Koreans are just as rude, annoying, and out to rip you off as the Chinese are. If you have a vacation planned to Asia, dont waste your time in Korea! Great food is the ONLY redeeming factor, if anything.

Fantastic! You must Go !
You can enjoy traditinal Korean and modan Korean culture, both.
Food is nice as well.
If you can speak Korean even though a bit, you will be able to enjoy 100 times more !

amazing place!!!

We are there overnight twice on our way from Canada to Japan. We thought it was an interesting city, or rather what we saw of it was interesting. We went to a very fascinating shopping building downtown with rows and rows of stalls packed together like sardines with narrow aisles between them. We did get some good bargains there, but that was several years ago so I am not sure what you will find today. I would certainly go back if I had the chance even though I am not that partial to kim chee - it's too hot for my taste buds.

Seould has a nice vibrant lifestyle. I like the bars, the drinks and places you can go to entertain yourself. There are even amusement parks to go to..but make sure you make friends with some of the locals....as they know how to bargain and get cheaper tickets than what they charge us military people. Wouldn't mind going back!

Seoul is an awesome city...as I've been here many times with my mother to visit relatives and go sightseeing. The air...yeah...it's freaking dirty. Breathing air in Seoul is equivalent to smoking cigarettes. Nevertheless, the experience of staying in Seoul is great. I remember during my childhood of always visiting Seoul from the US every summer. Whenever it was time to go back home, I'd always cry and have this "sad" feeling. Even when I got back home....I'd be dazed...still yearning to go back for some weird reason. I really want to live in Seoul...however...my Korean language skills isn't too fluent for me to have a job there. Well...I could teach English to Korean students....but like I"ve said...my Korean grammar isn't strong. It's the vibrant lifestyle and the layout of Seoul that makes me like that city. Plus the hot chicks....the homogeneity of the people....I just feel like a part of the Seoul "puzzle." Driving is crazy in Korea to be honest. People make their own "lanes"...as I once was on a three-land freeway...surprised to see the drivers turning it into a five-land freeway. I don't usually catch the bus...but the awesome subway system. I definitely will be going back to visit Seoul this summer!!

Im sick of people giving screwed opinions about my country, I have never been prouder to be korean, If someone of these clueless idiots could realize what we have gone through and how strong we are now there would be pure amazement in their eyes. People think that Korea was always small , about the size of California, but that was not always the story behind it, Korea use to be a huge empire especially during the Goguryeo dynasty, our borders extended through almost half of china, but of course those people are not going to admit that is true although, but they just recently discovered an ancient tomb in northern China belonging to a Powerful Korean King during the Goguryeo dynasty,sooo....they have to admit it we were a POWERFUL nation. Many people know how Japan use to jerk us around but originally those people use to bow down to us, they were weaker and not as powerful then our Empire so they would often send us gifts, we actually called them our "little sister" country at one point in time. To instill peace between the two nations a Korean Princess Marrried a Japanese Prince, The Japanese Prince later Died and the Princess Thus became a Queen, SO if no one knew The Japanese Had a Korean Queen so that means they have korean blood, its a shame they had to be so savage when invading our country. koreans were credited to have the best silk in the entire world, Japan envied us for having such beautiful color in our Hanboks (Traditional Korean CLothing) And they envied our pottery work so much that when they invaded us they stole our pottery equipment to create their own. It pisses me off the way they get credit for so many things even tho in the end their country is basically taking ideas from other cultures and changing it just a bit. We survived a Civil War (Korean War), Japanese occupation, and Bankruptcy (In which we were one of the most Fastest nations to recover from it) and look how strong our economy is now. SAMSUNG AND LG electronics are #1 in the world, Japan has to pay royalties to us to use OUR ideas, unfortunalty the chinese knowing how they are ilegally take our products and create cheaper versions of it. If u ever watch the Olympics for a country half the cize of California we do pretty damn good. We for the past 20 years have always came in top10. And china with a country of over a billion people use to struggle making the top20,just look at the medal statistics on the Olympic Websites. We are strong people and our people are extrememly good looking. IN the Entertainment business we are OFICIALLY dominating in Asia. Japan and other industrialized Asian countries buy movies ahead of time from us without even wathcing it to begin with, proving how popular our actors are. The Korean Female SInger Boa has invaded the Asian music market as the Most Popular Asian femal artist to date. SO b4 u people jusge us so negatively look where we came from and all the crap we have had to deal with, so give us a little respect and back off.

I've spent a lot of time here. . .lots of good and bad things. . . Army Base/Foreigner drinking area is Itaewon. . .(near the Army Base) It has okay shopping by day but becomes a scuzzy place at night. The army guys become drunk bozos and the slutty dance girls are out on the sidewalk trying to tempt you inside. Go to Itaewon during the day for food and shopping before exploring Seoul's nightlife. If you want a Korean prostitute (if you're a curious or lonely westerner) or sleep with a jarhead (for the ladies who can't resist a uniform), go to this neighborhood and you won't be disappointed. Subway system is excellent and cheap- avoid the buses unless your Korean is good. For nightlife, I had great times at the University area bars (notably Yonsei University and EWHA WOMEN'S University!) where the college crowd was more friendly. Seoul isn't a touristy-friendly city. . .you have to work to get things done. . .that's not to say it isn't worthwhile. Just don't expect Bejing or Hong Kong.

Seoul - the Good, The OK, the Ugly If you would have asked me what I thought of Seoul even two weeks ago, I would have rated it with two stars instead of three. So why the change? In a word, Cheongye-chon stream. The Mayor of Seoul has gone on a very aggressive beautification program of the city, so much so, he just had the city spend about 4-5 billion restoring the Cheonggye-chon stream in the heart of the city. Well, in spite of all of the critics, last weekend it opened to the general public - to a resounding success. The stream is 6 km (3 miles) long, and has waterfalls, art projects, shops on the streets above the stream, etc - and the water is filtered by the city before it flows into the stream so it is clean and crystal clear. I would have never imagined it in this city and I will tell you that this exactly the kind of projects that the city needs to do to establish itself as a international destination. Seoul is a very hot spot to come if you are also into the club scene. Between Itaewon, Hongdae, and many of the clubs in the 5-star hotels around the city, it can appear that Seoul is a city that parties 24/7. So if Seoul has nice parks, and is a 'party hard' city, then why only three stars? It has a lot to do with the Seoul City dwellers themself. I think a cab driver from the country said it best - 'In Seoul, you always feel that someone is attacking you'. People are rude, tend to push and shove in lines, drive the way they want (which is real maddening), and a lot of them tend to drink their brains out (liver disease is the third leading killer of Korean men). Its like the Korean live buzzed out on speed all the time. So how do I handle that part of Seoul - When I can't tolerate it anymore, I retreat to my "American Island" of Yongsan Army Post, and sit and sip my Mocha at Starbucks and generally 'chill out'. If the bases weren't here, I would not be here either.

been to seoul a few times for military training. the city smells like a porta-potty, and has tremendous rain during monsoon season. had a place in itaewon called hooker hill. very congested city w/ mad crazy traffic (talk about people who dont know how to drive). on the plus side the people are very polite and seeing how poor the country is, it really makes u appreciate what we as americans have here.

If you're a music lover; Seouls is the BEST PLACE to be! A pitty their famous H.O.T. isn't around to hunt for there anymore ;_; & the most beautiful site in the world is Seoul at night when you're on a hill; the bridges & outdoor skating rink all lit up makes Paris look blah.

seems kinda blah

I think shopping and travelling within Seoul was a great experience. I like a lot of the chics in downtown area. I also like riding on the subway. Downside.....Traffic is horrible, and the air is polluted like Los Angeles. People in the busy metro area are very "pushy."

Good Comments: Good food, but be careful where you eat and what you eat. You may or may not take a liking to hot, spicy Kim-chi. The beer tastes more like water than American beer. Bad Comments: The air is horrible. People from Seoul get off the plane at Kennedy Aiport in New York and remark how fresh the air is. The air, however, is not as bad as the air in Mexico City. The water is of very questionable quality. Drink bottled water. South Korea is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a pedestrian. There is also an "old" Korean saying that goes, "Do not lend money to anyone who rides a bicycle or a motorcycle." In other words, you might not get it back! The traffic accident rate in South Korea is three times that of Japan. Drivers are rude, careless. Many taxi drivers are just plain rude. Many Korean employers of foreign residents of Korea treat their employees the same way they treat their dogs. If you are going to work in South Korea, make sure you are working for your government or a company from your country. Go shopping with somebody who is experienced and can bargain.Do not try it on your own. Note: I lived in South Korea for 12 years.