What makes you enjoy being in Korea?

[Schellib39]

So I am in one of those moods again where everything about Korea is kind of getting on my nerves.  I read up on some posts about Korea where people seem to have nothing positive to say and point out all of the bad things all of us (well most of us) already know about.  After reading these it makes me even more annoyed with Korea.

So instead of dwelling on all of these things that annoy us, lets talk about the things we like about being here (in hopes of getting me over being annoyed about everything that happens here).  Any comments/experiences would be great to hear.

[confusedsafferinkorea]

Think we had a similar thread recently.

[Schellib39]

Guess I will start, one of the things I always look forward to is having the chance to go and volunteer with North Koreans who have just arrived to the South.  Twice a month (with my friend's church) I go to the Hananwon where they spend 3 months after arriving in the South.  Going here just puts a smile on my face and it is great getting to interact with people who are the same as South Koreans but at the same time so much different.  I really enjoy playing with the kids who have literally never seen a western person. It takes a bit to get their trust but after pulling out the iPhone they dive right in and don't have a worry in the world!

This has been a great experience for me here and something I really enjoy about being here.

Oh yeah, have to love being able to sit here, as I am doing right now, slurping your ramyeon without anyone caring...My mom would slap the $#*# out of me for that back home.

[acopel7]

Above everything, good friends and a good job.

I've been kind of homesick lately, even after coming back from a two week vacation abroad, but having people here sending me welcome back messages and wanting to hang out with me after not being here for awhile makes me happy. I haven't been in teaching mode in awhile, but I find that when I'm working with students I do feel better and not thinking so much about home.

[gayageum]

Decent mass transportation.

[madison79]

The food and the kids.  I don't blame the kids for parents mistakes or ignorance. 
I love my school and job. 

[CAdreamin]

No sales tax/tipping.

[DWAEDGIMORIGUKBAP]

Unshared housing.

Getting up late every day.

Saving 700 pounds a month.

My friends I've made the past 5 yrs (though not really Korea specific.)

Can smoke anywhere.

A lot of places open 24-7 or close to it.

Affordable and reliable public transportaton.

[americaussie]

No sales tax/tipping.

Made me giggle.  I hate tipping.  I married an Aussie, and he and his whole family are totally confused by it.  His parents went to the states recently and asked me all kinds of questions about it before going because the whole custom weirds them out. 

As someone else said, really awesome public transportation.  Seoul has the best of any I've experienced.  And it's sooo cheap.  Visited a friend who lived outside Sydney, and while it's better than the absolute zero we have at home, I could not believe the price he paid to get to work every day!

Good thread OP.  I've been counting down the days, but the truth is, when I leave, I know I will remember the good things more than the bad, for the most part. 

[confusedsafferinkorea]

No sales tax/tipping.

Sorry to burst your bubble, you pay 10% sales tax

[Schellib39]

Sorry to burst your bubble, you pay 10% sales tax

When the sales tax is already included in the listed price it doesn't seem so bad.  Not like in the states, have to pay the sales tax (that is not included on the listed price which adds 1-10%) and then tip 15-20% on that total price.  Makes the meal, at least seem, to be much more expensive.

In the end I love that about Korea, pay the price listed on the menu! Golden...

[confusedsafferinkorea]

Sorry to burst your bubble, you pay 10% sales tax

When the sales tax is already included in the listed price it doesn't seem so bad.  Not like in the states, have to pay the sales tax (that is not included on the listed price which adds 1-10%) and then tip 15-20% on that total price.  Makes the meal, at least seem, to be much more expensive.

In the end I love that about Korea, pay the price listed on the menu! Golden...

In Seoul there are quite a few restaurants who don't include it and then when you pay they add it, it annoys me intensely. Wish there was some uniformity.

[Hoosier_Jedi]

I have my own place, make decent money, and have easy access to a major world city where there's plenty going on all time. Basically, what I've been looking for since I was a kid and realized I needed to get the heck out of my boring hometown.

[CAdreamin]

No sales tax/tipping.

Sorry to burst your bubble, you pay 10% sales tax

Thanks for the correction. Good to know. It still feels good not paying more than what's listed on a price tag! 

[americaussie]

Schellib, you'd get on fine in Aus, too, in that case.  It's legally required for all prices to include GST, etc. Tipping is not the norm, although some people will just round the bill up and leave the change for their server.  My husband loves that in Korea, restaurants will happily split the bill, which they won't do in Aus, and although we usually don't bring wine with us anywhere, when we have done it a couple of times, there was no corkage fee.  Corkage drives me nuts! 

On topic, now that lower cost airlines are allowed to land here, Korea is nicely positioned to visit other lovely countries as well.  And the airport is fantastic, so it's easy to get in and out. 

[jaakked1]

"What makes you enjoy being in Korea?"

The same things that make me enjoy being anywhere,
and then some others.........

[orangeman]

Korea was getting on my nerves, too, so I left for a year.  It really helped me relax.  I realized that the reason I enjoy visiting home is because I'm not there all the time.  It gives me something to look forward to.  Once I got back and things settled down it got really boring really fast.  Don't get me wrong, I love Canada and my family and friends, but that type of life isn't for me right now.  Anyway, I don't need to get into details, but I guess what I'm trying to say is I like the freedom living in Korea provides.  I can take off for Thailand for Christmas or Japan for a long weekend instead of feeling that I have to do things out of obligation.  I like knowing I'm going to see everyone for a few weeks this summer and it's going to be awesome and crazy and we're going to make an effort to do new and exciting things together instead of constantly saying, "tomorrow, next weekend, when I have time". 

I also have to second the mass transit.  I know I can go out on Saturday night and where ever I end up I can get home affordably and safely, even in a taxi.  It's pretty liberating to think I can get across a gigantic city full of 14 million people (and it's suburbs) in an hour.  I can't even do that in my parent's small city in Canada without a car.  I can also buy a beer in a store or bar at 4am if I damn well want to.  And those beers aren't $8+tip.  Oh, and the internet.  Maybe because I didn't have a connection in my home before first coming to Korea, but once I went back I felt like I was on AOL dial up, even with the fastest connection.  Then they have these absurd limits that ding you through the roof if you break them.  All for 3x the cost!  And don't even get me started on the service.  Oh, lordie, please don't get me started on that. 

[Jozigirl]

My colleagues
My students are generally more polite and more diligent than my students back home.
The flexibility that I have in my job (largely thanks to my school).
Korea is easy to travel both in and from.
I can afford to do many things here that I can't do back home.
I feel a lot safer here and can actually walk to places instead of having to drive everywhere.
The great (reliable!) public transport.
Great customer service!
Loyalty to customers.
A generally well-groomed population.

[tsudopnem]

I met and married my amazing husband here. I found and adopted my fantastic puppy here. The 90% refund on grad school tuition (if grades are maintained) is also pretty sweet.

[marsavalanche]

Sorry to burst your bubble, you pay 10% sales tax

When the sales tax is already included in the listed price it doesn't seem so bad.  Not like in the states, have to pay the sales tax (that is not included on the listed price which adds 1-10%) and then tip 15-20% on that total price.  Makes the meal, at least seem, to be much more expensive.

In the end I love that about Korea, pay the price listed on the menu! Golden...

In Seoul there are quite a few restaurants who don't include it and then when you pay they add it, it annoys me intensely. Wish there was some uniformity.

Stay away from the foreign restaurants then.  It's called a VAT.