Anyone been to South Korea travelling indpendently?

[SouthKoreaquestion]

DS who is 18 wants to go to South Korea for a fortnight in the summer, travelling independently and staying at an AirBNB. Obviously, now that he is 18, I can't stop him going (he has his own savings so can fund the trip) but the whole thing is making me nervous, largely because I know hardly anything about South Korea. If there is a genuine reason why it's a bad idea (as opposed to just fear of the unknown) I think DS will listen to my advice. As a family, we have traveled to quite a few places in Europe, but never further afield. Does anyone who knows South Korea have any views on how safe/risky it is for an 18-year-old from the UK to go traveling independently?

The reason for the choice of South Korea is that DS wants to meet up with a friend who he made on a school trip with participants from all over the world. Friend lives in the US, but his family are from Korea so he is going to Korea to see relatives. Obviously, if Korean speaking friend who knows the country is there to show DS around, it will make life much easier, but I am conscious DS doesn't know friend that well, so I would like to be confident that it would still be OK if for some reason the friend didn't show up. DS also has another friend (in the UK) who was on the same school trip and is also travelling to Korea at the same time, so DS would not be totally alone if US friend didn't show up, but UK friend is not a really close friend.

Advice welcome!

My friend went a couple of years ago to meet her sister that works there as a teacher.
My friend absolutely loved the place. She still raves about the food, the life style and she said she felt safe. It was 2015 when she went.
I'm sorry I cant give you anything more up to date but I really want to go there!!

Thanks notacooldad. That's good to know.

My friend said people were keen to practice English with her and very polite!!
If your son dies go would you report back. I love hearing people's holiday stories but I'd be really interested to hear how he got on.

I'm sure he won't!!

It's a wonderful country. We went backpacking with our toddler as it is safe, friendly with great infrastructure and top class healthcare. We had a fantastic time

South Korea is great. Very safe, English-friendly, good transport, clean, etc. He’ll have a ball.

Oh my God!!!
What a typo!!!!
I'm sure he won't die!!

Thank you. Microbiome, how easy is it to find your way around without knowing Korean, eg are signs at major stations in English as well as Korean?

Notacooldad, I thought at first you were being sarcastic, then realised the typo!

Anything to be aware of in terms of behaviour that would be fine in the UK, but cause offence/get you into trouble in Korea? Any scams to be aware of?

For a man - fine. Probably best for him to be a bit careful around women as it’s not immediately obvious when you’re in a red light district. Also men who don’t look Korean can often be targetted at clubs and bars.

SK (like Japan) tends to be more of a problem for women - a lot of walking involved due to the way the city is structured, and at night you will encounter a lot of drunk creeps.

Very safe, very easy, great infrastructure. I think it's a great destination for a first big trip.

At the same age I was volunteering in a village in central India with few links to the outside world. You really do learn to cope. Just make sure he has a phone and he'll be fine.

I had no issue walking around Seoul or Tokyo/Kyoto as a loan woman. Everyone very friendly.

A friend went travelling out there a few years ago, met her husband, and has lived there happily for 5 years He'll be fine!

I used to live there, cities are easy to navigate, good transport links. It’s a great county, safe and fantastic food.

I mean this nicely, but if you do a little research on south korea, rather than being scared because it's far away, I think you'd feel a lot better. And yes, asking on mums net is research of a sort, but really, not what I'm talking about.

Unlike North Korea which is a dictatorship with extreme prejudice against the western world, South Korea is a modern and dynamic country. As when travelling anywhere that is culturally different, your DS should do a little research re cultural norms and customs, food etc but there is no reason he should not go and enjoy it.

From memory, I found my way around quite easily when I was by myself, although I couldn't tell you if that was because signposts etc were in English or I just had a good guide book. The biggest challenge for me was that even when eating Western food, it had a unique Korean spin on it. Broadly, it was better to stick to Korean or other Asian cuisines. I still get the shivers about the plum sauce (which they use on everything, and is usually delicious) on my pizza...

In Korea, it is common to see young children sent to buy something from the local shop at 10pm. It is much safer than the UK.

As with everywhere in the world, he should exercise a bit of caution when drunk in a strange place as he is an obvious target, but I certainly wouldn't let that stop me going out anywhere any time in Korea.

Seoul is easy to get around. People will try hard to help out.

It's not as easy outside Seoul, but there are still tourist offices which can either speak English or call interpreters.

I would recommend downloading a map of Korea in advance e.g. Maps.Me.

Korean phone network is a bit weird and it is not trivial to get a SIM card with local data, but it is possible to get a tourist SIM at the airport. If you are worried about him, offer to invest in one of these for him as it makes it super easy for him to stay in touch as Korea is the most connected place on the planet.

He might find it easier / more fun to stay at some of the tourist hostels rather than an airbnb.

Food is one the best parts, but ordering, especially alone, can be a challenge, so eating out with Korean speaking friends will be a great experience.

Please let me know if you have any more specific questions.

Some random cultural tips from memory:

• Don't sit in the priority seats on the subway even if they are all completely empty
• Koreans are very indirect. "I don't know" is often code for no. e.g. Q "Can I have a wild roof top party?" A "I don't know". This means absolutely not.
• There is a perception that foreigners are arrogant and always think they know best. For example, a Korean would go to a hairdressers and ask the stylist, who is a professional, how they should cut their hair. In contrast most foreigners would tell the professional how to do it. A simple example, but might help with understanding the culture.
• The whole society is structured around age. Your son will be asked his age immediately, and will be expected to show respect to anyone older.

Tourists get a pass on most things though, so it is not worth stressing over.

Thank you. All very useful information which is helping to put my mind at rest. I'll continue to check this thread, so if anyone else has any hints and tips, please do post!

Would also suggest you read the Foreign Office travel advice to South Korea.