Korea’s trees are beginning to become full with lush green leaves again, flowers have bloomed and happily line every sidewalk, and the long days have a bright, happy luster that was missing only a few weeks ago. All of these changes can only mean one thing, spring is here! As happy as the news that the bleak Korean winter is over, it always comes with the dreaded knowledge that allergies are only a tissue’s reach away.
You’ve got your plane ticket in hand, you’ve said all your good byes for the time being, and you’re now staring at the empty suitcases you need to pack for your year in South Korea. You’ve already bought a year’s supply of your favorite candies and comfort foods. After you check off clothes, treats, and deodorant, however, you’re left wondering what exactly you should expect in your new Korean apartment.
Apart from the beautiful Korean culture, amazing food, and kind people, the collective majority of expats stick around teaching in Korea longer than a year because the cost of living is incredibly low. Saving money while living in Korea is easy and doesn’t really require much effort.
If part one of the “8 travel blogs sure to make your travel bug itch” didn’t satiate your virtual wanderlust, hopefully this week’s part two will! The amazing bloggers that have made today’s list are experts in the art of backpacking, traveling on a budget, and scouting out the best hidden restaurants and pubs in any country. These addictive websites are the perfect place to spend a few hours learning how to pack a neat and tidy backpack, which pub has the best and cheapest beer in London, and which luxurious hotel in Paris is the perfect choice for you.
One of the interesting, and slightly stressful, customs I’ve learned to accept and embrace while teaching in Korea is gift giving in the office. The most important time for gift giving in Korea is when a new employee receives their first paycheck.
We are joined once more by our South Korea expert Judith Villarreal who give us the second part of her two-part series about what to expect at an EPIK orientation.
Cultural rules can always be learned the hard way during travels, but the transition to a new country is made seamless when research is done and the traveler already knows the dos and don’ts of the culture. In this 2-part piece, the top 5 dos and top 5 don’ts of South Korea cultural rules will be shared for all novice wanderers to take note.
We all know Valentine’s Day to be a beautiful day drenched in roses, wine, chocolates, and fairy tale-like romance…unless you’re single. Singletons around the globe dread the creeping date of February 14th no matter in which country they reside. For those currently unattached and living in Korea, the sobering awareness of a single’s relationship status in February tends to be amplified more so than in any western countries because of Korea’s “couple culture”.
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