So what you're saying is, you (as a foreigner who has moved to Korea) wish that fewer foreigners would move to Korea, in order to preserve YOUR "exciting and different" experience? Why should you get to be one of the lucky few while everyone else has to stay home?
Yeah, totally agree--while I enjoy exotic-feeling locations as much as anyone, when you step back and think about, this attitude essentially says that "foreigners are making Korea less fascinating and less of an experience
for me." And that's a mindset of entitlement. I would argue that while Seoul is HARDLY a picture of multiculturalism, its slow steps towards something that might resemble it, and the youth culture that supports this, are about as "real Korea" as you can get. Those kids at clubs in Hongdae and Gangnam will be the future Samsung CEOs and the future politicians of this country. I can't think of a better way to get a picture of how the country is growing and changing than to spend some time with university students and young professionals in those areas.
I will say that one thing I do love about Seoul--and find sort of unique about it, for Asia--is that most 20something Westerners you meet
aren't backpackers, they're actually expats--either other teachers, or soldiers. I love backpacking and meeting other backpackers, but I think the sort of young-expat-teacher community in Korea is pretty unique and cool. You wouldn't get the same sense in Beijing or Tokyo or Bangkok, where I'd guess a lot, if not the majority, of Westerners you encounter would be tourists.
