So little is known about Korean culture to folks in the Brazil, so I wanted to point out precisely what it is that makes me love Korea so much. If you’ve been to Korea, hopefully you can identify with these points and if you haven’t, well then I hope some day you can pay Korea a visit and discover its’ magic for yourself.

ok let's start....

Food

Very unsurprising that one of the best zests of Korea is Korean traditional cuisine. The variety of Korean food is very broad and the quality is extremely high.

Some people say that in terms of food you have to choose the province carefully. The province where I live — Jeollanam-do is famous all over Korea for the culinary delicacies it has to offer.

Pork is a Korean traditional meat, so if you’re a Muslim you should be very well aware of that before coming. Of course, there are plenty of alternatives such as chicken and seafood dishes.

In terms of Korean traditional food Korea is indeed a country to crave for.

The drinking culture

What’s better than [legally] sipping sangria at the beach? Walking from bar to bar while simultaneously pre-gaming? Chugging soju on the bus/cab/metro/any mode of transportation? Or taking shots with the principal at your school? Koreans love to drink, I love to drink, so therefore I love Korea. End of story.

Soju😛

Yeaaaah… What can I say! When you produce a hard liquor that’s cheaper than water (no, seriously) and is available in every single grocery store and convenience store in the country,

For those who aren’t familiar with the bottle of liquid blackouts that is soju, allow me to describe it for you: only costing about a dollar, soju tastes like death and turns you into the sexiest, most talented, funny, and desirable version of yourself that you could only wish to be. The side-effects? Dancing horribly, singing worse than William Hung, and yes, quite often, vomiting everywhere and anywhere.

Korean are so friendly

In my experience Koreans are very warm and welcoming. When you go there as a foreigner many people may be curious about you. Please recognize this as genuine curiosity and not odd behavior. When I first got there I even caught some people snapping pictures of me. Given that I was new to Korea and still learning the culture and language, I was overcome by the patience and kindness that locals showed me as I stumbled through my food orders at restaurants or tried to find my way in the busy streets of Seoul. I am forever grateful for their kindness.

Honesty:

I once had a waiter chase me down the street because I had left 500 won coin (about 50 cents) on the table. If you drop or lose money, valuables, or anything, people will go out of their way to return it to you. For whatever reason, people in Korea are just ridiculously honest.

Leaving your phone and laptop on the table at a cafe and finding them still there when you’ve come back from the restroom. Losing your wallet at a convenience store and going back three months later to have the clerk return it to you – untouched. Accidentally putting too much money in the fare box on a crowded bus and having the bus driver pull over (albeit, bitterly) to the side of the road to make sure every last coin is returned to you.

Koreans are the most honest people I have ever met. And, I’ve realized that to experience all of the good forms of honesty, you must be willing to take the bad as well. So, don’t forget to put on makeup to spare yourself this honest conversation!

Hotteok

Speaking of outdoor food markets, this is how I discovered my favourite street food, hotteok.

I am seriously obsessed with this fried treat, stuffed with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Whenever I see a stand selling hotteok, I make a beeline for them and practically swallow them whole, one after another.

Making money.

If you are a native English speaker, want to travel, and earn some cash on the way — Korea is your place.

The entry barrier for teaching English as a Second Language is extremely low. You just have to speak English, have a Bachelor’s degree, and clean criminal record.

Salaries are decent.

Easy money with plenty of opportunities to save or spend in style, it is all up to you.

Free water

Oh wow, that’s a biggie. In other countries where I lived before they charge money for water. In Korea the water is free. The quality is exceptionally good. The dispensers are everywhere, you can come to any cafe, restaurant or public facility and find clean drinking water. God bless Korea!

Techinology

People say Korea is the most-wired country in the world, and I don’t doubt that for a second. Here, you can see a monk using his tablet (a Galaxy Note?) to take a photo of a map.

I love technology and I love how wired Korea is!!

Fastest internet in the world

A gamer’s and Netflix junkie’s paradise! The internet here is some of the fastest in the world. It’s also very easy to find free wi-fi in public areas, which saves me my monthly data and makes travel for tourists around Korea all the more convenient.

Who doesn’t love free wi-fi?

BBQ.

There’s not much to be said about this other than, YUM. So good, so cheap, so comforting. My belly is full of BBQ as I write this.

So, that’s my list of the best things in Korea! I will expand on the food section in a later blog post, and will also follow up with a list of the 10 things I dislike about Korea, although I imagine it will take me a while to find 10 things that I don’t like about living here!

To any other foreigners who may be reading this, I’d be interested in hearing what your favourite parts about Korea!