Here's some info about korea for those interested in it! (as a korean)

Okk so basically im half korean and will be moving back to korea soon, heres some basic tips I'd like to give for those planning on VISITING or researching about modern korea since i see a lot of people on here really romanticize the country! :

DONT! research ANYTHING on places like reddit, also funny thing is on the korean subreddits there, (r/hanguk is just a place where koreans post photos and vent and stuff, r/korea is just a subreddit where a bunch of foreigners glorify korea and dump on china for some reason)

INSTEAD! Research on korean news sites, ( sadly, some of these news sites will be very conservative, so i recco watching documentaries on some of the subjects on those and take everything with a grain of salt )

( NOTE, I HAVEN'T BEEN ON ANY OF THESE NEWS WEBSITES LATELY )

Naver News : (ONLY WHEN POLITICAL ) spreads some/a lot of conservative propaganda, BUT is one of the most popular/common websites in korea.AND it also includes nonpolitical info about : how life in korea is like at the moment, the economy, etc, )

연합뉴스 : more political, but also more neutral then most korean news sites 

한겨레 : from what I've heard, all democratic/liberal leaning :D

I also recco : watching KOREAN documentaries on these subjects from ALL perspectives, (why? : because the news usually gets miss-translated on some documentaries, aswell as the fact they aren't there living or seeing what's going on most of the time + usually has a lot of misinfo, ALSO korean news stations are usually HEAVILY leaning on a political side, so i recco watching documentaries from all sides to get an idea of the full picture)

I also recco : WATCHING MULTIPLE KOREAN NEWS STATIONS, (for the same reasons stated above, as well as the fact they tend to be more neutral)

DONT! go to seoul for LONGTERM vacations (if you are or are bringing children with you, or if you experience severe stress) - seoul is a bit pricy, as well as being very loud, having heavy traffic, and being overall very stressful for those going for their first times! I would only recco going for two months!!

INSTEAD! : As someone who lives in gwangju, if you're planning on staying for 2+ months I recco checking it out for a bit, ESPECIALLY during winter time, (gwangju is similar to houston, it's known for its amazing food, art, and being overall very friendly to people there, ) +AND if you wanna travel back to seoul, it's only about a 4 hour car drive or a 1-2 hour ride in a bullet train.

TRIVIA :

Q : Are korean beauty standards as intense as they say? 

A : Yes and No! They aren't so intense they're unnatural, many people do naturally go under korean beauty standards, but compared to the USA they are very strict, (pale skin, underweight ( ex;78-95 lbs ) , tall (usually females are expected to stay under 5'10 though.) large busts with sort of wide hips and flat rears, long thick hair (straight or wavy, curly hair isn't usually considered attractive traditionally) rounded eyes, monolids, long nose bridges, BUT if you are not naturally most of those things, yes, it is very strict.

Q :Is the economy as people say?

A : Common jobs like teaching or being a cashier ARE very low paying, that is why most korean parents want their children to work in medical or scientific jobs, (for example, my older cousins that are in their twenties work in micro-science, and my parents are both nurses.)  

Q : is generative ai a big problem there?

A : Sadly, yes, please be careful.

Q : is schooling as stressful as people say it is there?

A : Most say that elementary in korea is the same as other countries, but that middle school up to graduation is very very stressful and emotionally taxing especially in seoul, (for reference, most seniors go to school from 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM)

Q : are gashapons and minor-friendly karaoke places common?

A : ABSOLUTELY! Karaoke places there are actually usually minor friendly, karaoke places in walking distances of high schools are usually both minor friendly and budget! But gashapons are usually found at outlets!

Q : Are bathhouses as really common as they say?

A : Depending on which kinds you're talking about, kinda and not rlly :

Bath-houses, (similar to saunas, as well as sometimes having gashapon and foods being sold there) : No, it isn't rare but it is uncommon / usually ppl only go for celebrations (ex; winning a big competition, a holiday, an anniversary)

Bath-houses, (the ones with hot tubs, the kind you see in animes and k-dramas) : YES! Although tourists tend to only go once or twice during their vacations, koreans usually go (depending on age) : seniors/elderly usually go every 2 weeks, highschoolers go every 4 weeks, and children usually go every 3-4 months or during celebrations.

TRIVIA END :

Also, this is kind of a no-brainer but PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE DOWNLOAD KAKAO TALK YOU WILL NEED IT EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU DONT. It is used for banking and messaging, literally EVERY korean has it because they NEED it to talk to their bosses, school, their family members, etc+ if like, a 20 year old tells u they dont use it they ARE almost always lying.

+If you have any questions, please feel free to ask