In May I made a short trip to the Republic of South Korea in order to confirm my legal work status in Japan. Despite the fact that it rained solidly thoughout my time in the capital, I really liked Seoul. It's a chaotic hodge-podge city where tradition and modernity have been brought together so quickly, resulting in ancient temples and palaces sitting right in amongst the sky-scrapers.
The subway system is fairly confusing to start with, but you soon get used to it, in fact it has very similar atmosphere to the London Tube. However what is very different from London is the friendliness of the people. The cops all look about twelve but are incredibly helpful whether they speak English or not. I've never been to another city where a businessman will take time out to show a random foreigner which train to take and personally walk you to the platform. And where someone will jump on the wrong train just to give you a street map that fell out of your pocket on the platform.
I also met a lovely young lad from Singapore, who was remarkably well versed in British comedy. Despite having soaking wet feet for practically the entire time, I had a blast in Seoul, there's always someone around with just what you want or need. It's definitely a place I'd like to return to one day and explore further.
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