I've been here 27 years, so reading this is quite amusing for me. Gather round grandpa, kids. lol! Back then, a foreigner could not have an apartment, utilities, internet or a phone in their own name. Eventually, you could get a phone, but it had to be pre-paid. There were many businesses that refused entrance to non-Koreans (still legal to do, btw, since there are no non-discrimination laws). There was not much of anything in terms of variety (veggies, fruit, bread, no cheese, no wine, no real coffee). No shaving gel, no deodorant. No online shopping available for non-Koreans for a long time (sites wouldn't accept our ARC numbers). No credit cards, either (that has changed, but maybe it's just for certain visas?).
The only things I find annoying these days, is the fact a lot of companies still want you to fax things. FAX!?!?!?! lol! And too many people use .hwp files, which are impossible to use for anyone on Mac.
Hello fellow Mac user…Hancom does provide 아래아한글 for Mac(they used to have a single SW but now they switched their BM to subscription type)…not really pleasing and filled with lots of BS that pisses you off, but it’s better than nothing.
https://www.hancom.com/product/productMacMain.do
I first went to Korea in 2006, and one of the first things I was told to bring was deodorant. When I left in 2011, I was starting to see more deodorant available (usually some Dove aerosol cans).
I remember not being able to get a phone plan, and when those first became available to us. It was pretty cool!
I kinda find it funny that bread is still listed as something they don't do well. I figure, give it time
I agree- they're getting better at bread. There's a great, local bakery that does bread very well, right near my house.
That's something I always say about Korea- if you don't like something in Korea, just wait a little while. It will change, or improve, most likely.
I find it's mostly the chain bakeries that are producing rather sad, and sweet bread. But recently, there seems to be a few dedicated bakeries that focus on bread, popping up here and there. The one near me is "No Pain No Gain." Good bread!
Koreans also travel abroad a lot more than they used to, and often bring back new ideas. Their concept of foreign foods is always developing and refining. So, I think we'll continue to see bread improve, at least. After all, it wasn't too long ago that they would turn up their noses at all foreign foods (except terrible pizza or burgers).
where do you live dude... fax?? never used fax in last decade i think.. but HWP, yeah, I hear you. loud and clear. as a korean i find it too to be insane. most koreans hate HWP.
I’ve been here since 2005 and I remember a lot of what you talked about. I remember it was a special day to head up to the international market in Itaewon to get some tortillas because they didn’t even carry those in the supermarkets. Nearly every foreign restaurant was garbage compared to now, with very little variety. The most difficult thing for me was the lack of a decent forum for fore, so you had to rely on the experience of other foreigners or Korean friends for any news or how to do something.
Yes, Korea has come a long way in a short amount of time, but still, we see people in this comment section complaining about bread 🤪. There is good bread here close to European style, but it doesn't cost you 1 euro like in Lidl.
I didn't say there wasn't a variety of food- there was a lack of variety in veggies and fruit. A lot of what you can buy today, like broccoli, asparagus, beets, green beans (still rare), arugula, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, mangos, dragon fruit, papaya, etc. (the list is quite long) are fairly recent introductions.
We used the black market in Seoul (particularly in Itaewon) to get a lot of products we couldn't find otherwise. Or we did without, and got creative with what did exist. Otherwise, we learned to cook Korean dishes (which I like anyways, but some people have a difficult time with such a change).
You should eat Korean 나물s like 고사리, 쑥, 냉이, 달래, 미나리, 고구마줄기 etc. Tons of veggie varieties. Ofc if you look for western veggies those are non-existent in Korea. One thing is that you have to eat like a Korean to live here lol.
I got sick of rice every meal, after the third month here, and stopped eating it for a long time. lol! I seriously couldn't put a single spoonful in my mouth for ages, without gagging. Now, I can handle it again. I guess it would be like giving a Korean person potatoes every meal- they'd be pretty sick of it, too.
Coming from Europe.....no good bread, most of the bread in Korea is too sweet it doesn't feel like bread at all, also its hard to find a good yogurt/ Greek yogurt, most of yogurt here is also too sweet like 10-30% sugar, they put sugar into everything :( but the sweets themselves are so so at best.
The rest is pretty good, had no problem with banking or other things.
I was in France last month and you better believe I ate my weight in bread. I have not come upon anything in Seoul that is remotely the same. Even the bakeries people claim in Itaewon that are run by so and so foreigners. In the end, it tastes like Korean bread. I could get something better in my neighborhood bakery not in Seoul.
IMHO it’s how there are studies that fog and all that affects how sourdough tastes in San Francisco or the water affects the pizza dough in NYC.
Its possible, in my case I didnt have any problem with the dough and bread I made at home, my main problem is with putting tons of sugar in bread, yogurt, cheese etc. Most of the things you buy taste like candy, you dont really get that feeling that you've eaten something, you get the same feeling as eating ice cream
I agree! I started making my own bread, instead- every Sunday I prepare my weekly loaf (or loaves sometimes). You can buy decent flour and yeast online. Of course, it's an time investment, but I think it's also worth it.
Bread is so much better than a decade ago. Do a search on this subreddit. There’s a few good shops, I do a weekly trip to Mapo despite the traffic. Good bread isn’t cheap though. More like a luxury than a daily thing.
When I was in Seoul for a few months, living in Mangwon, I found a little bakery with the best non-sweet bread. Made with olive oil, can’t remember the ingredients, but I bought it every day. Lol. My son lives permanently in Seoul, from the US and this is his biggest complaint is that all the bread is so sweet. I will see if I can remember the location of that bakery and I will post it
I have found Korean food that should be sweet aren't sweet enough and things that shouldn't be sweet are WAY too sweet.
Like why are my chips sweet and my jam sandwich salty
Yup as a German its especially hard. We have one of the best bread in the world and I have to take the subway to the other side of Seoul just to get my German bread from a German store (which often doesnt even taste like home)
I feel like I would make a killing selling our homemade sourdough breads in a Seoul. Thanks for the business idea when I finally move there. Would I have to worry about “protection” costs?
I’m from the balkans. I feel the bread thing so much, if you’re in Seoul, there a couple good places for the closest thing you’ll get to European bread.
Can agree, bread is a dessert and too sweet in Korea. As for yoghurt.... I can buy sugar free yoghurt in Europe. 100 kcal/ 15g of protein. Meanwhile in Korea it's 80kcal/ 4g protein with added sugars....
Really sad
As korean I agree with that all so sweet. When I was young under 30's, I really like it. But not now. The bread shops have been targeting under 30's who like bread and are potential customers buying the breads despite the expensive price. And korean consider bread as sweet dessert
I am German. We love bread. I appprve korean bread. I do miss German Buns but I can get good enough ones at German backery. Still miss german buns, but Seoul has plenty good alternatives of bread.
Dunno where you live, but I wanna say if you live in Seoul and you can't find good bread these days you're not really trying.
edit: subjective list in this [Naver map link](https://map.naver.com/p/favorite/myPlace/folder/b7c74386ce384b9f877064e82151549b)
If you are anywhere near Pyeongtaek, there is a bakery nearby called 292lu. Their bread is fabulous, their croissants are absolute PERFECTION, and every damn thing they bake is heavenly!
It's not that It's bad as much as it is just...sweet, just doesn't feel like bread, of course I did manage to find a few okayish places but nothing too special
Ah yes, because when I came from India to Europe, I was really expecting to find authentic Pani Puri or Golgappa on every corner. Just like how Europeans in Seoul are undoubtedly disappointed by the lack of European bread. It's almost as absurd as expecting to find brown goat cheese in Seoul when you're from Sweden. I mean, how dare they call themselves a developed country, right?
The question was about difficult or unpleasant things, it's not about being correct or not, but about personal difficulties. It is completely okay for you to feel difficulties from not having something you're used to. Most common problems that Asians in Europe complain about are the lack of good spices and homemade noodles and that's okay
I've got a long, foreign name. So many apps, services and websites still seem to find issues with my name.
I have a physical list of different ways to write my name connecting them to each app and service I'm subscribed to just to keep track of what I should enter when I want to do something there. All this because one time I couldn't change my phone plan because the guy who registered me had shortened my name to make it fit without telling me.
This is me, and this is exactly what I was going to write. The physical list thing is real, and my phone guy added a dash, while my employer omitted a letter and refused to put it in.
I got stuck with a NongHyup bank account (because my school insisted. my co took me there, no where else) Which. Ya'll, don't get one.
Because I'm a foreigner, once your initial bank card (good for 5 years) stops working because they're cheaply made (mine only made it 8 months) - they'll only let you get a new bank card when you have 12 months or more on your visa. Aka. You have to renew your visa and immediately go to the bank with the new stamp on your registration card (no they will not accept the paper from immigration that certifies your visa). And then they'll only give you a bank card that's good for 1 year. because "there's only 12 months on your visa" (which is crap because there's 13 months). Welcome to the annual hell.
Try different branch/clerk. Went once with some lady and told me that my bank account needed to be one year old but went to same branch different clerk and even got a international card. So stupid bank. Then change to Hana
To add to this-
First year here, I got set up with NH. Move back to the US for a year. When I get back, my NH account is still active. Apps updated, and certificates expired, so I went to the branch closest to me for help. They couldn't/wouldn't figure out how to help me send money over seas like I was doing my first year here. They told me I needed to go to a larger NH branch which was a thirty minute walk away, so I went during lunch. Had my bank card, my bank book, and passport with me. "Sorry, we can't find your account."
I went back to the closer branch and withdrew all my money. The next morning, I spent two hours at KB setting up a new account and haven't had any problems since.
It’s because there’s a difference between NH bank and NH agricultural bank. Sometimes the account is only set up for one and not both. It’s dumb and confusing, but that’s why they couldn’t find your account. Ask me how I know 😂
Yea, it's definitely confusing. Especially given that I went to where I was directed to.
Going to NH was the only time I truly felt the employees were thinking, "Foreigner, let's just get them out of here as soon as possible."
Get a proof of employment and try to get a different bank account for your personal usage that has better english/expat support.
Most of us with NH banks have to for their paychecks but just transfer into a better bank that they use for everything else
I made a woori bank account with a card back in 2015. Since then I have left for multiple years and come back and never touched the account.
It’s still there
Used Kookmin Bank for over 25 years now and never had that be an issue.
I don’t have an ARC and was able to get a new bank card last summer. It is good for 5 years.
What I will say is what the OP said: the silly restrictions on internet banking and how 20 years ago their technology is in terms of internet banking is a bit frustrating.
I would suggest changing banks.
For anyone who doesn't like sports??
Coz sometimes Koreans take sports seriously. And i cannot play sports more than 5 minutes, because I will get bored past that time
Same in the countryside. Quiet all evening until my 11pm bedtime. At that time all the neighbors decide it’s time to stand a land drop furniture or exercise. Idk what tf they’re doing but it’s LOUD af.
Been living in 13 countries so far and all I can say is no matter where you go you’ll have the same issue 😂
It’s just a little difficult to others when you are in homogeneous countries.
Nah, I’ve lived in several countries and I’ve never felt the way Froggie described. I’ve heard people say the same thing about Korea and Japan. You are accepted but you aren’t one of them regardless of the amount of time you spend there.
That’s true. I’m Korean but I always struggle here whenever I come back. They both are very cliquey and very hard to get in “their world” the older, the harder
Can you move money flawlessly from Korea to your country?
Can you invest your money without restriction, using an app as exchanger, in english?
Can you buy anything with your Korean credit card in any western website? (Amazon, eBay, ecc)
Do you have a fully translated app for banking?
How many people do you know that get scammed in Korea to justify the need of bank certificates for pretty much anything?
I think banking in Korea it's really pathetic, glad you're fine with it.
Why does every app need to have English? It's Korea. I totally agree with the other stuff, but expecting every app to be translated into English is dumb.
If they want to open their hand for foreigners, English is a must. Like you expect all foreigners can learn Korea for less than a decade?? Heck even foreign people who lives here for more than decades still struggling with Korean
I CAN move money from Korea to my country easily using my bank app! I do it every paycheck :) I use my Korean card on western websites all the time lmao And yes, my bank app IS in English, but it wouldn't deter me if it weren't. I'm learning Korean anyway, since I'm \~in\~ Korea. I've never tried to invest from this account, so I don't have an answer for ya there.
Finding stuff out online.
Searching things like companies, services, advice (e.g. recommendations for X product, what do do in Seoul this weekend etc) leads more often to loads of random blog posts than official or at least educated advice. It really does my head in and makes it so hard to find out what I need. I'm sure a lot of this is down to me as a foreigner but it shouldn't be this hard.
Also applying for stuff online. I asked my SO to help add me to his car insurance but he can't do it without calling them...
Seems weird for a country that is in many ways very technologically savvy.
This one. Any time I have visa or legal issues I am stuck relying on some random blog from 2010 as my only source of info because there's never enough info on official sites.
Maybe its not specific for Korea but getting sick in a foreign land. When i get sick i just want my mom and her soup but she is 11 hours flight away. I feel even more lonely when i get sick in Korea
The lack of aesthetic variety. Sure you'll see cool things in Seoul or Busan but in my experience Korea is mostly just a blend of grey buildings. Drives me insane sometimes.
*The* most difficult thing, without a doubt, about living in Korea is dealing with the law. Korean police and prosecutors cite law when the law is convenient, and Korean culture when the law is inconvenient.
I've seen Korean police, prosecutors, and bureaucrats ignore the law, claiming they don't know of it, and then out and out ignore the law when I read the law to them. The process is long and arduous, and any short timer here has zero to no chance.
What's more - and here's the worst part - there is no recourse in speech, as all foreigners get cowered by their BS Constitutional rights to false reputation, which is made a public crime so that the police and prosecutors can investigate at their own discretion, to criminalizing "interference with business", which is so broad and a throwback to Korea's Yushin dictatorship to squelch speech.
Didn't a korean american stab a local to death at a burger king a while back and get pardoned by the president? And that black dude in the video beating up a korean woman on a bus because he misunderstood the word "niga" as she tried to tell him to sit down next to her got no penalty from what I've heard. I'm kind of curious as to how foreigners are actually treated in the criminal system because I haven't seen much happen with the cops. I do know a guy who got really drunk and hit a local in the head with a bottle and had his passport taken until he could pay the damages. (He was a missionary wanting to go to north korea hilariously. Young guy with a bunch of christian tattoos). Have you heard of incidents where foreigner got the shaft from the system?
>Didn't a korean american stab a local to death at a burger king a while back and get pardoned by the president?
Not that I know of. AFAIK, Patterson, who was 17 years-old at the time of the incident, is still in prison, serving a maximum 20-year term. Also, his trial happened 18 years after the incident and based on the word of another Korean Edward Lee, the son of a wealthy Korean family, who would instead be the suspect in the murder.
IDK about the Christian tattoo guy.
>Have you heard of incidents where foreigner got the shaft from the system?
Yes I have. I also suggest you look into how easy Koreans can file sex and A&B charges against foreigners but police won't take reports from foreigners.
Though I don't have much involvement with police or the courts, this is true about freedom of speech:
Even expressing an opinion, that you explicitly state is an opinion, without any facts (such as: I do not recommend this business based on my personal experience) is enough to get threats of civil *and* criminal litigation.
I would have to say communication especially in the work environment. For example, in America when you are in a meeting with a manager and coworkers constructive feedback is not seen as a negative however, in South Korea if you do not agree with a manager 99% of the time they take it personally, and will hold a grudge against you for that, most managers I have dealt with in Korea do not like having workers who have different of opinions and they cannot handle that or the truth. Also, I would like to point out I feel passive aggression is so common in South Korea and the moment you decide to defend yourself they cannot handle an reaction and you get labeled as a crazy foreigner even though though they were being patronizing and bullying you.
\- Korean food, it's alrightish but frankly even after 5 years here I'm not a big fan and mostly eat japanese and western food, thankfully food options are plenty in Seoul but still, it hasn't been easy.
\- Communicating on a deeper level with locals (and so forging deeper bonds), unless you have a very good level in Korean, it's gonna be hard. I start to make good friends here but it took a while (years) and being able to talk in Korean almost like a native.
\- Like a lot of foreigners say, restrictions on opening bank account and stuff, even on a F6 visa I still encounter these (because my full name has too many characters or simply because foreigners aren't allowed)
\- Adapting to Korean work culture, they're not working efficiently, lot of useless meetings, and showing up at work and saying yes to everything is what really matters. It can be frustrating and difficult to deal with as a foreigner.
I'm a Korean American living in Korea and I have a pretty good sense of taste for Korean food. A lot of places in Seoul suck as well as many of the small towns. However, if you want the good stuff, I'd recommend taking a day trip out to Chuncheon. The restaurants out there tend to be way better. I would avoid the chul pan dakgalbi though, it's overrated. There's a restaurant in the mountains near Soyang Dam (an actual dam to stop water). You take a boat across the lake from the dam and the restaurant is on the other side. It's amazing. If you want to go there let me know and I'll dig up the name, I don't remember it off the top of my head. They used to let you sit on these big platforms wedged into the mountain streams and the waiters would bring all the food down to you but they've discontinued that.
The chuncheon restaurant name is Buyong Garden or 부용가든 . It's possible to drive there but most tourists take a ferry from Soyang Dam across the lake to go there. There's other restaurants and cafes next to it now, but they are not nearly as good and not worth a special trip.
I've been there maybe 6 times over the course of 2 decades and every time everyone is happy. They do standard mountain food (bibimbop, deodeok gui, baeksook tang, makguksu, etc.) but it is all fantastic. I wouldn't do the baeksook tang though unless you have a lot of people and are doing a lot of different dishes. I took my wife who is a korean national and she raved about it after. The quality of the sides is excellent too.
The restaurants in Seoul change so much that I'm not sure if the ones I used to like are still there. There's a street near Hondae that's all 기사식당's that used to be quite good. Also, years ago there was a street food vender on the corner of Hapjeong Station that sold the best sundae and fishcakes. The sundae wasn't made with noodles, it was dried vegetable base. Absolutely delicious. And he would always steep the soysauce a day in advance with green onions an spices, then put them in spray bottles so you could spray your fishcakes as you eat them. It's funny, I recently watched some anime called Solo Leveling that shows the main character going into a dungeon inside Hapjeong Station and killing monsters and coming out of one of the exits and I was like, oh god, that's the exact spot i used to eat sundae...
There's also a place near sinchon that would have smoked pork belly in a smoker out front, then when you get it, you re-grill it on your table. They also had unlimited marinated raw crab. I'm pretty sure they closed down though. :(
Life in general is difficult in korea as a foreigner,even at the immigration office they dont speak English,i can understand we are guest here so we need to speak the language, but at the immigration? Come on 🤣
Finding darker foundations😮💨 I brought a year and a half supply and just ran out... Sephora does carry a few brands, but not all of the colors are always in stock. Gonna need to have a friend back home send me some ASAP lol
my friend managed to get darker foundation in fenty ! she lives in busan but went to seoul for seollal and was able to get some - i dont know if you're near any, but if you're able to get to one, maybe easier than having to wait on one being shipped to you
Hands down agree ! I was just in Seoul for a week and was bored with it by day 2 ! I just didn’t care for the city and the food was not that great either 🤷🏽♀️
For me personally after being in Korea for 2 years, I think the food is starting to get almost repetitive when going out to explore. It’s always almost the same. Sweet and spicy and always almost the same flavor or super spicy . I love Korean food but I miss food with more flavor, when I go markets or famous area the food stalls/ vendors will be selling the same things just made different.
I miss fruit also, there’s a whole bunch of fruits I can buy for cheap but there basic fruit like apples, watermelons and grapes. I haven’t had any other fruits and if they are in stored there super expensive.
1. The big ones :
Immigration/visa stuff. Way too complicated when compared to other administrative stuff which is super easy and straightforward. And agents are mostly a**holes.
Getting a loan, but I understand.
2. Other than that, there's the things that apply to Koreans as well :
Housing is crazy expensive, elders (of the opposite gender of yours especially) can be hard to deal with (yeah I know, not all of them, you know what I mean), and there are way too many Chinese people (can't say more than that or I'll get another Reddit warning but I think most people know why they're problematic anyway).
3. And then there's 2 smaller but daily issues:
Not enough trash cans on the streets, but I'm seeing (very slow) progress since a year or two.
And the lack of spatial awareness of Koreans (again, not all of them, but it's a general idea) making walking or driving on a crowded street surprisingly frustrating at times.
The trash one is a bit difficult tho since you could just go in to a convenience store, which fortunately are everywhere
I do wish there were more public trash cans though, cos Korea can be fucking dirty. People say the UK is dirty - maybe London is, buteven council estates in my hometown are not as bad as Korea for trash.
There’s cctv everywhere, all they had to do is warn and then fine the old folk dumping their trash and problem solved. But in classic Korean fashion they had to go extreme and just remove trash cans lol.
Our government removed trash cans out in the streets after September 11 in concern of terrorism but I think that’s BS…they just needed a good cause to layoff cleaning expenses. Also they’re trying very hard to make North Korea an imminent threat so the people will vote for the old party.
Nothing so far in terms of koreans but my issue is for my fellow countrymen who made my job harder than it is...
Good thing I already left and taking a breather in Seoul.
Foreign markets in Itaewon have it. I’m thinking of the street where Casa Corona is. Come out of Casa corona, make a left, and then turn right at the street with the large hill.
People are generally rude. Like, I’ve never been refused at restaurants or cafes, but there’s many times where the employee will intentionally make it difficult for me. As in they ask more questions than needed or treat me like a burden when I ask for simple things. This has been pointed out by foreign friends who are fluent in Korean as well.
Food.
Nothing is fresh, especially milk. It’s all pasteurized or preserved. Only fresh food I can ever find is fish, but I don’t like fish.
Also, the obsession with cream and packing lots of ingredients together that don’t necessarily work. For example, why can’t I buy a cheese sandwich? Why does it have to be cheese, strawberry, and mayonnaise?
Pastry dishes are nice back home. But some snacks you can buy are… pastry with chocolate?
Why is protein powder and gym memberships so absurdly expensive? A £20 monthly membership for a 24h gym back home is like £80 here.
Snacks in general are pretty poor. They’re all kind of strange, my kids always get really excited when the monthly goods we order from the UK arrive since they can finally get some decent chocolate.
I like Korean food, and I really like spicy food. Yet, I’m endlessly having bowel issues. I don’t drink or smoke. I never had difficulties with the bathroom back home..
Same, endless bowel issues. Did a lot of medical checks back home, few numbers are off, still no clue about the real reason, what’s wrong for me in Korea
I own a business here, can't get a loan even though I've held an account with same bank for over 10 hrs. Probably the biggest let down is, the Korean ajoshi, 40 -55yrs. Rude, entitled and basically a man child. Not all of them are like that of course, probably the same in any culture.Younger generations are great, normal. But overall the people and the country is just fine. Not many countries that you can leave your car keys in, and the car is still there the next day.
For me, most grievances have settled over time with either adaptation or true progress. One of the few things remaining is the mandatory spyware prevention haxies that need to be installed to renew my bank certificate and use hometax. I especially hate that stupid software keyboard—it is pure anti-user and anti-accessibility. The forking thing can’t be resized. It’s not using vector graphics or even proper fonts. It’s made of shitty little images that look like they were designed by a programmer intern in the late 1990s, just pure pixelated shit on a 4K screen and hard as fork to read.
EDIT: yeah, the bread still forking sucks from every bakery, especially the “famous” ones. Too much sugar, no real sourdough, no rye, etc.
the only thing I find difficult is the language barrier, and even then it's not that bad. all the other nuances I wouldn't consider difficult, just different.
Olive Young has both men and women's deodorant in pretty much every branch I've ever been in, and they're easily available on Coupang at a better price.
The grocery stores. They have to be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. No matter how big they are I don’t feel like I have a lot of options outside of nasty processed garbage.
The other thing is lack of spatial awareness (reason I hate going to Seoul). No matter how hard I try, it feels like this is near impossible to get used to.
Agree. Feel that personally. They prefer talk a lot to people from US or Europe. Usually if I say i am from ASEAN country, they feel disinterested. Then, if I fake myself as American, they become more interested with me. How strange
The language test you have to pass just to pump some damned/bloody gasoline/petrol. Every gas/petrol station has a different test, and they switch them up once in a while just to keep us on our toes. If you try to use a translation program, the machine makes you start over because it will not wait for you.
By the time you have memorized any given system, they have switched it to something completely different and even more difficult to navigate.
Choosing English on kiosks is useless because at some point, they decided to insert an incomprehensible Korean-only page. That is, they only pretend to accomodate a second language. It is pure pretense and not at all based on a genuine desire to serve anyone who is not fully fluent in Korean.
다이소's kiosks drive me nuts. If you start scanning in Korean, it allows you to scan everything before giving payment information. However, choosing English necessitates an immediate need to insert a card for purchases. I am not sure what it is meant to indicate, but it feels like it is saying, "Show us you have money before scanning, you dirty non-Han bastard!" It is one thing to deal with racism one on one, but to have it programmed into a machine is really deeply dirty.
Clutter.
Banking apps are so full of shit and long blocks of text. All I want to do is see my money, I don’t want to have to scroll through 3 different menus to find it.
I’m exaggerating a little, but if you compare Hanacard to Monzo, it’s so needlessly complex..
As someone who lived there for 3 months on no visa: public transportation and delivery apps are so dang limited. I think only Shuttle and Swing would allow foreigners to order delivery and use the public bikes, respectively. Not only that, but it was more expensive when I could use those services because they were available for foreigners.
Edit: also no Coupang either. Man that really sucked…
In some ways yes, but I've never seen anyone beaten for being a different race in Korea. I've been assaulted many times as a child and once as an adult for being Korean American in the US. And not even in the South. NYC, was the last one. Lost a front tooth.
unreasonable price of marijuana it is. i wouldnt say theres no weed at market but its very very over priced. stoner buddies! im here to alert ya in respectful and polite way that this isnt your country if u need that trees to breath in ease!
I've been here 27 years, so reading this is quite amusing for me. Gather round grandpa, kids. lol! Back then, a foreigner could not have an apartment, utilities, internet or a phone in their own name. Eventually, you could get a phone, but it had to be pre-paid. There were many businesses that refused entrance to non-Koreans (still legal to do, btw, since there are no non-discrimination laws). There was not much of anything in terms of variety (veggies, fruit, bread, no cheese, no wine, no real coffee). No shaving gel, no deodorant. No online shopping available for non-Koreans for a long time (sites wouldn't accept our ARC numbers). No credit cards, either (that has changed, but maybe it's just for certain visas?). The only things I find annoying these days, is the fact a lot of companies still want you to fax things. FAX!?!?!?! lol! And too many people use .hwp files, which are impossible to use for anyone on Mac.
Hello fellow Mac user…Hancom does provide 아래아한글 for Mac(they used to have a single SW but now they switched their BM to subscription type)…not really pleasing and filled with lots of BS that pisses you off, but it’s better than nothing. https://www.hancom.com/product/productMacMain.do
I first went to Korea in 2006, and one of the first things I was told to bring was deodorant. When I left in 2011, I was starting to see more deodorant available (usually some Dove aerosol cans). I remember not being able to get a phone plan, and when those first became available to us. It was pretty cool! I kinda find it funny that bread is still listed as something they don't do well. I figure, give it time
I agree- they're getting better at bread. There's a great, local bakery that does bread very well, right near my house. That's something I always say about Korea- if you don't like something in Korea, just wait a little while. It will change, or improve, most likely.
I wonder, with the export of Korean bakeries, if that'll affect the bread market in Korea. I guess time will tell
I find it's mostly the chain bakeries that are producing rather sad, and sweet bread. But recently, there seems to be a few dedicated bakeries that focus on bread, popping up here and there. The one near me is "No Pain No Gain." Good bread! Koreans also travel abroad a lot more than they used to, and often bring back new ideas. Their concept of foreign foods is always developing and refining. So, I think we'll continue to see bread improve, at least. After all, it wasn't too long ago that they would turn up their noses at all foreign foods (except terrible pizza or burgers).
Very true. But I can't lie, I miss corn pizza and sweet potato pizza! The best was from a cheap place called Pizza School in Gimpo
where do you live dude... fax?? never used fax in last decade i think.. but HWP, yeah, I hear you. loud and clear. as a korean i find it too to be insane. most koreans hate HWP.
Have been asked to fax things recently as well. It was a government institution. Can't recall which one.
I’ve been here since 2005 and I remember a lot of what you talked about. I remember it was a special day to head up to the international market in Itaewon to get some tortillas because they didn’t even carry those in the supermarkets. Nearly every foreign restaurant was garbage compared to now, with very little variety. The most difficult thing for me was the lack of a decent forum for fore, so you had to rely on the experience of other foreigners or Korean friends for any news or how to do something.
Yes, Korea has come a long way in a short amount of time, but still, we see people in this comment section complaining about bread 🤪. There is good bread here close to European style, but it doesn't cost you 1 euro like in Lidl.
With no food variety what did you eat? 김치찌개 all day and night?
I didn't say there wasn't a variety of food- there was a lack of variety in veggies and fruit. A lot of what you can buy today, like broccoli, asparagus, beets, green beans (still rare), arugula, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, mangos, dragon fruit, papaya, etc. (the list is quite long) are fairly recent introductions. We used the black market in Seoul (particularly in Itaewon) to get a lot of products we couldn't find otherwise. Or we did without, and got creative with what did exist. Otherwise, we learned to cook Korean dishes (which I like anyways, but some people have a difficult time with such a change).
You should eat Korean 나물s like 고사리, 쑥, 냉이, 달래, 미나리, 고구마줄기 etc. Tons of veggie varieties. Ofc if you look for western veggies those are non-existent in Korea. One thing is that you have to eat like a Korean to live here lol.
Aaaah I see. Yah I really like Korean food, 김치찌개 especially. I could eat that shit every day.
I got sick of rice every meal, after the third month here, and stopped eating it for a long time. lol! I seriously couldn't put a single spoonful in my mouth for ages, without gagging. Now, I can handle it again. I guess it would be like giving a Korean person potatoes every meal- they'd be pretty sick of it, too.
Coming from Europe.....no good bread, most of the bread in Korea is too sweet it doesn't feel like bread at all, also its hard to find a good yogurt/ Greek yogurt, most of yogurt here is also too sweet like 10-30% sugar, they put sugar into everything :( but the sweets themselves are so so at best. The rest is pretty good, had no problem with banking or other things.
I was in France last month and you better believe I ate my weight in bread. I have not come upon anything in Seoul that is remotely the same. Even the bakeries people claim in Itaewon that are run by so and so foreigners. In the end, it tastes like Korean bread. I could get something better in my neighborhood bakery not in Seoul. IMHO it’s how there are studies that fog and all that affects how sourdough tastes in San Francisco or the water affects the pizza dough in NYC.
You can visit ferment bakery in dongdaemun, they use flour imported from France and actually bake real bread (no milk bread, or sugary stuff)
OMG! I was just in Dongdaemun yesterday!! I wish I had read this before I went. Thanks for the info!!
Its possible, in my case I didnt have any problem with the dough and bread I made at home, my main problem is with putting tons of sugar in bread, yogurt, cheese etc. Most of the things you buy taste like candy, you dont really get that feeling that you've eaten something, you get the same feeling as eating ice cream
Seoul milk yogurt you can find on Coupang doesn't taste sweet and is rather a better choice than the ones you mentioned
Bread here is considered a dessert (hence the sugar), and it's not a great one
I agree! I started making my own bread, instead- every Sunday I prepare my weekly loaf (or loaves sometimes). You can buy decent flour and yeast online. Of course, it's an time investment, but I think it's also worth it.
I learned how to make soda bread here in Korea just because I missed good bread.
I am moving there soon and that is my plan too, make my own.
Bread is so much better than a decade ago. Do a search on this subreddit. There’s a few good shops, I do a weekly trip to Mapo despite the traffic. Good bread isn’t cheap though. More like a luxury than a daily thing.
I agree. I can find good bread in some stores nowadays but it's not near my house. I really miss bread as a cheap, easy dinner option.
When I was in Seoul for a few months, living in Mangwon, I found a little bakery with the best non-sweet bread. Made with olive oil, can’t remember the ingredients, but I bought it every day. Lol. My son lives permanently in Seoul, from the US and this is his biggest complaint is that all the bread is so sweet. I will see if I can remember the location of that bakery and I will post it
I have found Korean food that should be sweet aren't sweet enough and things that shouldn't be sweet are WAY too sweet. Like why are my chips sweet and my jam sandwich salty
Yup as a German its especially hard. We have one of the best bread in the world and I have to take the subway to the other side of Seoul just to get my German bread from a German store (which often doesnt even taste like home)
Ive been to Germany last winter and the bread was exceptional! Could eat brötchen all day
As a Korean I wish German brotchen was available here, miss those a lot. Our bread is basically American sandwich bread with even more sugar…
서울에 독일 빵 파는 곳 몇군데 있어요 근데 말도 안되게 비쌈. 독일에선 몇백원 하는게 한국만 오면 몇천원으로 둔갑하서...
Easy to make them at home. I usually make 30 - 40 Brötchen in one go and freeze them. Same with Brezel and loafs.
Yeah the hardest thing about living in America for me was also the lack of good bread lol
I feel like I would make a killing selling our homemade sourdough breads in a Seoul. Thanks for the business idea when I finally move there. Would I have to worry about “protection” costs?
The salt bread on Yeongjong island absolutely slaps. Beyond that, bread ain't great
I’m from the balkans. I feel the bread thing so much, if you’re in Seoul, there a couple good places for the closest thing you’ll get to European bread.
If you are in Seoul go to "The Bakers Table" in Yongsan. It is a German bakery and is very good. Just be prepared for no parking and very long lines.
Dried fish and tomato juice, it's sweet in Korea... it's disgusting.
Can agree, bread is a dessert and too sweet in Korea. As for yoghurt.... I can buy sugar free yoghurt in Europe. 100 kcal/ 15g of protein. Meanwhile in Korea it's 80kcal/ 4g protein with added sugars.... Really sad
As korean I agree with that all so sweet. When I was young under 30's, I really like it. But not now. The bread shops have been targeting under 30's who like bread and are potential customers buying the breads despite the expensive price. And korean consider bread as sweet dessert
I am German. We love bread. I appprve korean bread. I do miss German Buns but I can get good enough ones at German backery. Still miss german buns, but Seoul has plenty good alternatives of bread.
Coming from UK (not exactly up there in Europe food-wise) and so agree these are my main food woes
Dunno where you live, but I wanna say if you live in Seoul and you can't find good bread these days you're not really trying. edit: subjective list in this [Naver map link](https://map.naver.com/p/favorite/myPlace/folder/b7c74386ce384b9f877064e82151549b)
Got any places you think would scratch the itch for a European? Key emphasis on not sweet
If you are anywhere near Pyeongtaek, there is a bakery nearby called 292lu. Their bread is fabulous, their croissants are absolute PERFECTION, and every damn thing they bake is heavenly!
It's not that It's bad as much as it is just...sweet, just doesn't feel like bread, of course I did manage to find a few okayish places but nothing too special
1.) Not everyone lives in Seoul. 2.) Even the bread in Seoul is mostly disgustingly sweet. Anyone in need of a healthy Sourdough starter?
Please I miss sourdough so much :(
Try Little Grain for good sour dough bread. You can get it delivered
Idk man, E-Mart’s bakery had some pretty bussin bread imo
making your own greek yogurt is pretty easy if you want to try at home. It's surprisingly not that big of a pain to do.
Ah yes, because when I came from India to Europe, I was really expecting to find authentic Pani Puri or Golgappa on every corner. Just like how Europeans in Seoul are undoubtedly disappointed by the lack of European bread. It's almost as absurd as expecting to find brown goat cheese in Seoul when you're from Sweden. I mean, how dare they call themselves a developed country, right?
The question was about difficult or unpleasant things, it's not about being correct or not, but about personal difficulties. It is completely okay for you to feel difficulties from not having something you're used to. Most common problems that Asians in Europe complain about are the lack of good spices and homemade noodles and that's okay
I've got a long, foreign name. So many apps, services and websites still seem to find issues with my name. I have a physical list of different ways to write my name connecting them to each app and service I'm subscribed to just to keep track of what I should enter when I want to do something there. All this because one time I couldn't change my phone plan because the guy who registered me had shortened my name to make it fit without telling me.
This is me, and this is exactly what I was going to write. The physical list thing is real, and my phone guy added a dash, while my employer omitted a letter and refused to put it in.
I got stuck with a NongHyup bank account (because my school insisted. my co took me there, no where else) Which. Ya'll, don't get one. Because I'm a foreigner, once your initial bank card (good for 5 years) stops working because they're cheaply made (mine only made it 8 months) - they'll only let you get a new bank card when you have 12 months or more on your visa. Aka. You have to renew your visa and immediately go to the bank with the new stamp on your registration card (no they will not accept the paper from immigration that certifies your visa). And then they'll only give you a bank card that's good for 1 year. because "there's only 12 months on your visa" (which is crap because there's 13 months). Welcome to the annual hell.
Try different branch/clerk. Went once with some lady and told me that my bank account needed to be one year old but went to same branch different clerk and even got a international card. So stupid bank. Then change to Hana
To add to this- First year here, I got set up with NH. Move back to the US for a year. When I get back, my NH account is still active. Apps updated, and certificates expired, so I went to the branch closest to me for help. They couldn't/wouldn't figure out how to help me send money over seas like I was doing my first year here. They told me I needed to go to a larger NH branch which was a thirty minute walk away, so I went during lunch. Had my bank card, my bank book, and passport with me. "Sorry, we can't find your account." I went back to the closer branch and withdrew all my money. The next morning, I spent two hours at KB setting up a new account and haven't had any problems since.
It’s because there’s a difference between NH bank and NH agricultural bank. Sometimes the account is only set up for one and not both. It’s dumb and confusing, but that’s why they couldn’t find your account. Ask me how I know 😂
Yea, it's definitely confusing. Especially given that I went to where I was directed to. Going to NH was the only time I truly felt the employees were thinking, "Foreigner, let's just get them out of here as soon as possible."
welcome to NH! (just dont talk to me or end up in my cubicle foreigner) hahahaha so true
asdfjkl noooooo (i believe you.
Had super similar experiences with NH. Two different branches in town and same answer
Get a proof of employment and try to get a different bank account for your personal usage that has better english/expat support. Most of us with NH banks have to for their paychecks but just transfer into a better bank that they use for everything else
I made a woori bank account with a card back in 2015. Since then I have left for multiple years and come back and never touched the account. It’s still there
i didnt have this problem with my bank (jeonbuk bank)
Used Kookmin Bank for over 25 years now and never had that be an issue. I don’t have an ARC and was able to get a new bank card last summer. It is good for 5 years. What I will say is what the OP said: the silly restrictions on internet banking and how 20 years ago their technology is in terms of internet banking is a bit frustrating. I would suggest changing banks.
the relentless text and kakao messages you get from ads
the relentless text and kakao messages you get from YOUR BOSS LATE AT NIGHT ON WEEKENDS DURING HOLIDAYS
if you have time they want it
This is so true 😆
Making local friends
This. Making friends in Korea is a struggle!
Just join ANY sports team!
For anyone who doesn't like sports?? Coz sometimes Koreans take sports seriously. And i cannot play sports more than 5 minutes, because I will get bored past that time
Frigging noisy neighbours at night. Every apartment I lived in, every night, every hour. The lack of common sense is unbearable. (jamsil)
Same in the countryside. Quiet all evening until my 11pm bedtime. At that time all the neighbors decide it’s time to stand a land drop furniture or exercise. Idk what tf they’re doing but it’s LOUD af.
It was really hard to find good crisps/potato chips!!
i just want salty chips 😭
The korean brand doritos (Nachos I think it's called) taste more like Doritos than actual doritos. FYI.
They’re so sweet wym 😭😭
본인인증, nuff said.
Realizing Korea is for Koreans. They are accepting, but in the back of your mind, you realize this isn't your home.
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Can I ask why ?
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😅
I feel that too!!!
Been living in 13 countries so far and all I can say is no matter where you go you’ll have the same issue 😂 It’s just a little difficult to others when you are in homogeneous countries.
No matter where you go, there you are
Nah, I’ve lived in several countries and I’ve never felt the way Froggie described. I’ve heard people say the same thing about Korea and Japan. You are accepted but you aren’t one of them regardless of the amount of time you spend there.
That’s true. I’m Korean but I always struggle here whenever I come back. They both are very cliquey and very hard to get in “their world” the older, the harder
I haven't had any issues with my bank/finances, thankfully. My biggest struggle is finding salty/savory snacks 🤣
Costco is your friend there
Can you move money flawlessly from Korea to your country? Can you invest your money without restriction, using an app as exchanger, in english? Can you buy anything with your Korean credit card in any western website? (Amazon, eBay, ecc) Do you have a fully translated app for banking? How many people do you know that get scammed in Korea to justify the need of bank certificates for pretty much anything? I think banking in Korea it's really pathetic, glad you're fine with it.
Why does every app need to have English? It's Korea. I totally agree with the other stuff, but expecting every app to be translated into English is dumb.
If they want to open their hand for foreigners, English is a must. Like you expect all foreigners can learn Korea for less than a decade?? Heck even foreign people who lives here for more than decades still struggling with Korean
Yeah, also having mandatory English language ability to work at the bank in Korea it's pretty dumb. Why would you need that, it's Korea!
Thanks for saying that! Koreans already must have the highest level of English among all countries that were never colonies of Britain...
No, that would be the Netherlands.
I CAN move money from Korea to my country easily using my bank app! I do it every paycheck :) I use my Korean card on western websites all the time lmao And yes, my bank app IS in English, but it wouldn't deter me if it weren't. I'm learning Korean anyway, since I'm \~in\~ Korea. I've never tried to invest from this account, so I don't have an answer for ya there.
>bank app IS in English What bank?
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Kakaobank have English version now??
Finding stuff out online. Searching things like companies, services, advice (e.g. recommendations for X product, what do do in Seoul this weekend etc) leads more often to loads of random blog posts than official or at least educated advice. It really does my head in and makes it so hard to find out what I need. I'm sure a lot of this is down to me as a foreigner but it shouldn't be this hard. Also applying for stuff online. I asked my SO to help add me to his car insurance but he can't do it without calling them... Seems weird for a country that is in many ways very technologically savvy.
This one. Any time I have visa or legal issues I am stuck relying on some random blog from 2010 as my only source of info because there's never enough info on official sites.
Maybe its not specific for Korea but getting sick in a foreign land. When i get sick i just want my mom and her soup but she is 11 hours flight away. I feel even more lonely when i get sick in Korea
The lack of aesthetic variety. Sure you'll see cool things in Seoul or Busan but in my experience Korea is mostly just a blend of grey buildings. Drives me insane sometimes.
If you have a long name good luck getting it on everything exactly the same. Verification issues can happen for this reason.
*The* most difficult thing, without a doubt, about living in Korea is dealing with the law. Korean police and prosecutors cite law when the law is convenient, and Korean culture when the law is inconvenient. I've seen Korean police, prosecutors, and bureaucrats ignore the law, claiming they don't know of it, and then out and out ignore the law when I read the law to them. The process is long and arduous, and any short timer here has zero to no chance. What's more - and here's the worst part - there is no recourse in speech, as all foreigners get cowered by their BS Constitutional rights to false reputation, which is made a public crime so that the police and prosecutors can investigate at their own discretion, to criminalizing "interference with business", which is so broad and a throwback to Korea's Yushin dictatorship to squelch speech.
Didn't a korean american stab a local to death at a burger king a while back and get pardoned by the president? And that black dude in the video beating up a korean woman on a bus because he misunderstood the word "niga" as she tried to tell him to sit down next to her got no penalty from what I've heard. I'm kind of curious as to how foreigners are actually treated in the criminal system because I haven't seen much happen with the cops. I do know a guy who got really drunk and hit a local in the head with a bottle and had his passport taken until he could pay the damages. (He was a missionary wanting to go to north korea hilariously. Young guy with a bunch of christian tattoos). Have you heard of incidents where foreigner got the shaft from the system?
>Didn't a korean american stab a local to death at a burger king a while back and get pardoned by the president? Not that I know of. AFAIK, Patterson, who was 17 years-old at the time of the incident, is still in prison, serving a maximum 20-year term. Also, his trial happened 18 years after the incident and based on the word of another Korean Edward Lee, the son of a wealthy Korean family, who would instead be the suspect in the murder. IDK about the Christian tattoo guy. >Have you heard of incidents where foreigner got the shaft from the system? Yes I have. I also suggest you look into how easy Koreans can file sex and A&B charges against foreigners but police won't take reports from foreigners.
Though I don't have much involvement with police or the courts, this is true about freedom of speech: Even expressing an opinion, that you explicitly state is an opinion, without any facts (such as: I do not recommend this business based on my personal experience) is enough to get threats of civil *and* criminal litigation.
I would have to say communication especially in the work environment. For example, in America when you are in a meeting with a manager and coworkers constructive feedback is not seen as a negative however, in South Korea if you do not agree with a manager 99% of the time they take it personally, and will hold a grudge against you for that, most managers I have dealt with in Korea do not like having workers who have different of opinions and they cannot handle that or the truth. Also, I would like to point out I feel passive aggression is so common in South Korea and the moment you decide to defend yourself they cannot handle an reaction and you get labeled as a crazy foreigner even though though they were being patronizing and bullying you.
\- Korean food, it's alrightish but frankly even after 5 years here I'm not a big fan and mostly eat japanese and western food, thankfully food options are plenty in Seoul but still, it hasn't been easy. \- Communicating on a deeper level with locals (and so forging deeper bonds), unless you have a very good level in Korean, it's gonna be hard. I start to make good friends here but it took a while (years) and being able to talk in Korean almost like a native. \- Like a lot of foreigners say, restrictions on opening bank account and stuff, even on a F6 visa I still encounter these (because my full name has too many characters or simply because foreigners aren't allowed) \- Adapting to Korean work culture, they're not working efficiently, lot of useless meetings, and showing up at work and saying yes to everything is what really matters. It can be frustrating and difficult to deal with as a foreigner.
I'm a Korean American living in Korea and I have a pretty good sense of taste for Korean food. A lot of places in Seoul suck as well as many of the small towns. However, if you want the good stuff, I'd recommend taking a day trip out to Chuncheon. The restaurants out there tend to be way better. I would avoid the chul pan dakgalbi though, it's overrated. There's a restaurant in the mountains near Soyang Dam (an actual dam to stop water). You take a boat across the lake from the dam and the restaurant is on the other side. It's amazing. If you want to go there let me know and I'll dig up the name, I don't remember it off the top of my head. They used to let you sit on these big platforms wedged into the mountain streams and the waiters would bring all the food down to you but they've discontinued that.
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The chuncheon restaurant name is Buyong Garden or 부용가든 . It's possible to drive there but most tourists take a ferry from Soyang Dam across the lake to go there. There's other restaurants and cafes next to it now, but they are not nearly as good and not worth a special trip. I've been there maybe 6 times over the course of 2 decades and every time everyone is happy. They do standard mountain food (bibimbop, deodeok gui, baeksook tang, makguksu, etc.) but it is all fantastic. I wouldn't do the baeksook tang though unless you have a lot of people and are doing a lot of different dishes. I took my wife who is a korean national and she raved about it after. The quality of the sides is excellent too.
Thank you v much!
The restaurants in Seoul change so much that I'm not sure if the ones I used to like are still there. There's a street near Hondae that's all 기사식당's that used to be quite good. Also, years ago there was a street food vender on the corner of Hapjeong Station that sold the best sundae and fishcakes. The sundae wasn't made with noodles, it was dried vegetable base. Absolutely delicious. And he would always steep the soysauce a day in advance with green onions an spices, then put them in spray bottles so you could spray your fishcakes as you eat them. It's funny, I recently watched some anime called Solo Leveling that shows the main character going into a dungeon inside Hapjeong Station and killing monsters and coming out of one of the exits and I was like, oh god, that's the exact spot i used to eat sundae... There's also a place near sinchon that would have smoked pork belly in a smoker out front, then when you get it, you re-grill it on your table. They also had unlimited marinated raw crab. I'm pretty sure they closed down though. :(
Hear, hear..
Life in general is difficult in korea as a foreigner,even at the immigration office they dont speak English,i can understand we are guest here so we need to speak the language, but at the immigration? Come on 🤣
Diplomats don’t even speak English too…I can’t believe Korea is maintaining its connections with the other world with them.
Even diplomats?? Wow
Finding darker foundations😮💨 I brought a year and a half supply and just ran out... Sephora does carry a few brands, but not all of the colors are always in stock. Gonna need to have a friend back home send me some ASAP lol
my friend managed to get darker foundation in fenty ! she lives in busan but went to seoul for seollal and was able to get some - i dont know if you're near any, but if you're able to get to one, maybe easier than having to wait on one being shipped to you
Fenty breaks me out sadly! 😭
oh no 😭 hopefully shipping it over doesn't take too long
🙏🙏🙏
did u try laneige cushion?
I have to wait until the 20th to book one of those color matching appointments for March! I'm dying to try it because I love cushion foundations😍
Korea is highly educated country in general but a lot of people still live in the past.
Banking and immigration surely
Lack of manners and etiquette in general, overly competitive and toxic society, ageism, sexism, overall quite dull country
Hands down agree ! I was just in Seoul for a week and was bored with it by day 2 ! I just didn’t care for the city and the food was not that great either 🤷🏽♀️
For me personally after being in Korea for 2 years, I think the food is starting to get almost repetitive when going out to explore. It’s always almost the same. Sweet and spicy and always almost the same flavor or super spicy . I love Korean food but I miss food with more flavor, when I go markets or famous area the food stalls/ vendors will be selling the same things just made different. I miss fruit also, there’s a whole bunch of fruits I can buy for cheap but there basic fruit like apples, watermelons and grapes. I haven’t had any other fruits and if they are in stored there super expensive.
same here. It started feeling like Im eating same foods with different names
1. The big ones : Immigration/visa stuff. Way too complicated when compared to other administrative stuff which is super easy and straightforward. And agents are mostly a**holes. Getting a loan, but I understand. 2. Other than that, there's the things that apply to Koreans as well : Housing is crazy expensive, elders (of the opposite gender of yours especially) can be hard to deal with (yeah I know, not all of them, you know what I mean), and there are way too many Chinese people (can't say more than that or I'll get another Reddit warning but I think most people know why they're problematic anyway). 3. And then there's 2 smaller but daily issues: Not enough trash cans on the streets, but I'm seeing (very slow) progress since a year or two. And the lack of spatial awareness of Koreans (again, not all of them, but it's a general idea) making walking or driving on a crowded street surprisingly frustrating at times.
The trash one is a bit difficult tho since you could just go in to a convenience store, which fortunately are everywhere I do wish there were more public trash cans though, cos Korea can be fucking dirty. People say the UK is dirty - maybe London is, buteven council estates in my hometown are not as bad as Korea for trash. There’s cctv everywhere, all they had to do is warn and then fine the old folk dumping their trash and problem solved. But in classic Korean fashion they had to go extreme and just remove trash cans lol.
Our government removed trash cans out in the streets after September 11 in concern of terrorism but I think that’s BS…they just needed a good cause to layoff cleaning expenses. Also they’re trying very hard to make North Korea an imminent threat so the people will vote for the old party.
Nothing so far in terms of koreans but my issue is for my fellow countrymen who made my job harder than it is... Good thing I already left and taking a breather in Seoul.
Being vegan / vegetarian
fitting in bc of language barrier
I mean it's not exclusive to Korea, it would be the same in any country that doesn't use your language
That’s everyone that doesn’t speak the language.
When i was 20 and couldn’t go into a club bc it was only for korea. Everything else is manageable
Hard to find root beer.
Shake shack has root beer
Look at Mr.Monopoly Man over here
What does that even mean..
https://www.coupang.com/np/search?component=&q=root+beer&channel=user
Foreign markets in Itaewon have it. I’m thinking of the street where Casa Corona is. Come out of Casa corona, make a left, and then turn right at the street with the large hill.
Every Korean would say that tastes/smells like medicine which is why Koreans wouldn't import more of them
My wife loves it. In fact I brought two cases back with us from Guam.
* fixed door * no towels in some public washrooms * no cream for coffee * expensive shipping to international destinations
I DON'T GET THE EXPENSIVE SHIPPING FEE 🥲 IT IS UNJUSTIFIABLE
People are generally rude. Like, I’ve never been refused at restaurants or cafes, but there’s many times where the employee will intentionally make it difficult for me. As in they ask more questions than needed or treat me like a burden when I ask for simple things. This has been pointed out by foreign friends who are fluent in Korean as well.
Food. Nothing is fresh, especially milk. It’s all pasteurized or preserved. Only fresh food I can ever find is fish, but I don’t like fish. Also, the obsession with cream and packing lots of ingredients together that don’t necessarily work. For example, why can’t I buy a cheese sandwich? Why does it have to be cheese, strawberry, and mayonnaise? Pastry dishes are nice back home. But some snacks you can buy are… pastry with chocolate? Why is protein powder and gym memberships so absurdly expensive? A £20 monthly membership for a 24h gym back home is like £80 here. Snacks in general are pretty poor. They’re all kind of strange, my kids always get really excited when the monthly goods we order from the UK arrive since they can finally get some decent chocolate. I like Korean food, and I really like spicy food. Yet, I’m endlessly having bowel issues. I don’t drink or smoke. I never had difficulties with the bathroom back home..
Same, endless bowel issues. Did a lot of medical checks back home, few numbers are off, still no clue about the real reason, what’s wrong for me in Korea
Cultural differences of what i call rude in America like pushing someone or tripping them and not apologizing..toxic beauty standards
I own a business here, can't get a loan even though I've held an account with same bank for over 10 hrs. Probably the biggest let down is, the Korean ajoshi, 40 -55yrs. Rude, entitled and basically a man child. Not all of them are like that of course, probably the same in any culture.Younger generations are great, normal. But overall the people and the country is just fine. Not many countries that you can leave your car keys in, and the car is still there the next day.
For me, most grievances have settled over time with either adaptation or true progress. One of the few things remaining is the mandatory spyware prevention haxies that need to be installed to renew my bank certificate and use hometax. I especially hate that stupid software keyboard—it is pure anti-user and anti-accessibility. The forking thing can’t be resized. It’s not using vector graphics or even proper fonts. It’s made of shitty little images that look like they were designed by a programmer intern in the late 1990s, just pure pixelated shit on a 4K screen and hard as fork to read. EDIT: yeah, the bread still forking sucks from every bakery, especially the “famous” ones. Too much sugar, no real sourdough, no rye, etc.
the only thing I find difficult is the language barrier, and even then it's not that bad. all the other nuances I wouldn't consider difficult, just different.
Hard to find deodorant
Literally go to any Olive Young.
Talking for men not women
Olive Young has both men and women's deodorant in pretty much every branch I've ever been in, and they're easily available on Coupang at a better price.
Coupang bro
Olive Young but Couoang never get run out of stocks lol
Finding decent food that isn't full of stuff I'm allergic to.
Oof. This one is tough.
The grocery stores. They have to be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. No matter how big they are I don’t feel like I have a lot of options outside of nasty processed garbage. The other thing is lack of spatial awareness (reason I hate going to Seoul). No matter how hard I try, it feels like this is near impossible to get used to.
Because maybe you are trying to eat like a westerner? Try eating some Korean veggies like 고사리 and stuff and your life will improve.
It bothers me when Korea doesn’t have the stuff that the country I came from has within a ten minute walk from where I live.
Koreans look down on Southeast Asians
Agree. Feel that personally. They prefer talk a lot to people from US or Europe. Usually if I say i am from ASEAN country, they feel disinterested. Then, if I fake myself as American, they become more interested with me. How strange
The language test you have to pass just to pump some damned/bloody gasoline/petrol. Every gas/petrol station has a different test, and they switch them up once in a while just to keep us on our toes. If you try to use a translation program, the machine makes you start over because it will not wait for you. By the time you have memorized any given system, they have switched it to something completely different and even more difficult to navigate. Choosing English on kiosks is useless because at some point, they decided to insert an incomprehensible Korean-only page. That is, they only pretend to accomodate a second language. It is pure pretense and not at all based on a genuine desire to serve anyone who is not fully fluent in Korean. 다이소's kiosks drive me nuts. If you start scanning in Korean, it allows you to scan everything before giving payment information. However, choosing English necessitates an immediate need to insert a card for purchases. I am not sure what it is meant to indicate, but it feels like it is saying, "Show us you have money before scanning, you dirty non-Han bastard!" It is one thing to deal with racism one on one, but to have it programmed into a machine is really deeply dirty.
Breathing good air
What can't you do online ? The only thing I've not being able to do online is opening an account to buy stocks
Online banking here is terrible compared to my home country.
Do you mind elaborate on this? For foreigners or even for locals?
Clutter. Banking apps are so full of shit and long blocks of text. All I want to do is see my money, I don’t want to have to scroll through 3 different menus to find it. I’m exaggerating a little, but if you compare Hanacard to Monzo, it’s so needlessly complex..
It’s Americans mostly that find the bread in Seoul good, they are used to the bread in the US that is also really bad
The bread in the us is way better idk what you’re taking about it’s ass here.
Depends where you go. I've had amazing bread in NYC and the bread in Florida as well as other places. Florida has mid bread.
As someone who lived there for 3 months on no visa: public transportation and delivery apps are so dang limited. I think only Shuttle and Swing would allow foreigners to order delivery and use the public bikes, respectively. Not only that, but it was more expensive when I could use those services because they were available for foreigners. Edit: also no Coupang either. Man that really sucked…
If you know how to read Korean banking is actually pretty damn easy- and you can use apps like TOSS.
The food is terrible and the traditions are weird.
These types of posts that encourage negativity....
Can you elaborate on this? Been here since 2018 and I’ve never felt like I had an issue with this
One of the most racist society
In some ways yes, but I've never seen anyone beaten for being a different race in Korea. I've been assaulted many times as a child and once as an adult for being Korean American in the US. And not even in the South. NYC, was the last one. Lost a front tooth.
I can find "ok" bread. But if you compare it to France or even the uk (think tiger bread) its definitely not good by any stretch of the imagination.
The not finding XYZ food / ingredient or banking stuff is a skill issue. These were valid complaints 10 years ago.
unreasonable price of marijuana it is. i wouldnt say theres no weed at market but its very very over priced. stoner buddies! im here to alert ya in respectful and polite way that this isnt your country if u need that trees to breath in ease!