have you ever been to japan or korea? if you have.. what is it like? cuz i've always wanted 2 go =P

Korea's improved a lot in the past years. I heard through a talk show from a visiting Japanese woman that a few years ago, people weren't that well-dressed or fashionable. She said, however, that Koreans have gotten better in clothing and styles as of late.

In Seoul, specifically, there are a lot of good places to go, be it skating rink in winter at Seoul City Hall (or Lotte World), or nohreh baang (karaoke), or PC baang (which is internet for 1$ an hour), conventions at places like CoEX, ancient palaces and historic sites, etcetera.

What probably makes Korea awesome to those on this manga site are the fact that it has both Japanese manga (translated into Korean, or raw) and Korean manhwa. Additionally, the price of regular manga or manhwa is 3-4$ per volume, much cheaper than the 9.99$ in America.

Another aspect is gaming. You can get imports from various places, or simply play the Korean-translated games. There are also professional games of StarCraft and FPSs, shown on the gaming channel. Koreans are also major fans of MMORPGs, namely Mabinogi and Warcraft.

Most people, if not all adults, have cellphones. Korea is one of the most connected/internet-ish countries in the world. There's no such thing as dial-up here. Everyone uses broadband. People use cards to ride buses or the trains/subway.

Major holidays are chuseok (Korean thanksgiving day), Gehchunjul (the anniversary of the Korean race) and Lunar New Years.

One fun tidbit also, is about adultery. Here, it's illegal to cheat on your married spouse, so if one does commit adultery, both he and the person who he cheated with can be put into jail by his spouse. Nifty, eh? 😉

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I've been to Tokyo for Japan. On one side, it's like a big modern city with no traces of litter and a lot of tech markets and big department stores. On the other side are some really nice parks with cherry blossoms and ponds and stuff. Then, there's the fish market where they sell a bunch of seafood and sushi. But, everything is really expensive. Like taking the train from the aiport... even the low-speed train cost... I forget whether it was $200USD per person or for four people...

The sales clerks and people are all very polite and and nice and everything. Their products and bento and stuff, are wrapped really nicely with ribbon and things. Unfortunately, most of the people there are terrible at English, and if you try to speak to them in English, like asking for directions, they will literally run away. On the other hand, in a restaurant, when they found out my family was Canadian, we were treated to free food, and they were very excited.

Quote from cheesestix

On the other hand, in a restaurant, when they found out my family was Canadian, we were treated to free food, and they were very excited.

Do I hear free food -.-?

Dude you gotta give us directions to that restaurant -.-

i went to a city near Mt. Fuji in Japan. It was quite amazing. the first time i went there i barely spoke japanese but the second time i ddi a lot better. no one was scared of me but even now when i speak near-fluent japanese to someone in a resturant or something i would be talked back in english. only the people that actually know me well enough will speak japanese back. but this isnt that big of a problem. dureing the cherry blossom week it is just a big party. if you walk down a road with loads of cherry blossoms, people will just give you free liquor because you are the foreinger. it is quite awsome. there is so much more awsome stuff in japan that i really cant tell you in this forum

本当のラクダ

"The point is that good deeds were done and we were nearby" - the idiotic Red Mage

people will just give you free liquor because you are the foreinger.

Whoa free liquor. What is the drinking age in japan o.0 lol?

cool! all those sound so amazing! i hope to go to Korea and japan soon =). i might go to Maizuru,Japan and Kyoto next year ^.^ its like an exchange thing in our school. i cant wait =P!!

Quote from cheesestix

But, everything is really expensive. Like taking the train from the aiport... even the low-speed train cost... I forget whether it was $200USD per person or for four people...

The sales clerks and people are all very polite and and nice and everything. Their products and bento and stuff, are wrapped really nicely with ribbon and things. Unfortunately, most of the people there are terrible at English, and if you try to speak to them in English, like asking for directions, they will literally run away. On the other hand, in a restaurant, when they found out my family was Canadian, we were treated to free food, and they were very excited.

Could a train really cost so much?

And being polite is just a huge part of Japanese culture. It's such a big part, that it scares me at times.

Quote from Wufu

people will just give you free liquor because you are the foreinger.

Whoa free liquor. What is the drinking age in japan o.0 lol?

well it is 20 to drink there

本当のラクダ

"The point is that good deeds were done and we were nearby" - the idiotic Red Mage

Quote from HontouRakuda

Quote from Wufu

people will just give you free liquor because you are the foreinger.

Whoa free liquor. What is the drinking age in japan o.0 lol?

well it is 20 to drink there

Can they tell if the foreigner is a minor?

Quote from Mamsmilk

Quote from HontouRakuda

Quote from Wufu

[quote]people will just give you free liquor because you are the foreinger.

Whoa free liquor. What is the drinking age in japan o.0 lol?

well it is 20 to drink there

Can they tell if the foreigner is a minor?[/quote]
I think the more important question is, do they care? 😀
Japan sounds amazing, I'm planning to go there this summer. Already been to Korea and it was... decent. Just went with the family so didn't really do too many interesting things but the street vendors with food were really good 🙂

I lived in Japan for one year. I lived in Tokyo, but I've also been in Hokkaido (in Sapporo and Otaru), Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, Yamanashi (where Mt. Fuji is), Chiba, etc. I have pictures to back it up.

What's it like there? Well, can you make it more specific?? There's so many to tell, it'll be too long to post. XD Everything is different in Japan, but good different. People are respectful of one another, people respect authority, the service is just amazing, and overall its just a very convenient city to live in. Every district is characterized by different kinds of people. Shinjuku is full of businessmen, Akihabara is full of Otakus, Kanda is where all mangaka's are working in, Shibuya is full of fashion-conscious people, Harajuku is full of young, hip-and-happening people, etc, etc.

You bow for everything (just a very slight one, not the exaggerated ones you see on tv)---when people let you pass first, when you receive your change at a store, when cars stop to let you cross the street, or just plainly when you receive any kind of service. There are 2-3 vending machines at every street (even secluded ones), most people don't wear bright colors (so if you wear yellow, you'd totally stand out), 100Yen shops are extremely popular, English movies arrive really late at the theaters, some people buy manga magazines like JUMP in the train stations, read them during the commute, then just leave them lying around.

When you ask for directions, make sure you ask younger people. They always make an effort to answer you in English, just for practice (even if I clearly tell them I can understand Japanese just as well). I think it's quite cute, actually. 😀

I have been to South Korea too, just in Seoul, for a few days...but that was like...7 years ago. Too long ago for me to remember. XD

[img]http://img.userbars.pl/69/13603.gif[/img]

“What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.”

Oh, the vending machines... they're so much cheaper there and full of really different drinks. Their convenience stores are also a lot more convenient than the ones we have here =/ Definitely try out their desserts like ice cream and mochu and stuff.