First Impressions of South Korea

I'm writing this on day 4 of our 30-day stay in Seoul, and perhaps longer. We like it a lot. It's already surpassed any positive expectations I held.

There's an order, a calm, and an aesthetic about the city that's enchanting. Our interactions with the locals have all been friendly, welcoming, and enthusiastically helpful. It feels like a very healthy society. There's strong, well-maintained, reliable infrastructure from buses and metros to walking paths and parks. Things just seem really well thought out and designed. I particularly appreciate the meticulous organization of recyclables below our apartment building. The whole city is remarkably clean for a metropolis of its size. Things just feel of noticeably high quality here.

You could say you get what you pay for, as it is also fairly expensive in some regards. But that's always relative. Coming from the US, there are very few places that are truly more expensive in comparison. Still, by regional norms, South Korea and Seoul in particular are fairly expensive. Our small apartment for a 1-month stay, an hour from the city center, costs $1,141. It's far more than I regularly spend for a month's stay. Although a small apartment, it is arguably one of my nicest Airbnb stays. It's very clean, organized, and features really well-thought-out uses of space. Almost everything we could want or need is available. Also, from our arrival at the airport until now, our experience with internet speeds has been phenomenal.

All in all, I am very, very impressed with my stay in Seoul so far and very excited to explore more. Let me know what you'd like to know more about, and I'll be sure to include it when I publish a full video review of our stay here.

Meanwhile you can follow along our journey through instagram stories and posts (@mindfulnas & @travelingnika)

Hope you're well.

Naser