After a few days in South Korea what strikes me is that the country seems to be full of contrasts. On one hand it's a very modern and westernised country but on the other hand there are a lot of traditional customs and traits left.
1. Toilets.
In some places the public toilets are just a hole in the ground, no toilet paper available and the floor wet with something you don't want to think about. But looking at the other side of the coin makes our Finnish toilets quite primitive: the families we have stayed with have tolets with warmed seats and several buttons with options for washing your backside. Just waiting to see a toilet seat playing music to accompany your business.
2. Living.
In Chungju and also in Jecheon there are a lot of quite high apartment buildings which look almost like they are remnants of the Soviet era moved to South Korea. Outside the building there can b esmall plots of land used for private farming, and the plots can look almost primitive in the middle of the big houses. Once inside the houses and apartments are huge and modern with all the conforts you can possibly imagine. Not to mention the magnificient view if you happen to live on the 15th floor like the family me and Carita had the honour of staying with a few nights ago.
3. History meets technology.
South Korea has a 5 000-year history with its days of glory. Kings and noblemen ruled and built amazing houses, temples and graves. Nowadays the country is all about the newest technology and everybody has the newest Samsung phone and drives a new Hyundai or Equus. Using my Samsung Galaxy S II in this company is almost embarassing - and I who thought it would be cool, to have a Samsung phone when coming to Korea!
4. Nature vs. city.
We've seen Seoul only from the plane but the other cities we've seen (Chengju, Icheon and Jecheon) are to be honest not very attractive places. The architecture is quite plain, simple and grey and the horizont is often dominated by the ugly apartment buildings mentioned above. It's definitely worthwhile going utside the cities and having a look at the countryside which is dominated by mountains. And more mountains. The mountains are everywhere, but they are majestic and fascinatingly beautiful.
1. Toilets.
In some places the public toilets are just a hole in the ground, no toilet paper available and the floor wet with something you don't want to think about. But looking at the other side of the coin makes our Finnish toilets quite primitive: the families we have stayed with have tolets with warmed seats and several buttons with options for washing your backside. Just waiting to see a toilet seat playing music to accompany your business.
2. Living.
In Chungju and also in Jecheon there are a lot of quite high apartment buildings which look almost like they are remnants of the Soviet era moved to South Korea. Outside the building there can b esmall plots of land used for private farming, and the plots can look almost primitive in the middle of the big houses. Once inside the houses and apartments are huge and modern with all the conforts you can possibly imagine. Not to mention the magnificient view if you happen to live on the 15th floor like the family me and Carita had the honour of staying with a few nights ago.
3. History meets technology.
South Korea has a 5 000-year history with its days of glory. Kings and noblemen ruled and built amazing houses, temples and graves. Nowadays the country is all about the newest technology and everybody has the newest Samsung phone and drives a new Hyundai or Equus. Using my Samsung Galaxy S II in this company is almost embarassing - and I who thought it would be cool, to have a Samsung phone when coming to Korea!
4. Nature vs. city.
We've seen Seoul only from the plane but the other cities we've seen (Chengju, Icheon and Jecheon) are to be honest not very attractive places. The architecture is quite plain, simple and grey and the horizont is often dominated by the ugly apartment buildings mentioned above. It's definitely worthwhile going utside the cities and having a look at the countryside which is dominated by mountains. And more mountains. The mountains are everywhere, but they are majestic and fascinatingly beautiful.
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