Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Living in South Korea

Since coming to South Korea in September 2003, I've experienced ups and downs while living here. Thankfully, there are more UPS than downs and there must be since I've lived in South Korea for almost a third of my life. Therefore, let me tell you my top 10 reasons why I love living here. You may not be too surprised with this list but if you disagree with any of them, let me know! Let's begin:

1. I enjoy the food. There are various kinds of food I enjoy here including stir-fried chicken (dalkgalbi or 닭갈비), grilled pork (also known as samgyupsal or 삼겹살), various soups, and even kimchi!) Also, you can eat reasonably priced food (even in Seoul, believe it or not) and you don't have to tip. Unfortunately, I can't eat Korean food everyday, so I need my Western food fix at least once a week. But if you ate Korean food consistently, you would save some money and you would eat fairly healthy as well.

2. The public transportation in Seoul helps me not to miss driving in my hometown of Los Angeles. I do love driving but the subways, buses, and taxis are all very convenient here and much cheaper than back in the U.S. I don't have to deal with oil changes, car insurance, parking, and dealing with traffic. I have yet to hear anyone complain of the public transportation here, except maybe during rush hour traffic when the subways and buses are cramped. But what do you expect when 52% of South Korea's population lives within the Seoul Capital Area.

3. It's generally safe. I've never gotten pickpocketed and guns are illegal in Korea. Of course this is easy to say as a man since it would be easier for me to go home at 1:00am by myself than a woman. But most ladies would generally agree that they feel safer at night here than they would in L.A., New York, Chicago, London, Sydney, etc. I would still advise women to not go home alone late at night alone unless they really had to. It's always best to lower the risk of danger in all aspects of life.

4. There are plenty of areas outside of Seoul to enjoy. You can enjoy the city of Busan, which has the beach and raw fish. You can enjoy the east coast for that as well in the cities of Gangneung, Sokcho, and JJeongdongjin. If you want to just get out of Seoul for a day trip, you can go to Paju, Pocheon, Chuncheon, and Gapyeong, which are all within striking distance of the city. If you happen to drive to any of these areas, avoid the holidays and you'll get there in three hours or less. If you're in Seoul, there are many things to do as well:

• visit a palace (Changdeukgung Palacs is my favorite) 
• visit various museums (The War Memorial Museum is free and a must see)
• N Seoul Tower (a great view at night to see)
• go to various parks such as Children's Grand Park and Olympic Park
• walk around Myeongdong (shopping and street food)
• walk through Insadong (drink some traditional tea and eat good Korean food)
• enjoy the Korean Folk Village (located just outside of Seoul in Yongin to get a traditional Korean experience) 
• go to a baseball game (the talent is not quite as good as MLB, but the atmosphere is much better)

5. Koreans come off as aloof and self-centered to strangers. And although they are very shy at first, once you get to know them, you'll realize that they are very friendly and kind. I've met a lot of nice Korean friends while living here.

6. You can travel to Asia within a short distance. China is within one or two hours and Japan is between an hour to two and a half hour flights. Flights to Southeast Asia are between one and a half hours (Taipei) to six-and a half hours (Bali).

7. I've enjoyed teaching all different kinds of people while living here. I've taught elementary, middle school, university students, and business people. I've learned a lot about the culture (eating, dating, working environment, ideas about education, etc.) while teaching those various age groups. It has helped me adapt nicely. If you teach kids, you can get free housing as well. If you teach adults, you'll get a decent salary, and if you're disciplined, you can save some money.

8. The Korean language is difficult. However, it is fun to learn and a lot easier to learn compared to Chinese, Japanese, Thai, or Arabic. You can learn the alphabet within a month. If you study consistently (and I mean consistently), you can get better at it.

9. Things are very fast here: You get the fastest internet worldwide, you can get any food delivered to your house FAST (Korean food, pizza, and even McDonald's), and you can get your clothes cleaned within a couple of days.

10. Medical expenses are cheap. Five years ago, I had surgery on a ruptured left eardrum (it cost me approximately $600) and had my own private room. Last week, I walked into a dental clinic for the first time at 12:30pm, filled out a form, and had my teeth cleaned for about $14. I was done within 45 minutes and didn't pay an arm and a leg for my scaling.

For those of you that live in South Korea, what do you love about it? I'm very curious. Feel free to type in a comment below!

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy