Work trip to Korea

[Boblobla]

Heading to South Korea for a week for work and I will have a few days to myself. I will have a full day in Seoul and a full day in Pohang. Any recommendations or amusing anecdotes would be welcome.

I am allergic to shellfish, if someone has an awesome Korea BBQ recommendation it would be appreciated.

[me_dennis]

Myongdong area has a lot of good street food, shopping, restaurants, and a market. There's a really good noodle place in Myongdong (the noodles are called Kalguksu) and it's super popular. The lineup is usually out the door, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

[AMG_G]

Plenty of options besides shellfish...Old Yeller is a delicacy and quit common there.

[Ark2]

You should take the opportunity to head up towards beautiful North Korea while you are there as well.

[AMG_G]

Originally Posted by Ark2

You should take the opportunity to head up towards beautiful North Korea while you are there as well.

I agree there is a US warship that they have been parading around for the last few decades that is worth seeing....I was kidding about old yeller...but seriously they eat dog there.

[Tron_fdc]

Korean saunas aren't actually saunas.

[Peanut]

I don't know anything about Korea but have an awesome trip!! (Even though it is work)

[Tron_fdc]

Hahaha are you meeting with Korean work counterparts? God speed.

The first thing you get to do is "drink until death". This means drink until you pass out/vomit/die. Koreans measure your business capabilities based on how much you can drink, with the theory being the more you can drink, the more business deals you do (drinking is a business hobby, not a social one). Therefore people who can drink a sh*tload of booze are top businessmen.

Hopefully you do this in a Karaoke bar with "helpers".

Korean business spas are all male, and fully nude. As a show of affection you get to wash and scrub each others back in a tub full of naked dudes. I skipped this.

I would tell you more about the saunas, but your wife may read this thread and force you to cancel the Korea trip.

Authentic Korean BBQ is awesome. So is Bi Bim Bap. It sounds nasty but it's DELICIOUS. As a matter of fact, so is all Korean food. I miss it terribly

[SeoulFire]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

Heading to South Korea for a week for work and I will have a few days to myself. I will have a full day in Seoul and a full day in Pohang. Any recommendations or amusing anecdotes would be welcome.

I am allergic to shellfish, if someone has an awesome Korea BBQ recommendation it would be appreciated.

Downtown Area
The restaurant mentioned in the the first reply is called Myeong Dong Gyo Ja. The site has some information about the menu and a map on how to find either the main restaurant or the secondary one. If you don't like garlic, don't go . If you like garlic (and spicy stuff) try the kimchi - amazing stuff. Some kalguksu uses fish to season the broth (ie clams or anchovies) but their website states chicken broth. I don't know the specifics of your allergy but thought it is something to be aware of.

http://www.mdkj.co.kr/en/index.php

Myeong dong is one of the main shopping districts and will be packed if you are there on a weekend.

Namdaemun market - Amazing 'traditional' market where they sell pretty much anything and it is pretty cheap. The market is not just limited to what you see on the street as there are tons of vendors below street level. Hard to find something in particular but pretty cool to just wander.

http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SH/S...jsp?cid=273760

If you like culture/history, there are two palaces downtown within walking distance - Gyeongbok Palace and Deoksu Palace.


DMZ tour
Once again it depends on your interests, but the tours are interesting.


Food
It is hard to say where a good bbq restaurant is because they are pretty much everywhere. You would be hard pressed to walk for 5 minutes anywhere in the city and not be able to find one. Ask your colleagues or just adventure around in the area where you end up.


If you are visiting Seoul and Pohang, I guess you are visiting an industrial - good luck if those guys take you out for the evening (as mentioned).

I currently live in Seoul (and did so for 9 years previously) so feel free to pm me if you have any specific questions - I will try to help out as best as I can.

If the trip is very soon, be prepared to sweat - at the time of writing (approx 8am) it is 29 degrees and 86% humidity.

****Might be best to avoid the kimchi...it is often made with shrimp sauce (for lack of a better term)****

[Northendzone]

Forget Korea, go to Tokyo man!!!

Also, being gypsy tears to ward off vampires.

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

Forget Korea, go to Tokyo man!!!

Also, being gypsy tears to ward off vampires.

I like your thinking.
Also along with Myeongdong, Dongdaemun is another page to check out with the street shops and what not.

So many phone cases...

[oilyfan]

This drinking thing must an Asian phenomenon. I was in China a couple of years ago on business and literally every night was a drunk fest. And I thought I could drink but this brought it to a new level.

The first night they asked me if liked beer, I said who doesn't? Well that was an open invite, with a quick wave an entire 24 pack of tall bottles of beer was brought into the room, and it was only 4 of us at the table! It was a point of pride to keep my glass filled at all times, so I lost count of how many I drank. And then they asked me if liked Chinese wine...

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by oilyfan

This drinking thing must an Asian phenomenon. I was in China a couple of years ago on business and literally every night was a drunk fest. And I thought I could drink but this brought it to a new level.

The first night they asked me if liked beer, I said who doesn't? Well that was an open invite, with a quick wave an entire 24 pack of tall bottles of beer was brought into the room, and it was only 4 of us at the table! It was a point of pride to keep my glass filled at all times, so I lost count of how many I drank. And then they asked me if liked Chinese wine...

Yep. Definitely common out in Asia. The last time my family came to visit China and we were out for dinner with my Chinese relatives and business associates the dinner started out with wine glasses poured 3/4 full with baijiu for me and the family's business associates. My dad just had a 3 litre bottle of cognac placed next to him. That was lunch. I didn't make it to dinner.

Koreans are recognized as the most intense drinkers of the east Asian countries though. They seem to hold the bar at an astonishingly high level of sustained, acceptable public drunkenness when it comes to business.

[Canuck-Hater]

Take some pictures of the DMZ!

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by oilyfan

This drinking thing must an Asian phenomenon. I was in China a couple of years ago on business and literally every night was a drunk fest. And I thought I could drink but this brought it to a new level.

The first night they asked me if liked beer, I said who doesn't? Well that was an open invite, with a quick wave an entire 24 pack of tall bottles of beer was brought into the room, and it was only 4 of us at the table! It was a point of pride to keep my glass filled at all times, so I lost count of how many I drank. And then they asked me if liked Chinese wine...

Ho lee phook, I'll bet that there was sum ting Wong the next morning......

[WilsonFourTwo]

Dance it up to a little K-Pop, try and catch a Girls Generation concert.

I'm actually dying to see how this trip goes. Korea is interesting and I'd really like to go. Thanks for being the "Is it fun" guinea pig.

[Boblobla]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, we will see how my liver fairs as there are a few business dinners...

I will let you know how I do.

[Rocky Raccoon]

If you have kids, bring back some Pororo toys for them; they'll love it! It's the big thing over there for kids right now, or so I'm told by a Korean friend of mine. My daughter loves the cup and bowl set she has.

[Slava]

Having met Boblobla I would guess he can hold his own drinking. I have absolutely nothing to base that on...just a hunch I guess.

[Tron_fdc]

Quick tip: if you don't want your glass filled up again after you down a shot, leave about 1/3 still in the cup. That means you want a break from gembay.

Downing the shot glass and licking it dry means you're ready for an immediate fill up.