korea :: seoul :: general

[dismalfuture]

no dorm option? dorm is the cleanest way to get in/out without watching your money go up in smoke or feeling like a prisoner, ie one room studio/sublet vs student boarding house.

Korean homestay would not be recommended unless you're completely straight laced and 100% into 'learning the culture' and eating someone else's home cooking. Also, in those homestays they finagle you to teach their kids English, as part of your rent. Never heard any successful stories from these things.

[Headmut]

i think dorm is an option but i was hoping to be able to cook my own meals...or at least eat authentic ones for cheap...i dont know if they include a kitchen....the food is one of the main reasons i would love to travel there...and im not sure how the cafeteria in the residence would be in terms of food....i wont be able to afford to eat out every meal.

ive heard similar things about the homestay program, thanks for the heads up...curfew/teaching english on top of my studies is the LAST thing i want to be doing.

[Headmut]

also, is the area around yonsei campus a good place? is there a lot going on or is it close to interesting places?

[sungrak]

area by yonsei is fun. if by alot going on you mean food and liquor, then yes.

and just dorm man. i think you get put up in the international dorm which is not bad, and you can eat out for crazy cheap if youre broke.

[thomas_highstreet]

wont the dorm have a curfew though?

- its not particularly hard to find a place that will do no key money.. the standard 'foreigner' rentals require an extra months rent upfront (which acts as deposit) and you'll get it back when you leave.

the whole of the yonsei area will have plenty of bars and cheap eats (as all university towns do), and its right next to hongdae/sincheon [southwest] for boozing, and chebu/samchungdong (my neighbourhood) [east] if you want to dinner/cafe date. (not with me, i mean, if you find some beezies)

[eddyz]

any reviews on seoul national? i am awaiting reply for my exchange to SNU in spring next year... should i stay in their dorms?

any buddy /class system i can do in SNU to meet with chicks?

[sungrak]

dorm *officially* has a curfew but it was never really that big of a deal. i think its more convenient than anything.

[Scais]

i hear the ones at yonsei lock u out after 1am and dont reopen doors till 6am so if ur gonna party, party till 6 =D

[thomas_highstreet]

i stayed in the dorms at KMU and they had automatic locks that locked at 12 or 1 and reopened at 5.

if you wanted to get in after lockdown then you would have to wake up the porter/security and they would mark a strike on your name.

supposedly to many lates would get you kicked out but my guess is they would be pretty leniant towards foreign students. i dont think thats a *real* issue, but convenience, and girl bonability will certainly be lacking.

as for 'buddy/class system for meeting chicks'; that was a joke right?

[dismalfuture]

^ they lock the dorms with padlocks man. I do miss living in korean dorms though, there are always tons of people around and you can eat at the in house cafeterias for like $1.50 a meal. I used to live on like $700 a regular month including rent and ball out when I was an exchange student and lived in the dorms. That's probably like $1000 now, but it was a lot for what I needed. As long as you're not buying clothes and stuff, you're good. Food and student-type drinking is cheap, and that's all people do.

[Headmut]

well it looks like im going to live in the international student dorms at yonsei....i hope that their universities cafeterias are better than the ones here in canada....

definitely looking foward to it though...

[dismalfuture]

It's gonna be all Korean food, but I do have some decent memories of eating Korean dorm food, and plus it's only $1/meal, so the fact they serve real rice and vegetables, and sometimes some meat, is a wonder in itself. They have a menu posted so you can skip the bad stuff and stay around for the good stuff, our cafeteria was catered by Shinsegae (big department store)... staying on campus, you realize how fucked up the the rest of the world is, because over here, they don't bleed students for money. Books are free to $20, food is $1/meal, you can go to a Coke machine on campus and cans of Coke are like 40 cents, it's all subsidized by donors. Completely backwards.

[Guest umhaha84]

^still they complain about their measly tuitions.

[dismalfuture]

How you gonna pay for that Red Mango for you and 8 of your friends when you pay $3,000 a term? lol

[Headmut]

yeah by the sounds of it this semester in korea might actually end up being cheaper than staying here....i pay tuition to my home university, but living costs just seem like theyre going to be cheaper for sure...and im definitely looking forward to authentic korean cuisine...im not a picky eater by any means...i want to try everything (i think). thats especially bomb about the books, considering i easily spend $600 a semester here...and get back about 1/3rd of that when i resell them in mint condition...

[ruach]

Been back in the states for three weeks and dearly miss Seoul.

For people interested in experimental music whatever I have been talking about, there is a rather long article (five or six pages, if I remember correctly) in the June issue of The Wire about the Bulgasari and dotolim events, Sato Yukie, Choi Sun Bae, Kim Dae Hwan, Kang Tae Hwan, and a lot more about what is going on at the moment. Really cool.

[b.e-n]

underage drinking OK in seoul? in bars and shit?

[mrchariybrown]

underage drinking OK in seoul? in bars and shit?

south korea's legal drinking age is 19.

[greasypeanut]

if ur a foreigner, chances are they wont card u. and even if they do just say u lost it. worked for my friend at a hof and also a club. tho i spose it doesnt hurt to roll with people who do have their id and are legal.

[b.e-n]

south korea's legal drinking age is 19.

so 18 right? because korea adds a year, no? i'm 17 so it should be fine, i think.

also, does anyone have cigarette recommendations? i like lucky strikes and stuff, but i bought dunhill fine cuts and they turned out to be thin as hell (although lots of men here smoke skinny cigarettes? wtf?)

[mrchariybrown]

so 18 right? because korea adds a year, no? i'm 17 so it should be fine, i think.

also, does anyone have cigarette recommendations? i like lucky strikes and stuff, but i bought dunhill fine cuts and they turned out to be thin as hell (although lots of men here smoke skinny cigarettes? wtf?)

yes, korea adds a year. but you are 17, which would make you 18 in korea and not old enough to drink legally.

as for the cigarettes, are you serious? buy packs that don't look longer and thinner than normal cigarette packs.

[mrchariybrown]

actually, now that I think about it, it's 19 in your real age which would be 20 in your korean age.

either way, stick to low-key places and having your older friends buy you beer from the family marts haha

[ruach]

Yeah I think low-key places would be the way to go. I never got carded while there and spent a lot of time at smaller bars. Forgetting about the ages of those I was with, I ended up bringing a few Korean high school kids drinking once, as well. Never any problems.

[herbology]

where to go to meet new people? my friends that i'm staying with are leaving for a research program so as depressing as it sounds i'm going to be alone for a week. i would go to bars but i'm underage, don't have id, and korean. would hate to just be shopping for a week...

[thomas_highstreet]

craiglist!

[herbology]

lol i've yet to meet a korean sketchball since i got here and i'd like to keep it that way. i've been in some awkward situations before. i joined a judo gwan so things should be aight. what's the general college kid stance on bud? are the only people that do it mad ggangpae or weird?

[mrchariybrown]

most koreans haven't tried it or don't smoke regularly.. probably because, compared to the rest of the world, it's fairly difficult to get your hands on and very expensive if you do.

if you can get some regularly, I will be your friend (5).

[herbology]

lol i brought a handful of baked goods with me. i heard from an unreliable source that itaewon is the place to go. how much does it usually go for? to the normal eye i just look like an innocent college student especially with the clothing i packed.

[thomas_highstreet]

not worth buying, 50a gram? i havent even bothered tracking any down.

of the 4 or 5 times ive smoked in korea, fuck all happened, crappy weed, just not like the stuff back home in europa.

but, if your hearts set, pick up and ill bun the midnight brocolli wi'chu.

ps. koreas drug laws are a little different than the us/europ... if you get caught with weed in any ammount you wont be getting off with a slap on the wrist. no ''personal use'' shit here, just soap droppin fun.

[mrchariybrown]

not worth buying, 50a gram? i havent even bothered tracking any down.

of the 4 or 5 times ive smoked in korea, fuck all happened, crappy weed, just not like the stuff back home in europa.

but, if your hearts set, pick up and ill bun the midnight brocolli wi'chu.

ps. koreas drug laws are a little different than the us/europ... if you get caught with weed in any ammount you wont be getting off with a slap on the wrist. no ''personal use'' shit here, just soap droppin fun.

real talk. 10char.