Korea (Thread 13)

[i_miss_sleep]

Subscribing to get ideas for my trip next year. Do I need to learn Korean to get by my travel? Hirap ba sila mag-English?

[ataypool]

^yes hirap. They can understand but expressing themselves is difficult. Sister ko learnt some of the basics and always had a Google translate on hand. Tourist sites like Myeongdong and Dongdaemun okay naman sa English but going to a department store to shop minsan okay minsan hindi.

Turn on any charm you've got kasi they are aloof but smile lang they will help. We've noticed that the 20-something ladies are suplada (must be the princess syndrome, which you can find in Singapore, HK and Manila too) pero friendly mga 30s and up but generally the men are friendlier.

[Madness]

Just got back from Korea and yes, first snow fall nga tapos nasa Nami kami so napaka magical ng feeling. The third day, walang snow though. Ang hirap pala pag winter. Mahirap gumalaw kase napaka lamig.

[blackgreen]

^hi sis! Naexperience din nila hubby yun first snowfall nung Monday. Asa Myeongdong naman sila. Sobrang lamig nga daw talaga pag negative degrees. Yun yung gusto ko pa naman maexperience.

[katniss]

^^haha true that. hirap magbihis kasi daming patong, hirap pag mag-ccr sa labas. eh hindi naman mapigilan kasi malamig. tapos ayun nga malamig, mahirap kumilos lol

@i_miss_sleep: no need to learn Korean! lahat ng signs may English na. or kapag magtatanong ka, body language or sasamahan ka mismo nila. kapag mga bata tatanungan mo, marunong na sila mag-English pero pag ahjummas sa mga restos, body language.

i haven't shared here yet. last week lang kami galing dun, hindi ko napansin na last trip pala ng airport limousine bus ay 8PM but their Kakao Map says otherwise so punta pa rin kami sa bus stop. naka-live update kasi sa Kakao Map kung parating na yung bus in how many minutes but nooooo, stop operation na pala according sa bus stop update.

tapos walang nagsasakay na taxi sa amin going to Seoul Station kasi mag-AAREX na lang sana kami kasi two pax lang kami but we have 4 big luggages. napansin kami ng two mid-20s na locals sa bus stop. they helped us booked Kakao Taxi (Uber-like of KR) going to Seoul Station. grabe ang bait nila nakakaiyak. sa galing nila mag-English hindi ko inakalang locals sila lol. during this last trip (which is my 6th), around 70% ng locals na naencounter ko ang maalam na mag-English.

[raaachel25]

Pa-help sa itinerary. Doable ba ito?

Arrival: FRI, DECEMBER 15 at 10:40 pm
Departure: THU, DECEMBER 21 at 2: 30 am

DAY 1: SAT, DECEMBER 16
- Gyeongbokgung Palace
- Changdeokgung Palace
- Bukchon Hanok Village
- Cheonggyecheon Stream

DAY 2: SUN, DECEMBER 17
- Noryangjin Fish Market
- Attend Every Nation Worship Service from 1 to 3 pm at 23 Chungjeongro 7-Gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea
- Cookin' Nanta Show

DAY 3: MON, DECEMBER 18
- Nami Island
- Petite France
- The Garden of Morning Calm

DAY 4: TUE, DECEMBER 19
- Everland

DAY 5: WED, DECEMBER 20
- DMZ Tour
- N Seoul Tower
- Attend JW Congregation Meeting from 7:30 to 9 pm at Seoul Yongsan-gu 737-37, Hannam-dong 5th Floor, Hannam Building, 211, Itaewon-ro



At saang 'Day' namin masisingit yung iba naming gustong puntahan?

- Banana Tree (dessert in flower pot)
- Caface (selfie on coffee)
- Banji Cafe (ring-making)
- Bau House (dog cafe)
- Monster Cupcakes

- Dynamic Maze (30 mins)
- Outdoor Skating (1 hour)

- Ehwa University
- Dongdaemun Design Plaza
- Starfield Library in Starfield Coex Mall
- Seoul World Cup Stadium
- Haneul Park

- Samcheondong Doldamgil (Goblin Wall; Eun Tak and Kim Shin's First Meeting)
- BBQ Olive Chicken (Goblin Eun Tak's Part Time Work Place)
- Jumunjin Beach, Gangneung (Goblin)
- Heo Joon Jae's House (The Legend of The Blue Sea)
- Bok's Chicken Restaurant (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo)

Thank you in advance!

[JhoAnne11]

Yup sis hirap mga korean magenglish.mga teenagers [textspeak!] marunong magenglish dun karamihan..[textspeak!] rest korean na...[textspeak!] basic [textspeak!] dapat mong aralin..

[i_miss_sleep]

Thanks mga sisses sa inputs. Mukhang kailangan ko nga talaga mag-aral maski basic lang, like directions. Ok din nga ang google translate kaso di ba it only works when you have internet connections. Speaking of, sa airport ba makakabili na ako ng sim card to use all over So. Korea? Sorry if redundant na yung question.

[ataypool]

^madami providers ng pocket wifi and sim card and may deals sa Kkday, Klook, Seoulpass and madami pang iba. I got mine from Klook but it helps to shop around. Meron din providers na papadala mismo sa hotel, I forgot the name but Search mo na lang. It is needed too especially pag nakalimutan mo dalhin ang maps etc. but mas helpful ang concierge sa mga hotels if you ask them for directions and what else to tour.

[plumpolka]

will be applying for visa this week or next week. medyo kinakabahan ako kasi di na ganon kalaki yung mapprovide kong show money unlike nung 1st time ko mag apply. wala pa din kasi ako kotse 2 yrs ago nung nag apply kaya ngayon, medyo bitin sa show money. although sa site nila, 3 days na lang ang processing pag nag-issue na ng visa before. kinakabahan parin ako. but i have jp visa naman and had 3 OTC trips this year alone. KINAKABAHAN AKO, feel ko malaki factor na may malaking amount sa bank account. and di naman porket na-issue na before, di na mad-deny 


meron na bang na deny na same situation ko huhuhu

[MS_JanDel]

Mga sis dating namin is 10:40 PM, AREX is only until 11:40PM daw so di ko alam kung maabutan lalo na Ceb Pac minsan delayed pa. Limousine bus only until 8Pm din? So ano pwede sakyan papuntang Seoul? Midnight Bus? Meron ba?

[gil12]

^ same tayo ng dating sa airport. Pano nga kaya? Sobrang mahal ba ng taxi? Uber kaya meron?

worth it pa ba pumunta ng Everland kapag winter? Baka kasi sobra lamig tapos hindi rin maganda flowers that time? Yun din kasi talaga habol ko. Last week of Feb travel dates namin.

[ataypool]

^my trip last October, taxi to/from airport is between 60000 to 80000 won. Parang may surcharge pag late night and early morning.

[MS_JanDel]

^Waah ang mahal sis!! Pagdadasal ko na hindi kami madelay para makaabot sa ArEx or sa mga Midnight buses nila.

sis gil12 check mo to sis, pero 2013 pa kasi. hehe

Sis pashare Airbnb niyo please? Torn ako between staying around Hongdae or Jung-gu.

Thanks!

[gil12]

^^ ang mahal nga ng taxi.. iniisip ko nga sayang yung one night sa hotel tapos extra gastos din taxi

^ sis MS_JanDel, ano plan niyo sana pag ganyan oras dating sa Incheon? Iniisip ko nga kung papalipas kami sa airport na lang o magstay sa mga hotel malapit sa airport..

First time kasi namin kaya nakaka-ngarag magplan hehe.. Tinitignan ko nga line ng train nila nakakahilo

[mysterioza_me]

Huhu after rebooking our April 2017 flight to November 2017, we opted not to push through with our Seoul trip due to very expensive one-way airfare from Incheon to Manila.

Lesson learned: Book roundtrip tickets next time para mas makamura. Seoul, mararating din kita...

^Awww sana naman hindi maging ganito ang lakad namin. I was able to booked a trip for 5pax via cebpac?s piso fare pero one way lang. Abang uli ng next sale, sana bumaba man lang ng atleast 3k/pax ang airfare pabalik ng Pinas.

[Madness]

will be applying for visa this week or next week. medyo kinakabahan ako kasi di na ganon kalaki yung mapprovide kong show money unlike nung 1st time ko mag apply. wala pa din kasi ako kotse 2 yrs ago nung nag apply kaya ngayon, medyo bitin sa show money. although sa site nila, 3 days na lang ang processing pag nag-issue na ng visa before. kinakabahan parin ako. but i have jp visa naman and had 3 OTC trips this year alone. KINAKABAHAN AKO, feel ko malaki factor na may malaking amount sa bank account. and di naman porket na-issue na before, di na mad-deny 


meron na bang na deny na same situation ko huhuhu

Don't worry sis. I think more than laman ng banko, tinitignan talaga nila kung employed ka or hindi.

I have 2 proven cases na. Big money sa bank account + online job = Denied
small money sa bank account, around 25k lang ha + employed = Approved

So true nga talaga yung no job, o visa rule nila

[mysterioza_me]

^Yung friend ko small lang din laman ng bank account niya. Di ko alam if magkano (i think its more than
25k kasi aware naman siya na yan minimum amount or yung laman should be able to cover ang length of stay niya) and almost 5yrs na sa present company pero na-denied. I didn?t ask why or if may reason stated ba bakit nadeny. Umiiyak siya talaga kasi dream destination niya ang SoKor, nag-aral pa nga siya ng language.

Ako di ko din alam maging kapalaran ko, gawan daw kami ng invitation ng sis ko. We need to provide strong ties lang dito sa Pinas lalo na ako. Parents ko no problem naman ata kasi galing sila dun last 2014 and stayed for 2mos. Sa akin daw for sure marami hingin kasi may risk daw na magTNT. May kasama pala kaming kids age 10 & 11, may bata kaya na nade-deny?!

Anyway, we?re thinking of staying within Jongno vicinity, naghahanap na kami ng 2 bedroom unit na good for 9pax (5 adults and 4 kids)

[ataypool]

Gil12 and Jandel, stay na lang kayo sa airport. Hotels in Incheon lowest maybe 80000 won for two pero malayo from the airport. Incheon airport is too big and ang nearest hotel is mga 5 minute drive so magta-taxi pa rin kayo to go to the airport.

[angeljolie]

You don't need to learn the language to go around. Mas importante na mag research na before the trip. Like kung anong sasakyan mo to get from point A to point B. Make a Word file of your itinerary that includes directions. Then print it along with the subway map. Hindi ka na maliligaw kaso super dali intindihin ng subway nila.

Ang tip saken dati ng mga boss kong koreano, kung kelangan ko talaga magtanong, dun ako magtanong sa mga estudyante. Kasi most, if not all, marunong na mag English. Maraming eager to help na may edad kaso pahirapan talaga makipag usap. But yun nga, if prepared ka naman with your itinerary, no need to ask.

It's fun to learn their language though lalo na pag naghahanap ng restaurants kasi kung marunong ka na magbasa, alam mo na kung anong oorderin mo hehe.

Regarding visa application, may friend ako dati who was a freelance writer but had only 5k in the bank pero may US visa, approved. If you have previous visas to the US, Korea, or Japan, mas malaki ang chances of getting approved.