Author: Judith Villarreal

If street food, a free apartment, free airfare, and all the compliments you can handle weren’t enough reasons to get you to pack your things and head over to the land of delicious kimchi, then here for your enjoyment are 10 more reasons to get your awesome 20 something year old self over to Korea!

As of late, I’ve seen tons of articles circulating the internet toting the best reasons to travel in your 20’s and other travel posts geared at the younger generation of college grads. It got me thinking about that age group, which I’ll only be able to call my own for a couple more years, and how traveling really does affect a young mind.

One of the most popular questions which floods my email’s inbox daily concerns the start up of blogging while in Korea. It makes sense that most of us who were English Literature majors in university would feel like the best way to connect to the world and share our experiences would be through writing. That’s definitely the reason I started Chasing Glitter one year ago in Korea.

Like anyone, I was nervous when I first decided to teach in Taiwan. As the day of departure grew close, all sorts of worries ran through my head. Would I like living in Taiwan? Would I be safe there? Could I stomach the infamous smell of Stinky Tofu?
A year later, this small country had come to feel like home. Here are 5 of the things that make Taiwan such a great place to teach English.

If you’ve an avid reader of the wonderful Reach To Teach community blog, then you already know that I’ve given up kimchi and replaced it for stinky tofu. Although I’m not sure where I got the idea, I had idiotically assumed that the move from Korea to Taiwan would be a breeze. After all, they’re both Asian countries with Eastern cultures right, so how different could they be? I’m so embarrassed to even share that dumb thought with you, but it’s true.

After a couple months in Korea, you’ll become comfortable carrying out the little mundane tasks of being a grown up like paying your bills, going to the bank for cash, and checking the mail. Once you’ve mastered the post office grounds, you’re ready to start mailing Korean goodies and souvenirs to all your best friends and family back home.

With South Korea’s cute fashion sense and incredibly cheap market clothes, it’s no wonder that haggling has become an unofficial second language. I’ll be the first to admit that the thought of haggling is a terrifying concept to me. My first month in Korea I refused to try and shop anywhere where prices weren’t fixed, but after receiving a few tips from Korean friends and co-workers, I finally faced my fears and tried my hand at haggling.

As we move further and further into the technological age we are finding more and more ways of keeping in touch and share our lives with the world. One avenue for sharing is Instagram. Not everybody uses this snapshot tool to post just selfies, some people have taken to putting a specific focus to their accounts. Below are 5 of the best accounts to follow that will give you an insight into life in Korea.