Things to know before moving to Seoul [pt. 2]

So since it’s been a week from my part one post, I decided to keep writing about things to know before moving to Seoul. In the first part, we talked about: the weather, decency, loudness, language, and where to seat. So today we’re focusing on other stuff!

• Food: Eating is one of the basic needs of a human being, so you need to know what to eat and how. Korean meals are mostly composed of 1 main dish, a soup, and several side dishes called banchan in Korean. If the main dish is a soup, then you’re going to have plain rice at the side. Banchan are always free, and you can ask as many refills as you want. On the other hand, plain rice’s refills aren’t free, I think that you need to pay 1 or 2 $ for every extra portion (I’m not 100% sure since I’ve never eaten more than one potion haha). But, be aware, always order things that you know you’ll be able to finish! Korean do not appreciate seeing leftovers.
  The majority of Korean dishes are quite spicy, and even when there is a mild version, is it still going to be a bit spicy. Fortunately, after 1 or 2 weeks you’ll be used to these flavors so you’ll be able to enjoy all these delicious foods.
  Also, Koreans love meat, mostly pork, and beef, so there are tons of places where you can have the typical Korean BBQ. I think that Korean BBQ is one of the funniest experiences ever, since you can sit on a table with your friends just grilling meat, and drinking a beer.

• Cutlery: so differently from Chinese and Japanese cutlery Koreans always have a spoon and chopsticks. I remember that the spoon was my only friend during the first few days since I wasn’t the best at using chopsticks. Also, Korean chopsticks are made of metal. But, if you are going to eat at western restaurants or tonkatsu, a deep-fried cutlet originally from Japan, you’ll find forks and knives of course. 

• Alcohol mania: Koreans love alcohol. Period. Koreans go out for drinks often and they have strict rules when drinking. People get super wasted, so while walking around during the night, it is common finding people lying down on the streets drunk. I remember one night while I was going back home from clubbing a guy laid down on my taxi when we were waiting for the green light. I was shocked at first, and the funniest part was watching the taxi driver swearing at the guy while honking like a madman. These scenes are common also on the subway, where you can see people falling asleep or even throwing up on the subway (so disgusting). Koreans usually drink soju, a strong liquor made with plants and beer. Soju is super cheap like a bottle is 1,50$, and that is perfect to be pumped up for the entire night.  

• Public transportation: Korea offers a huge variety of public transportation. The Subway and buses are the cheapest and the most used. For traveling, you need to purchase a T-money, that is a card that you can recharge and tap before entering the subway or taking the bus. Be aware! You need to tap the card also before getting off the bus!! Once I forgot and I ended up paying a lot more due to my mistake. You can buy the T-money at the Korean combini, they are super cheap and you can choose among different cute designs.  Let’s talk about prices! If you take the subway a 10 km journey will costs 1$, and for every additional 5km, you have to pay 0,50$ more (so it’s super cheap, right? Right!) Also, Children pay half the amount. While for the buses, it depends on the kind of bus that you’ll be taking, but usually, a bus ticket costs 1.10$ more or less. 

Oh wow, this is already a long ranting and I still want to write more about it! I was thinking about writing a post just for Korean habits during the night/ when meeting foreign girls. Tell me if you’d be interested^^.
Salut my dearest