South Korea Is A Whole Different World, And These 50 Photos Are Here To Prove It

This country in East Asia makes up about 45 percent of the Korean Peninsula and faces North Korea across a demilitarized zone (DMZ) that's 2.5 miles (4 km) wide. The DMZ was established by the terms of the 1953 armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War (1950–53) and runs for about 150 miles (240 km).

"We have been calling South Korea our home for 3.5 years now," A Fun Couple told Bored Panda. "What we liked about the idea of moving here was that this country is still not on most people's bucket list when traveling to Asia. Many travelers would rather prioritize neighboring countries such as Japan, China or Hong Kong when visiting the continent."

However, according to Hammer and Guillaume, South Korea has been making a name for itself over the last few years, with the K-phenomenon on the cultural side and large companies such as Samsung and LG on the business side.

"We were excited but also curious to live in a country that continues to develop fast yet remains a bit unknown to the Western world."

One aspect that really impressed the couple once they came to this country was the strong sense of solidarity amongst Koreans. "An aspect that's really astonishing and will help you understand what we mean by that is the gold collecting campaign."

"In 1998, South Korea was about $304 billion in debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As a national sacrifice, 3.5 million Koreans donated their gold to the government to repay part of the debt. About 227 tons of gold were donated voluntarily during that event. Impressive, right?!"

"This sense of solidarity can be felt in everyday life in Korea. For example, during the pandemic, people were very supportive of each other. Koreans made a joint effort to keep social distancing rules and wear masks at all times. This is also why South Korea was seen as a benchmark when managing the COVID crisis in its early stage."

Of course, settling in another culture takes time. Hammer and Guillaume said the 'work hard, play hard' concept was probably the trickiest thing to adjust to.

"Koreans are very hard working. The maximum number of working hours per week recently changed from 63 to 52, but it's still a lot. Although the work-life balance got better over the last few years, working overtime (and not being paid for it) is still pretty common."

"It is also very common to go out with colleagues multiple times a week after work and have dinner and drinks until late at night. We definitely had to cut down on our sleeping hours, but it's a lot of fun to live and work in South Korea!"

"Since there are much fewer expats in South Korea than other Asian countries we've lived in, things are not always fully catered to foreigners. Opening a bank account, getting a local driver's license, getting a phone plan, using different apps; these things weren't always easy," A Fun Couple said.

"Besides there is still a language barrier and most of the documents are rarely translated into English. However, we've noticed that it has become easier for a foreigner to go about their daily life than when we arrived here 3.5 years ago. So we hope that this trend will continue in the future as well!"