheapest way to get drunk anywhere in the world (I think). Per alcohol it’s even cheaper than Czech beer! Unfortunately everything else is much more expensive in Korea than in Czech Republic, especially fruits, vegetables, and bread. So I’m trying to substitute all these other necessities with high consumption of soju. 

This is Korean wine, not soju

Anyway, that is as far as I will go for introduction. Once I explore more of Korea I will write more, however so far my comfort zone in Seoul doesn’t have a large radius, therefore I haven’t seen much. Here is the point where I write “good bye” in Korean, but despite trying to learn a couple words in Korean for the past week, I still have no idea how to say anything. So until next time!

P.S. “adult content” on the internet is censored in Korea. Quite counterintuitive, right?