A coworker of Laura's is coming to Korea in April and is bringing his family. His wife is anxious to know what it's like and what there is to do here. I figured my readers here would appreciate a peek at my e-mail to her.
I understand you're planning a sojourn in the "Land of the Morning Calm," and wanting to know what to expect. This is my second long stay in Korea, so I have some experience to share, which may be of help in anticipating and navigating life here. I apologize for the length.
First thing to mention is quarantine. Hopefully the length of stay will be reduced by the time you get here, but at the moment it is 14 days. You will be tested once on arrival (I was tested twice), dual nasal and throat swab, and once more before leaving quarantine. Spouses are not allowed to be quarantined together, only a parent and child. You will be sent to one of a dozen hotels (no choice), asked to pay up-front (my stay was $1,680), and then instructed to go to your assigned room and stay there for the duration with no forays beyond opening the door to take in your food or interact with medical staff, for testing or temperature checks. The rooms are smaller 20 m²/215 sqft (note Korea is fully metricated), which is smaller than you might think. The food is invariably cold, and ranges in quality from school cafeteria to prison chow, and is generally underseasoned (apart from the ubiquitous red pepper paste). I suggest bringing at least salt and pepper, though we brought those multi-spice camp cooking canisters, which served us well. You may have a choice of Korean, Western, halal, or vegetarian meals—the default is Korean. If you opt for Korean, you may want to bring soy sauce, which is never offered in Korea as a table condiment. Laura found the vegetarian option acceptable. Korean interpretations of Western food can be baffling, so keep that in mind if you have and select that option. I also suggest bringing a coffee mug, as I only got Dixie cups, and those don't really work for coffee and tea (I ended up recycling plastic rice cups for that purpose). Generally, amenities are few (you can ask for more water, more coffee/tea packets, and sugar), and whatever they give you in the way of towels and linens is all you get for the 14 days. Typically Koreans only used a fitted sheet and a duvet, with no flat sheet. The mattresses here are firm, and the pillows can be flat, firm, or both, and you will only get the one. There will be internet, though you cannot access your streaming platforms (Hulu, Netflix) without a VPN installed on your laptop due to international licensing. Television tends to be mostly Korean, though you will probably get a handful of English-language channels (CNN, Discover, NHK World). In general, quarantine is difficult psychologically, and you will probably have one crying fit around the midway point, but it is survivable.
Now, once you get out, the first thing you need to know is COVID hygiene. Cases here are very low, but that's because they are very strict. Any time you are in public, you must wear a mask, preferably medical grade, as it is not legal to be unmasked except to eat, drink, or smoke. Sometimes you can get away with not wearing a mask when walking in the woods, but anyone you happen across will instantly put theirs back on the moment they see you, and you are expected to do the same. If you are in an area with cameras (CCTV), I do not advise taking this liberty. (In general, this is a surveillance state and there is no expectation of privacy; you should assume you are always being watched, even on the internet.) Unless you are skilled with changing your phone settings, you will get several Amber Alert-type messages a day telling you of suspected or confirmed cases nearby. If you are potentially exposed, you must be tested and isolate. You can eat out, but you will have to fill out a contact tracing form. To enter larger businesses, you will need to have your temperature taken before they will let you in. Gatherings of any kind are limited to four people. Compliance is police enforced, and infractions could result in arrest, a fine, and/or deportation. In practice, however, I expect the police will simply warn you, as Korean generally regard Westerners as clueless and weird, but mostly harmless.
Due to their isolated history, Koreans are monocultural and largely monolingual. Service people will be unfailingly polite if not obsequious, but people you see on the street will be indifferent in the extreme, with no smiles, greetings, door-holding, letting others pass first, etc. You may find people staring (more in the countryside than the city), particularly if you're blonde or of African descent. Learning simple phrases like hello/goodbye (anyeong haseyo) and thank you (kamsamnida) will buy you some goodwill. Like the Japanese (and not unlike we Americans), Koreans are stubbornly monolingual, despite being taught English from grade school up. If you are familiar with CEFR levels, they are mostly A1/A2. Understanding of English will be limited to simple sentences, and even if they are better at English than average, they may be reticent to use the language for fear of embarrassing themselves. Luckily, translation apps like Google Translate have sprung up in recent years, which are of immense utility, particularly when your request is more complex than "please call a taxi" or "please send up more water (toilet tissue, towels, etc.)." Koreans' facility in English ability correlates strongly with youth and education level. Learning Korean is probably not an option for you, as the CIA ranks it as one of the five most difficult languages of the developed world. Learning Hangul, the writing system, is fairly pointless without understanding Korean. There is some bilingual signage, particularly public amenities, but often you will encounter "Konglish," which is sometimes useful after a bit of deciphering, but often (such as brands or store names) is just meaningless, added to give the business a worldly caché. French is similarly used/abused, but unlike English, it is invariably of no utility.
Most Corning people prefer to stay at the Shilla Stay, where I gather the rooms are nice but compact. The T.Point Hotel where we are, just around the block, is probably not as nice, but the rooms are twice as big, with high vaulted ceilings, and may be better sized for three people. I cannot speak as to getting an apartment, only that apartments here are typically unfurnished, so you will need to factor the cost of basic furnishings into whether that is an option you wish to pursue. I do not recommend staying in Asan, which is nearer the plant, but it is more provincial, has fewer shopping opportunities, and has less to see. Westerners are also more of a novelty there, and you can expect more stares.
[I should have mentioned here that Koreans adore children and love to dote on them, possibly, at least in part, owing to the low birthrate. Having a child with you will earn you smiles you would not expect to get on your own. I will mention it if she replies.]
The neighborhood around the Shilla Stay and T.Point Hotel is older and more compact and vertical. There is not a lot to do within a kilometre, and walking more than a kilometre is very time consuming as waits to cross the street are usually long and not timed based on traffic levels. You must never assume a driver sees you or is overly concerned with rules or right of way. When crossing, look and double-look, and preferably allow the Koreans to start walking before you do. Even in the crosswalk, motorists turning right will creep through the crosswalk, coming as close to you as they dare. This is very unsettling. Sidewalks can be frustrating as people park on them and delivery boys on scooters drive on them. There are a lot of short-stay "love hotels" (rabu hoteru in Japanese) and sex shops in the neighborhood, which may give it a seedy look, but theft and assault are very rare in Korea, so it is quite safe, despite appearances.
For anywhere beyond a kilometre, taxis are easily called from an app called Kakao T, where you can look up some locations, or drop a pin near where you want to go. Google Maps is good at finding places or telling you where you are, but useless giving directions. Naver Maps, the local alternative, is better, but English input is somewhat limited. However, between the two, you can usually find where it is you want to go and where to drop a pin in the Kakao T app. Taxi drivers are generally polite, and they all take credit cards (I have used almost no cash on this trip whatsoever, but do remember to inform your banks of your travel plans so that your cards will work). They are, however, maniacs on the road, so if you're prone to motion sickness, you may wish to bring dramamine. You will want to carry a few hotel business cards with you, in case you pick up a cab at a taxi stand or there's some communication problem. Buses are difficult for non-Korean speakers, as signs and schedules tend not to be bilingual. But if you want to get outside the city, the rail system is fantastic, inexpensive, and very easy to navigate. The high-speed railway (KTX) can have you in Seoul in 45 minutes. The older system, Korail, is slower but services more of the country. Keep in mind that COVID has closed many attractions, so you may want the hotel desk to verify your attraction is open before you travel any great distance.
Cheonan is a city of 660,000, and has a fair number of things to see, including museums and cultural sites. For shopping, it has most everything you could need, except perhaps clothing if you are taller or heavier than Koreans tend to be. (Note the exchange rate is 1,100 won to the dollar; to convert in your head, a 75,000-won coat is easily thought of as $75, minus a 10 percent discount. There is no sales tax.) Ordering from the U.S. often requires you to have an excise registration number, which you have to have a non-resident alien registration number, which you cannot get without a visa, and then you must consider that mail takes 21 days to get here from the States. There is a local Amazon equivalent, Gmart.co.kr, but I have not had success in ordering anything. Most anything you need can be gotten at a Lotte Mart or a Daiso (both are in close walking distance of the two hotels, but also fairly common elsewhere in the city). Convenience stores here are ubiquitous, and generally better than those back home. They carry healthy options for food, such as bento boxes, and you can even buy wine and scotch there. The nicest are probably the Emart chain, and there is one directly behind the Shilla Stay. If you or your husband are military veterans, on-base exchanges are an option (there are 15 U.S. military installations in Korea, with 30,000 personnel), though I have not tried.
As hotel rooms only come with an electric kettle and a small refrigerator, you will probably need to eat out. The restaurants here are open, with the four-person restriction I mentioned, and with contact tracing info. You may also be required to have your temperature taken with an IR thermometer, which will be recorded on the contact tracing sheet. The good news is that Korean food is generally tasty (except the seafood, perhaps) and healthy. I find the spiciness of Korean food to be much overstated, but I also grew up on the Mexican border, so my tolerance for heat is probably higher than most. You will however acclimate. Traditional Korean food may be harder to locate and identify than Western food, as the signs are usually in Korean, but worth the effort. Many places have bilingual or picture menus, but you can also use Google Translate's camera functions. Shrugging is also an option if you are not particular about what you receive. Western food is easier to locate because the signage is usually in English/Latin script, but be aware that Koreans have their own takes on our food, and whatever you get will be laced with sugar. I'm sensitive to carbohydrates, so I have to limit how much Western-style food I eat if I don't want to feel ill. Vegetarian dining is possible, but it is hard to find and will be heavy on rice and noodles, and Koreans generally don't count seafood as meat.
Korea's coffee culture has improved, but there is still a preference for thin coffee and instant coffee, though espresso drinks are now quite common, and there's a coffee bar on most blocks. (Note that many of these drinks will automatically be sweetened unless you specify no sugar.) The tea here tends to be green, or brown rice tea. Matcha is not generally a thing, though some things are matcha-flavored. Koreans are big drinkers, and wine culture is definitely improved since my last visit, though Australian table wines are still heavily represented. All grocery stores and convenience stores sell it, and there are specialty alcohol retailers. Spirits can be gotten in the same places, and are generally brand names you'd recognize from home. Craft beer is readily found now. Koreans beers, like most Asian beer, is thin and flavorless, and I cannot recommend it. Korean soju, the local distilled spirit, is likewise unremarkable, tasting like gin without the juniper berries, and slightly sweetened. Despite the name, it is entirely unlike Japanese shochu. Worth a try is makgeolli, a kind of beer made from rice, but it may take trying a few brands before you find one that is unsweetened. (Soju and makgeolli are also sometimes sweetened with aspartame, which I find off-putting in my alcohol.) Fortunately the virus has meant no "business dinners," for which Korea is famous, and are just raucous drinking parties with the boss. In normal times, as a woman with a small child, you would probably be exempted, but your husband may be press-ganged into one if restrictions are eased. Doubtless he has heard stories. Everyone will want to drink with him, so I advise tiny sips, and to beg off with a medical excuse if it gets to be too much. Empty cups will automatically be refilled, so a signal that you're done drinking is to leave your cup mostly or half-full.
On the spiritual side, churches here are open but the services are all in Korean, and they tend to be of a very fervent evangelical flavor. There are a few Catholic parishes in town, but no Anglican/Episcopalian ones. I don't suspect there are any synagogues or mosques, apart from one or two in Seoul and Busan. If you happen to be Buddhist, there are any number of temples or monasteries just outside the city. (There are often vegetarian restaurants nearby.) These double as lovely parks, as green space in the city is quite limited, and something you have to consciously seek out. Inside Cheonan, there are two "mountains" (more like hills, at 140 and 160 metres, albeit steep) that have hiking trails, and the trees should have leaves by mid-April. I was surprised how little greenery there is in the city, particularly in the older part of the city, and how much of a psychological necessity it is, particularly coming from a rural area as we do.
By mid-April, daily highs will be in the 70s Fahrenheit/mid-20s centigrade, and will be transitioning from the dry season to the humid season. From there on out, temperatures and humidity steadily rise, and Korean summers can be unrelentingly hot and humid. Hotel thermostats are placebo buttons, as temperatures are controlled from the desk for the whole hotel. During the day, they will raise the thermostat to save energy. You can talk to them, but they probably won't lower the temperature more than one degree centigrade. You can however ask for a fan. When checking in, ask for a room on the north side of the building, which will give you a little relief (for similar reasons, asking for a room on the south side is advisable in winter), and you will probably be able to open your window, at least on the lower floors. (Korea has a high suicide rate, so windows on upper floors frequently don't open as a preventative.) The good news about the rising humidity is that it tends to improve air quality, at least temporarily until the yellow Gobi sand starts to fall in summer. You will want to check air quality levels daily before deciding whether or for how long to go outside. Some days may be good for particulate matter but bad for noxious gasses, or vice-versa. Going to the store or a mall is a good way to both beat the heat and breathe filtered air.
A final note: Koreans are an intensely nationalistic people, in ways that shock even Americans. This is due to their history, as well as deliberate political processes. Given that history, particularly around the Japanese occupation from 1910-45, it is wise to avoid expressing anything like praise for the Japanese or the Chinese. Similarly, avoid discussion of politics, particularly domestic politics. South Korea was a dictatorship until 1988, and still remains somewhat authoritarian. The continued cold war with North Korea doesn't help. North Korea and the Kims are a subject best left untouched, except to express mild sympathy in support of reunification. Be mindful that civil liberties, including free speech and privacy, are weak here (and probably weaker still for foreign nationals) and you are best to assume you're being observed. I myself will gab on in great detail about anything, so I personally have found it hard to keep my head down, but I have not been arrested yet, so that may be good news if you're not as loose-tongued as I am.
[The Korean state is often subtly authoritarian, rather than overt. Case in point: the Korea/Japan dispute over the Liancourt Rocks, which the Koreans call Dokdo and the Japanese call Takeshima. Search for "takeshima" on Google in South Korea and a Google-generated map labeled Dokdo is your first result. Search "google search substitutes dokdo for takeshima in south korea" and the first result you get is a notice that some results have been removed for being inappropriate for minors. Hard to imagine that search string bringing up anything lewd or criminal to warrant the censorship. "Don't be evil," indeed.]
That's all that comes to mind immediately, but I will write again if I remember anything helpful. I intend to leave the second week in April, so we may not overlap, but please write if you have any questions before or after then. Laura will probably still be here for another month or two, so she will be someone of whom you and your husband can look to for questions or just company while dining out. Please don't be frightened of anything I've written above. Korea can be challenging, but it can also be rewarding and full of insights and experiences. I hope only to have leveled the learning curve for you a bit.
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