WEBVTT
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It's 1 in the morning.
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Your flight to Seoul leaves in three weeks, and you've got 40 browser tabs open on TripAdvisor.
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You type things to do in Seoul, start by top-rated, and start clicking whatever has the most green bubbles.
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A library inside of a shopping mall.
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An island from a drama you've never watched, a tunnel at the North Korean border, and somehow a farm full of alpacas?
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50,000 reviews can't all be wrong, right?
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Well, in 2024, TripAdvisor caught 2.7 million fake reviews.
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About one in every 12 people tried to post, and more than half of those fakes came from businesses or their own staff polishing their own listings.
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Somebody in that trust and safety department had a long year, and those are just the ones they caught.
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I'm Billy Furst, founder of Zinkimchi.
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I've lived in Korea for more than 20 years, writing about its food and culture and creating travel experiences for visitors.
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This is the Zen Kimchi Korea Food and Travel Podcast, where we look beyond the usual travel list and explore the food, places, and people and peculiarities that make Korea worth knowing.
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Let's get into it.
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Hello and welcome back to the Zen Kimchi Food and Travel Podcast.
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This is Joe.
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Also want to point out I wanted to promote our other podcast, long-running Dark Side of Soul podcast, which you can find at darksideofsoul.com if you want to learn more about Soul's dark history, folklore, even some ghost stories.
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So check that one out.
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Alright, so you know, we all use TripAdvisor.
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I'll admit I use TripAdvisor too, but it's not my end all for my research.
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I tend to use it just to scout around what's available, then I go a little deeper.
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I mean, let's look at the ratings right now.
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If we're looking at Korea, we have Nami Island at 4.3, the DMZ at 4.4, the Big Viader DMZ tour is around 4.88 to 4.98.
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One with 52,377 reviews.
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Now this was all pulled from mid-October 2026.
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So leave with that there.
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Now, honest five-star reviews usually rate the guide, and the itinerary usually just raids along.
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It's usually more about the guides.
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Even on our own experiences, most of them the rating are guides, even though we have good experiences, but more on that later.
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Yeah, so point out there's also more, there's also paid placement.
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A lot of people are not aware of that.
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Is you know, operators can raise their commissions to Viator to boost their visibility, and they get in ad placements within 48 hours and Viator list improved Viator sort rankings as a benefit.
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So you you know, the tours and experiences that you may find on there and attractions, they may be ranking highly because it was pay-for-play.
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Now, when I say via tour, keep in mind I'm talking about TripAdvisor.
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TripAdvisor owns Viator.
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And if you're booking a tour through TripAdvisor, it is via Tor.
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Also, a misconception a lot of people have tours booked through ViaTorvisor, they're not the same company.
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These are all separate independent tour guides and companies that are on TripAdvisor.
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It's just like saying that if you book an air ticket through booking.com, Asiana is not the same company as Delta.
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You know, it's like saying that they're part of Booking.com.
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So just clear that one up because I've had a few people get confused about that.
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So anyway, yeah, people can really, I would say they can they can stack the rankings.
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When the pilot, this is called the Accelerate Program on Viator.
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I'm giving a little inside baseball.
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A travel industry website, FocusWire, P-H-O-C-U-S wire, found a UK operator baffled that Viator was now ranking products so openly by operators that were increasing their commissions.
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And ever since, I mean, people are reporting suggested rates of 42 to 51% just to keep their competitor ads off their own listings.
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Now, these are I should also say those are secondhand reports.
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But anyway, I should just point out that I'm just saying all this because I should also say this because if you see something that is ranked highly on Viator, sometimes it is because they offered more money to Via Tor.
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Now, caveat, we are also listed on TripAdvisor Via Tour.
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One of our tours actually is was rated one of the top 1% in the entire world.
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Now, keep in mind we've not really played with the Accelerator that much.
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In fact, our top-rated tours don't participate in the Accelerate program, and we've never put in a fake review.
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So leave that out there.
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Now, on to some of the attractions and experiences that, you know, are kind of overrated.
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Now, keep in mind, this is my caveat.
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I say at the beginning of a lot of these.
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This may not apply to you.
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It depends on the experience you want.
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I am basing this not really just on my opinions, these are the opinions of a lot of my guests on our experiences.
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And I've been running this for 14 years.
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I talk to my guests about what they like, what they didn't like, what they felt was great, what they felt was overrated.
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So let's go into the list.
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Number one, Starfield Library.
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What is this?
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It's a giant library in a shopping mall.
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Or I like to say it's a fake library full of fake books for fake people.
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Lonely Planet calls it a 13-meter neonit designer shrine to books.
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It's more that than a library.
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You can't take anything away, and most visitors come to take selfies while resting from shopping.
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And I would, yeah, it is a trap.
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It's a it was an intended tourist trap because it's in the Coex Mall down in Gangnam.
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Pointing out, Coex Mall in Gangnam.
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Yeah, it's a mall.
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You know, those of us who live here, yeah, that's our that's one of our malls.
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But if you're coming all the way from overseas, all the way from another western country, this is just another shopping mall.
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It's no different than any mall you've been to anywhere around the world.
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So a while back, they were struggling, they were wondering why people were not visiting the Coex mall.
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And so they decided to create a tourist trap.
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So they put the fake library in the food court, and now it's crowded, it's full of people who aren't really the types that read books.
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It's so funny seeing people that's opposing that like they're reading a book.
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Now there are real books there, there are real books, but most of the stuff you see that's way up high, and you look like you're in the Beast Castle on Beauty and the Beast, they're styrofoam books.
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I have photographic proof, those are fake books.
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And you got people just waiting in queues just to go on the escalator to get the same photo that everyone else gets.
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So, yeah, people in the reviews say like they left after about 10 minutes after taking photos.
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There's really not much to do there.
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And other people pointed out that the books are all they're fake and they're duplicates.
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I mean, they couldn't even get unique fake books.
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So, you know, nobody actually really goes to the library, and even if you did go there to read, it's noisy and it's just full of just influencers and wannabe influencers.
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Now, okay, I assume you you may not want to go to the Starfield library to read.
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I assume it's for photos.
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Now, so let me give you an alternative.
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How about Ojiro?
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Go to Ujiro, it's right near Myongdong, and at night it's this really cool area that is full of speakeasies and cafes.
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It's bathed in lime green and pink and purple neon.
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That's a really great place for photos.
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If you want to go for photos, why don't you go there?
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Alright, next on our list, Nami Island.
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Again, with the caveats.
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Nami Island isn't bad.
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I mean, I've gone to Nami Island and I've had a good time there.
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The thing is, Nami Island wasn't made for you.
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It was made for those of us who live in Korea.
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It was really a place for families to go to when they couldn't afford to go overseas.
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It and it's become a bit of a tourist trap.
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It's very questionable why this is promoted so heavily to foreign tourists, because there's nothing really that Korean about it.
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This is people just want a day trip, and it just keeps getting ranked higher and higher on TripAdvisor.
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Because I think a lot of the tour companies don't have that much imagination, and they just keep copying each other.
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It's easy money and it's overly crowded, overly touristy.
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You know, it's it's kind of like a Disneyland in Korea without the charm and the iconic miles' ears.
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One reviewer said they were comparing it to going to Paris and going to a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum.
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Or someone else has said, I have I have been to municipal parks that are better than this.
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And still it rates around 3.4 out of 5 bubbles.
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The attraction itself, but the tours that actually go there rank much higher.
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So Nami Island is pretty, but it's extremely crowded.
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You're not going to get the photos that they keep showing in all the photos.
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The thing with Nami Island is that the tours tend to come with bundles to other places.
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You will not be interested.
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So if you really still want to go to Nami Island, be aware they tend to be bundled with these things.
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One is Petit France.
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Petite France.
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It's a fake French village.
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And I assume you did not go all the way to Korea to go to a fake French village.
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One 2020 25 visitor said, very strange is all I can say, very creepy.
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People found the gift shops are just full of Bart Simpson dolls and Eiffel Tower replicas.
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So yeah, you can go get a souvenir Eiffel Tower replica from Korea.
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And of course, none of the food is French.
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So just skip it.
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So yeah, I mean, if you want to know what's authentically French about Petsy France, absolutely ray.
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Another one they always put on there is Alpaca World.
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Yeah, one reviewer called it like a nanozoo.
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I mean, again, why did you go all the way to Korea to see a South American camel?
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So be aware.
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If you don't want to go see alpacas, watch out for that on these bundles.
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It's just going to be wasting half of your day.
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And it's just another excuse for these tour companies to charge you more.
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Besides, I mean, some of the reviewers have said the alpacas look kind of skinny and dirty and crantzed with little room to roam.
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So it's kind of a sad experience.
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I don't like supporting stuff like this.
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So skip alpaca world, skip petit fronts.
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There's even an Italian village, just skip all the fake villages.
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These are all meant for Korean families to take their kids for something exotic.
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Not really something that you would really go.
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Now, as an aside, some of the tours include the Garden of Morning calm.
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Again, not extremely Korean, but it is really pretty, especially in the wintertime when they have it all lit up.
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So that is actually kind of cool.
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Now, if you're looking for an alternative, now if you're looking for an island, I would say Ganghua Island.
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It's west of Seoul.
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It's a good for a day trip.
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It's a very scenic island, very historic, lots of stuff to do there.
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If you're looking for another day trip, Suan just south of Seoul.
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It's actually reachable by this subway.
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And we actually have a Suan experience there, going to the fortress and the palace and even the kimbab shop from the Netflix drama The Extraordinary Attorney Ooh.
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So if you want to do that.
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Not in Chon, not Ichon, Ich.
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I-C-H-E-O-N.
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It's Korea's pottery center.
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It has been that for centuries.
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I mean, in fact, uh, in the 16th century, Japanese pirates were kidnapping Korean potters from Ichon and bringing them back to Japan.
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And the historical record showed that suddenly Japan's pottery got a little better.
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It's really full of local flavor.
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The food there is great.
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The soju there is great.
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The makali there is great.
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You can get really cool souvenirs, you can get a lot of cool pottery experiences, and they're great museums.
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So Ichon is a much better place for you.
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So let's go to the next one.
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Okay, DMZ tours.
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DMZ.
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I say it's worth going with an asterisk at the end.
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Look for what's included.
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If it includes the third tunnel, I've asked my guests for this.
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Some people liked it, a lot of people did not.
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What is it?
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The third tunnel is it's a tunnel that was built by North Korean spies to sneak into South Korea.
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And if you go down there, I mean there are there's some limited tickets that take this little monorail down there.
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If you don't get that, there are limited tickets to walk down there, 265 meters of a 73-meter deep tunnel where you have to wear a hard hat.
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It's very tiny, it's very cramped, it's very claustrophobic.
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And you get to the end, and it's just it's just a wall with a little tiny window on it.
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And that's it.
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I mean, maybe you could technically peek through the window through the North Korean side of it, but that's just it.
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I mean, the only thing that's really unique about it is maybe some North Koreans spies, they painted they painted some of the rocks black to make it look like a coal mine.
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But I mean, it's not like going into a cave and seeing cool stalactites and stalagmites and rock formations.
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You're just you're just going into a basically a fake mine shaft.
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So that's actually going to take up some of your time.
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And also, this is the reason a lot of the DMZ tours want to get you on the bus extremely early in the morning because there's such limited tickets, and the buses race up there very recklessly, so that the guide can rush out to the ticket window and get the tickets before they're all gone.
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Reviewers have said about the third tunnel, it's a tunnel, save your time.
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And it's just you're just crashed the whole time.
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So yeah.
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So some of the other add-ons that they do, they're kind of like Disney-like.
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It's there's the DMZ, there's the DMZ sign for photo hops, life-size plastic soldiers in uniforms.
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There's the pinwheel heel at Pyongywa Nuri Park that was created in the 2005 for the World Peace Festival.
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It's it's got over 3,000 pinwheels, it's a photo zone, and there's also a suspension bridge.
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And there was an amusement park in that area.
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And I just want to point this out.
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I mean, in my opinion, this kind of really clashes with the vibe of the DMZ.
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The DMZ is one of the few tourist areas you would go in the world that's supposed to be kind of serious.
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It's supposed to be a little bit of a dark tourist area.
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I mean, to go back to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, it's like putting a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in front of Auschwitz.
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It's just, it just doesn't work.
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Nonetheless, I would say look for tours that include talks with a North Korean defector or someone who worked in works in the military, someone from the military.
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Those are the better ones.
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So the people that have gone on my tours have said those have been the better tours they've gone on.
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So if you're going to DMZ, skip the third tunnel, skip the suspension bridge, skip the Pinwheel Park, look for things that actually give you a little bit of culture and context.
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Okay, number four, I'm going to do a short one on Guangzheng Market because I want to do a whole episode on Guangzhou Market.
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The reason I want to do a whole episode is because I'm not going to dismiss Guangzhang as a tourist trapper overrated place right offhand.
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There is really cool stuff to do there, but it has been booked, toured, crowded, packed, photographed to death.
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I think it's a law that every TV show that comes to Seoul has to do a scene at Guangzhou market.
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So expect to be very crowded.
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It's just one sign that you can tell an area is a touristy, very touristy area is if it has an H B A F almond shop in it.
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Or a Zhang Games, C Z-A-N-G, Zhang Games in there.
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That's usually a sign something's very touristy.
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Or an interesting Starbucks.
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I should point out there's a Starbucks on the DMZ.
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There's a Starbucks in Guangzhou as well.
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This was a really cool market, still kind of is, but it's really being transformed into something that is just weird.
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I mean, recently I was there and someone just opened a big South American, South American oyster bar.
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Go there if you want to do that.
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And if people looking for what are the best stalls, they're pretty much all the same.
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But I will give you a guide on that one later on.
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If you want to go to a market, there's some other markets I think are much better.
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I mean, right next door to Guangzhou is Jongno Xinjiin market.
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That's a real local market.
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That's a fun one to go.
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You see, real, that's where real, that's where the that's where Koreans go to.
00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:37.920
And they're really known for their the dakamari, which is like this whole the soup with the whole chicken in it.
00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.480
Not the Jinseng chicken soup, a much bigger one.
00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:42.319
They're known for the grilled fish.
00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:48.400
And there's this other area right on the edge of it that's full of these really unique street food stalls.
00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:52.079
Some of them are award-winning street food stalls, unique stuff.
00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:53.680
And I think that's a really cool one.
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:58.480
It's right next to Dong Day Moon Gate, so you can get some good photos of the gate.
00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.960
Also, the other one is Mongwan Market.
00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:06.319
Now, Mangguan Market and World Cup Market, they're right next to each other, and we all just lump them all together.
00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:14.240
Mongwan is it's actually a real local market, even though it's starting to get a little more tourist these days and a little more crowded.
00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.440
It's I think it's I think it's a more interesting market.
00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:27.920
I actually do some private experiences where I bring guests to both markets, and people have generally liked Mongwan a lot better.
00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:29.279
So keep it at that.
00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:32.880
I think Mong Mongwan is really good for fried chickens, for croquettes.
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:44.000
It's the inventor of the s'mores ice cream where that they blowtorch the ice cream, marshmallow around the ice cream, has a really cool hotok with uh uh hotok area in the basement.
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:54.640
I'm gonna do a whole I'm gonna do a whole episode about Mongwan market sometime, but it's it really has a cool local flavor, and it's surrounded by amazing cafes if you're looking for that.
00:18:55.359 --> 00:19:01.839
All right, something else I want to point out is looking at tours, especially food tours, because that's our bread and butter.
00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:07.359
We do a lot of food tours or food experiences in what we do in our business.
00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:16.079
I would say they're not overrated, but you need to check before you book grazing tours, the ones where you're just having sampling this and there, that mostly works.
00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:20.079
I think that really works in other cities better than Korea does.
00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:26.640
When I was first starting this business, it was really hard to get businesses to wrap their minds around the concept of a grazing tour.
00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:28.720
They didn't see what was in it for them.
00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:30.720
So they're not really big into that.
00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:34.960
So that means the grazing tours tend to only be around the Guangzhou market.
00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:35.599
That's okay.
00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:37.680
They're kind of light-owned food.
00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:39.119
You get this and that there.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:50.559
Now, if you're doing a Guangzhou tour, this is my personal observation from watching other guides there, is I have not seen them really give a good in-depth take on the market.
00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:51.759
Like what is the market?
00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:53.759
Why is it important to Korea?
00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.240
They just take you in and show you this and this.
00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:01.680
What I also don't like it is some of the tours, especially some of the tours with surprises at the end.
00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:05.359
That surprise is usually live octopus.
00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:08.000
And I have a personal ethical issue with this.
00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:22.160
One thing, I mean, of course, the kill the live octopus itself, but also of this ethical issue of especially Korean guides and Korean tour companies forcing this on foreigners because it feels like they're playing a practical joke on you.
00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:27.759
Because the fact is, even though live octopus is eaten in Korea, it's not a common dish.
00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:44.559
It's kind of like something that people have when they're drinking as kind of a dare food, but the fact that they're just pushing this on foreigners, and what kills me is that they're killing all these little octopus octopuses for entertainment, for that they're not even going to eat the octopuses.
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:47.519
It's I really just I'm not a big fan of that.
00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:58.000
And it just reminds me of it feels like the old Korean shows, and I used to participate in these Korean shows, we're like, oh, look at these foreigners eating this weird Korean food.
00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:02.720
And I really just feel it's condescending to your guest.
00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:06.559
I mean, if you want to try the live octopus, go for it.
00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:11.680
But if you don't, be aware that's really common on a lot of the Guangzhou tours.
00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:16.400
Also, look to see if the food is included.
00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:25.839
Some people have booked really inexpensive food tours and have been surprised to find that the food is not included in the price of the tour.
00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:31.440
Usually it does say, so you need to read the fine print or the big print.
00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:45.839
I've had people on my tours and I've had seen I've seen a lot of complaints from reviews of people going on a tour and being surprised that there's no that the that the that they got a bill at the end of their tour.
00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:53.759
I've also seen this in a lot of Facebook groups for that are talking about a lot of Facebook groups that that are focused on travel in Korea.
00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.000
By the way, we do have our own Facebook group.
00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.759
If you look for Zin Kimsi Concierge, we actually have.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.160
own Facebook group and a page that helps you plan your trip to Korea.
00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:20.319
I think the better food tours, and not just ours, our food experiences really do this, or ones that actually go to sit-down restaurants that want to give you an all-inclusive, more real cultural depth rather than just try this weird dish at this market type of thing.
00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:26.480
I think that I think you want a good food tour that maybe you might do some shopping and go to a class.
00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:29.039
I think the cooking classes are excellent here.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.359
That take you to secret alleys.
00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:33.279
I think those are really good ones.
00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:38.559
Or ones where you're just trying to recreate what it's like to live and eat and drink in Korea.
00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:39.440
I think those are good.
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:44.799
Another one another ones that I would say that are break that rule I was just telling you about pub crawls.
00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:52.160
Especially the the cheaper pub crawls like I would say the absolute pub crawl which I've been on and I will actually I would actually promote this one.
00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:53.680
I'll actually endorse this one.
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:55.519
It's a fairly inexpensive one.
00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:58.880
There's not really you're not really going to really create Korean places.
00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.599
You're not going to be trying traditional Korean alcohols in these places.
00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:14.079
It's the places where you it's the you go to bars where they give you neon rainbow shots and you get some free shots at every bar you go to a one shot or one drink at every bar you go to and then the rest you have to pay for yourself.
00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:19.440
But the purpose of these tours are for tourists that want to have a little bit of nightlife and want to meet other tourists.
00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:25.839
I do recommend pub crawls like that especially if you're single or with a friend and you guys just want to meet more people.
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:39.279
All right really quick some honorable mentions Myungdong's the number two I've mentioned this in the past about Myongdong it is an extremely touristy area it's basically Times Square in New York it's basically Piccadilly Circus in London.
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:42.799
It's just a very touristy area full of Nike stores.
00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:50.960
Insult tower it's beautiful for the view if you have time to go to Insult Tower it is beautiful but check to see if the air is clean first.
00:23:51.119 --> 00:24:13.920
One way to check is at night if the tower is colored blue the air is clean because the insult tower they put colored lights on it based on the air quality so if it's blue the air is really clean and it goes down the to green yellow and red and when tower is red I mean that means the air so bad you can't even see Ensell Tower.
00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.799
That said I would say the locks were really cool.
00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:30.720
These are locks so you might see some I would say chain link fences or such with a bunch of locks on them and way way back some young people thought it was really cool is we're going to prove our love by putting a padlock on this fence at Insult Tower.
00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:51.359
And now everyone does it and you're buying a lock to put on there and you know what there's so many locks on there they have to keep changing the fences and they throw away the old locks and put those back yeah okay so you get that be aware that Insul Tower there is a cable car that goes up there but you're still going to have to hike up a lot of stairs to get there.
00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:52.720
It is cool.
00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:55.599
I've been there a couple of times and you get a nice view.
00:24:55.920 --> 00:25:11.440
Insidong we've talked about that in brief insidong is still fine especially it's really good for pottery shopping or getting name stamps and really getting really cool traditional paper but they bulldoze a lot of insadong to make way for really generic shopping malls there.
00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:13.440
But I mean it's a way to enjoy it.
00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:16.079
Another one I would put as an honorable mention is Nanta.
00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:42.160
This is a a a rhythm one of those rhythm shows remember Stomp Stomp where they're beating old drums and stuff well this is a carbon copy of Stomp that involves Korean cooking it's kind of fun if you know what you're in for I've done Nanta and I've done a few of these nonverbal shows in the past they're kind of fun they were created in a time when tourism wasn't really big in Korea and Korea was just really looking for something to advertise and brochures.
00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:52.960
Be aware if you're going to go to Nanta don't sit near the aisles if you don't want to be brought on stage because they love looking for foreigners to bring on stage and embarrass on stage.
00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:58.640
So be aware of that there's one all these nonverbal ones there's one called Bibop.
00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:10.400
I don't know if it's still around but it's a carbon copy of Nanta which is a carbon copy of Stomp and where it's all about them making bibbimbop and it's very vaudevillian slapstick humor.
00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:20.960
And I remember once when I was there they brought this poor young woman on stage to try the bibbim bop that they made and she spit it out it was so embarrassing.
00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:44.960
Anyway nonetheless if you do want to go to performance the New York Times has officially declared Seoul as the Broadway of Asia and go to Hewa go to go to Hanamdong we have a really great theater scene here most of it's in Korean but some of this is in English we even have big touring companies going through Seoul.
00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:48.319
We get you know Phantom of the Opera oh we I've gotten Hamilton.
00:26:48.480 --> 00:27:07.920
I think Hamilton's a hard one to bring to Korea but we do get wicked we get School of Rocks actually the cast of School of Rock and the cast of Gatsby the great Gatsby have they've taken some of our they've taken our ghost walk a few times so yeah if you want to try some theater Korea's great for theater but just be aware that Nanta's just there.
00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:14.240
So I did mention before that Viator does take giant cuts from from their suppliers.
00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:21.920
Viatur's base is around 20% other ones like get your guide goes 30 35% I and Kluke is around as high as well.
00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:53.200
So I I just really just want to point out if you really want to support local there's this big movement for sustainable tourism and I would include sustainable tourism as booking booking your experiences directly booking your attractions directly because if you're booking through via tour and get your guide and Kluke you're giving a portion of your money to a large corporation that's actually being taken out of the local businesses and local guides.
00:27:53.519 --> 00:28:11.920
So my slogan for this is support local book direct what I do this is my hack I do is I do my research on TripAvisor and then I look at the company that's listed on there I click their link and usually there is a direct booking link.
00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:18.480
Now sometimes I've heard pushback saying well they don't really trust booking from a site they don't know.
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:30.480
Well if you book on TripAdvisor you're basically getting the same tour but actually in many cases you're actually paying more if you book through Viator and get your guy than you are if you book direct.
00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:38.240
Also if you book direct it's possible to get a lot of extras and other hidden tours that that are on there.
00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:40.640
So you get a lot more inside stuff.
00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:47.200
So that's my little that's my little little tip is support local book direct.
00:28:47.839 --> 00:29:04.400
So if you enjoyed this episode please subscribe on the platform you're consuming this lovely show from and also leave a comment that helps more than you think you can find us on everything on Apple Podcast on Spotify on everywhere.
00:29:04.640 --> 00:30:21.039
You can also find more travel and food tips you can you can book our immersive experiences at zenkimg.com yes and we're on trip advisor as well you can see the irony of that also should point out Korea's booking systems if you want to book a train if you want to book a restaurant these booking systems were built for people with a Korean phone number a Korean ID and a Korean bank card if you need a restaurant reservation train tickets even tickets or a ride from the airport Zen Kimchi Concierge handles it for you just go to concierge.zenkimshi.com and we would be happy to help you book that sports game that train ticket and even that restaurant so check that one out also some new thing we've been working on we have a calendar of events on Zen Kimchi.com and at concierge these are events like festivals concerts classes lots of hand on activities expos so if you're really looking for extra things to do in Korea if you live in Korea I created this because I got so tired of finding out a concert came in town or there was a really cool festival and I found out about it by reading about it in the Korea Times the day after it happened.
00:30:21.200 --> 00:31:07.440
No one ever announces these things ahead of time it's really hard to find some of these things well we are finding these things now we've been collecting them we're making amazing calendars to find all the really cool stuff on top of that we have a newsletter that helps you find all the events if you follow our Zen Kimsi concierge group and our Zen Kimsi Concierge Facebook page both of them on Facebook we give weekly rundowns we do one post a week on festivals and really cool events and we do another another post on concerts we're not just talking about K-pop concerts we're talking about indie stuff we're talking about clubs club nights if you want to find out all this stuff check that out over at ZenKimchi.com or Zen Kimchi Concierge and just look for events.
00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:22.400
Also I should point out again our sister podcast Dark Side of Soul you can find that on any of your favorite podcasting apps as well look for that so thank you for listening thank you for watching if you're watching us on YouTube I'm Joe McPherson.
00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:24.559
See you in the next one
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.760
It's 1 in the morning.
00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.599
Your flight to Seoul leaves in three weeks, and you've got 40 browser tabs open on TripAdvisor.
00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:14.240
You type things to do in Seoul, start by top-rated, and start clicking whatever has the most green bubbles.
00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:16.480
A library inside of a shopping mall.
00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:24.079
An island from a drama you've never watched, a tunnel at the North Korean border, and somehow a farm full of alpacas?
00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.679
50,000 reviews can't all be wrong, right?
00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:33.520
Well, in 2024, TripAdvisor caught 2.7 million fake reviews.
00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:42.719
About one in every 12 people tried to post, and more than half of those fakes came from businesses or their own staff polishing their own listings.
00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:48.719
Somebody in that trust and safety department had a long year, and those are just the ones they caught.
00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:52.399
I'm Billy Furst, founder of Zinkimchi.
00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:59.520
I've lived in Korea for more than 20 years, writing about its food and culture and creating travel experiences for visitors.
00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:12.959
This is the Zen Kimchi Korea Food and Travel Podcast, where we look beyond the usual travel list and explore the food, places, and people and peculiarities that make Korea worth knowing.
00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:14.560
Let's get into it.
00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:21.280
Hello and welcome back to the Zen Kimchi Food and Travel Podcast.
00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:22.400
This is Joe.
00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:35.280
Also want to point out I wanted to promote our other podcast, long-running Dark Side of Soul podcast, which you can find at darksideofsoul.com if you want to learn more about Soul's dark history, folklore, even some ghost stories.
00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:37.040
So check that one out.
00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:41.120
Alright, so you know, we all use TripAdvisor.
00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:46.079
I'll admit I use TripAdvisor too, but it's not my end all for my research.
00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:50.719
I tend to use it just to scout around what's available, then I go a little deeper.
00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:52.879
I mean, let's look at the ratings right now.
00:01:53.120 --> 00:02:03.120
If we're looking at Korea, we have Nami Island at 4.3, the DMZ at 4.4, the Big Viader DMZ tour is around 4.88 to 4.98.
00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:06.719
One with 52,377 reviews.
00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:10.639
Now this was all pulled from mid-October 2026.
00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:12.080
So leave with that there.
00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:18.080
Now, honest five-star reviews usually rate the guide, and the itinerary usually just raids along.
00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:19.360
It's usually more about the guides.
00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:26.879
Even on our own experiences, most of them the rating are guides, even though we have good experiences, but more on that later.
00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.560
Yeah, so point out there's also more, there's also paid placement.
00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:32.479
A lot of people are not aware of that.
00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:45.280
Is you know, operators can raise their commissions to Viator to boost their visibility, and they get in ad placements within 48 hours and Viator list improved Viator sort rankings as a benefit.
00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:55.759
So you you know, the tours and experiences that you may find on there and attractions, they may be ranking highly because it was pay-for-play.
00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.599
Now, when I say via tour, keep in mind I'm talking about TripAdvisor.
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:01.280
TripAdvisor owns Viator.
00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:05.120
And if you're booking a tour through TripAdvisor, it is via Tor.
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Also, a misconception a lot of people have tours booked through ViaTorvisor, they're not the same company.
00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:17.919
These are all separate independent tour guides and companies that are on TripAdvisor.
00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:24.479
It's just like saying that if you book an air ticket through booking.com, Asiana is not the same company as Delta.
00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:27.759
You know, it's like saying that they're part of Booking.com.
00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.639
So just clear that one up because I've had a few people get confused about that.
00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:42.159
So anyway, yeah, people can really, I would say they can they can stack the rankings.
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When the pilot, this is called the Accelerate Program on Viator.
00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:47.759
I'm giving a little inside baseball.
00:03:48.000 --> 00:04:00.240
A travel industry website, FocusWire, P-H-O-C-U-S wire, found a UK operator baffled that Viator was now ranking products so openly by operators that were increasing their commissions.
00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:09.599
And ever since, I mean, people are reporting suggested rates of 42 to 51% just to keep their competitor ads off their own listings.
00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.960
Now, these are I should also say those are secondhand reports.
00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:28.560
But anyway, I should just point out that I'm just saying all this because I should also say this because if you see something that is ranked highly on Viator, sometimes it is because they offered more money to Via Tor.
00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:32.399
Now, caveat, we are also listed on TripAdvisor Via Tour.
00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:37.600
One of our tours actually is was rated one of the top 1% in the entire world.
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Now, keep in mind we've not really played with the Accelerator that much.
00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:49.519
In fact, our top-rated tours don't participate in the Accelerate program, and we've never put in a fake review.
00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.199
So leave that out there.
00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:59.040
Now, on to some of the attractions and experiences that, you know, are kind of overrated.
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Now, keep in mind, this is my caveat.
00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:02.800
I say at the beginning of a lot of these.
00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:04.879
This may not apply to you.
00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:06.959
It depends on the experience you want.
00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:14.319
I am basing this not really just on my opinions, these are the opinions of a lot of my guests on our experiences.
00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:16.399
And I've been running this for 14 years.
00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:23.360
I talk to my guests about what they like, what they didn't like, what they felt was great, what they felt was overrated.
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So let's go into the list.
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Number one, Starfield Library.
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What is this?
00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:34.480
It's a giant library in a shopping mall.
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Or I like to say it's a fake library full of fake books for fake people.
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Lonely Planet calls it a 13-meter neonit designer shrine to books.
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It's more that than a library.
00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:50.399
You can't take anything away, and most visitors come to take selfies while resting from shopping.
00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.879
And I would, yeah, it is a trap.
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It's a it was an intended tourist trap because it's in the Coex Mall down in Gangnam.
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Pointing out, Coex Mall in Gangnam.
00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:01.040
Yeah, it's a mall.
00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.439
You know, those of us who live here, yeah, that's our that's one of our malls.
00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:13.120
But if you're coming all the way from overseas, all the way from another western country, this is just another shopping mall.
00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:17.519
It's no different than any mall you've been to anywhere around the world.
00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:25.040
So a while back, they were struggling, they were wondering why people were not visiting the Coex mall.
00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:26.720
And so they decided to create a tourist trap.
00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:33.519
So they put the fake library in the food court, and now it's crowded, it's full of people who aren't really the types that read books.
00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:37.360
It's so funny seeing people that's opposing that like they're reading a book.
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Now there are real books there, there are real books, but most of the stuff you see that's way up high, and you look like you're in the Beast Castle on Beauty and the Beast, they're styrofoam books.
00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:52.720
I have photographic proof, those are fake books.
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And you got people just waiting in queues just to go on the escalator to get the same photo that everyone else gets.
00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:04.480
So, yeah, people in the reviews say like they left after about 10 minutes after taking photos.
00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:06.160
There's really not much to do there.
00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.639
And other people pointed out that the books are all they're fake and they're duplicates.
00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:13.439
I mean, they couldn't even get unique fake books.
00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:24.639
So, you know, nobody actually really goes to the library, and even if you did go there to read, it's noisy and it's just full of just influencers and wannabe influencers.
00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:30.560
Now, okay, I assume you you may not want to go to the Starfield library to read.
00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:32.480
I assume it's for photos.
00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:34.720
Now, so let me give you an alternative.
00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:36.079
How about Ojiro?
00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:45.839
Go to Ujiro, it's right near Myongdong, and at night it's this really cool area that is full of speakeasies and cafes.
00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:49.199
It's bathed in lime green and pink and purple neon.
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:51.519
That's a really great place for photos.
00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:54.079
If you want to go for photos, why don't you go there?
00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:57.680
Alright, next on our list, Nami Island.
00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:01.199
Again, with the caveats.
00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.560
Nami Island isn't bad.
00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:09.360
I mean, I've gone to Nami Island and I've had a good time there.
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:13.120
The thing is, Nami Island wasn't made for you.
00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:16.560
It was made for those of us who live in Korea.
00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:23.120
It was really a place for families to go to when they couldn't afford to go overseas.
00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:25.439
It and it's become a bit of a tourist trap.
00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:33.360
It's very questionable why this is promoted so heavily to foreign tourists, because there's nothing really that Korean about it.
00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:38.879
This is people just want a day trip, and it just keeps getting ranked higher and higher on TripAdvisor.
00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:45.200
Because I think a lot of the tour companies don't have that much imagination, and they just keep copying each other.
00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:49.440
It's easy money and it's overly crowded, overly touristy.
00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:55.919
You know, it's it's kind of like a Disneyland in Korea without the charm and the iconic miles' ears.
00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:02.799
One reviewer said they were comparing it to going to Paris and going to a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum.
00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:08.080
Or someone else has said, I have I have been to municipal parks that are better than this.
00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:11.279
And still it rates around 3.4 out of 5 bubbles.
00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:16.080
The attraction itself, but the tours that actually go there rank much higher.
00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:19.919
So Nami Island is pretty, but it's extremely crowded.
00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.080
You're not going to get the photos that they keep showing in all the photos.
00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:29.440
The thing with Nami Island is that the tours tend to come with bundles to other places.
00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.679
You will not be interested.
00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:37.120
So if you really still want to go to Nami Island, be aware they tend to be bundled with these things.
00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:38.639
One is Petit France.
00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:39.759
Petite France.
00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:42.159
It's a fake French village.
00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:47.919
And I assume you did not go all the way to Korea to go to a fake French village.
00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:53.360
One 2020 25 visitor said, very strange is all I can say, very creepy.
00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:57.840
People found the gift shops are just full of Bart Simpson dolls and Eiffel Tower replicas.
00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:03.759
So yeah, you can go get a souvenir Eiffel Tower replica from Korea.
00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:05.759
And of course, none of the food is French.
00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:07.200
So just skip it.
00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:12.960
So yeah, I mean, if you want to know what's authentically French about Petsy France, absolutely ray.
00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:18.240
Another one they always put on there is Alpaca World.
00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:21.759
Yeah, one reviewer called it like a nanozoo.
00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:27.600
I mean, again, why did you go all the way to Korea to see a South American camel?
00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:29.200
So be aware.
00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:33.200
If you don't want to go see alpacas, watch out for that on these bundles.
00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:35.039
It's just going to be wasting half of your day.
00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:38.000
And it's just another excuse for these tour companies to charge you more.
00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:44.159
Besides, I mean, some of the reviewers have said the alpacas look kind of skinny and dirty and crantzed with little room to roam.
00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:45.679
So it's kind of a sad experience.
00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:47.919
I don't like supporting stuff like this.
00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:51.039
So skip alpaca world, skip petit fronts.
00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:54.080
There's even an Italian village, just skip all the fake villages.
00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:58.879
These are all meant for Korean families to take their kids for something exotic.
00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:01.679
Not really something that you would really go.
00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:06.639
Now, as an aside, some of the tours include the Garden of Morning calm.
00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:14.720
Again, not extremely Korean, but it is really pretty, especially in the wintertime when they have it all lit up.
00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:16.559
So that is actually kind of cool.
00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:22.159
Now, if you're looking for an alternative, now if you're looking for an island, I would say Ganghua Island.
00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:23.360
It's west of Seoul.
00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:24.720
It's a good for a day trip.
00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:28.720
It's a very scenic island, very historic, lots of stuff to do there.
00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:32.559
If you're looking for another day trip, Suan just south of Seoul.
00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:34.639
It's actually reachable by this subway.
00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:44.320
And we actually have a Suan experience there, going to the fortress and the palace and even the kimbab shop from the Netflix drama The Extraordinary Attorney Ooh.
00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:45.840
So if you want to do that.
00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:55.519
Not in Chon, not Ichon, Ich.
00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:57.919
I-C-H-E-O-N.
00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:00.960
It's Korea's pottery center.
00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:02.960
It has been that for centuries.
00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:11.440
I mean, in fact, uh, in the 16th century, Japanese pirates were kidnapping Korean potters from Ichon and bringing them back to Japan.
00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:15.519
And the historical record showed that suddenly Japan's pottery got a little better.
00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:17.759
It's really full of local flavor.
00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:19.200
The food there is great.
00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:20.639
The soju there is great.
00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:22.480
The makali there is great.
00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:27.679
You can get really cool souvenirs, you can get a lot of cool pottery experiences, and they're great museums.
00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:32.080
So Ichon is a much better place for you.
00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:35.440
So let's go to the next one.
00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:37.600
Okay, DMZ tours.
00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:39.440
DMZ.
00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:45.360
I say it's worth going with an asterisk at the end.
00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:48.320
Look for what's included.
00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:52.480
If it includes the third tunnel, I've asked my guests for this.
00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:55.279
Some people liked it, a lot of people did not.
00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:56.720
What is it?
00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:04.240
The third tunnel is it's a tunnel that was built by North Korean spies to sneak into South Korea.
00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:10.480
And if you go down there, I mean there are there's some limited tickets that take this little monorail down there.
00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:22.320
If you don't get that, there are limited tickets to walk down there, 265 meters of a 73-meter deep tunnel where you have to wear a hard hat.
00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:25.600
It's very tiny, it's very cramped, it's very claustrophobic.
00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:32.799
And you get to the end, and it's just it's just a wall with a little tiny window on it.
00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:33.919
And that's it.
00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:39.279
I mean, maybe you could technically peek through the window through the North Korean side of it, but that's just it.
00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:48.320
I mean, the only thing that's really unique about it is maybe some North Koreans spies, they painted they painted some of the rocks black to make it look like a coal mine.
00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:54.639
But I mean, it's not like going into a cave and seeing cool stalactites and stalagmites and rock formations.
00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:59.039
You're just you're just going into a basically a fake mine shaft.
00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:02.080
So that's actually going to take up some of your time.
00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:22.080
And also, this is the reason a lot of the DMZ tours want to get you on the bus extremely early in the morning because there's such limited tickets, and the buses race up there very recklessly, so that the guide can rush out to the ticket window and get the tickets before they're all gone.
00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:27.120
Reviewers have said about the third tunnel, it's a tunnel, save your time.
00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.080
And it's just you're just crashed the whole time.
00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:32.879
So yeah.
00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:38.639
So some of the other add-ons that they do, they're kind of like Disney-like.
00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:46.000
It's there's the DMZ, there's the DMZ sign for photo hops, life-size plastic soldiers in uniforms.
00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:52.080
There's the pinwheel heel at Pyongywa Nuri Park that was created in the 2005 for the World Peace Festival.
00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:57.600
It's it's got over 3,000 pinwheels, it's a photo zone, and there's also a suspension bridge.
00:14:57.840 --> 00:14:59.840
And there was an amusement park in that area.
00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:01.120
And I just want to point this out.
00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:06.240
I mean, in my opinion, this kind of really clashes with the vibe of the DMZ.
00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:13.519
The DMZ is one of the few tourist areas you would go in the world that's supposed to be kind of serious.
00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:16.480
It's supposed to be a little bit of a dark tourist area.
00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:22.799
I mean, to go back to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, it's like putting a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in front of Auschwitz.
00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.960
It's just, it just doesn't work.
00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:38.480
Nonetheless, I would say look for tours that include talks with a North Korean defector or someone who worked in works in the military, someone from the military.
00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:40.240
Those are the better ones.
00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:43.759
So the people that have gone on my tours have said those have been the better tours they've gone on.
00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:53.360
So if you're going to DMZ, skip the third tunnel, skip the suspension bridge, skip the Pinwheel Park, look for things that actually give you a little bit of culture and context.
00:15:54.159 --> 00:16:00.399
Okay, number four, I'm going to do a short one on Guangzheng Market because I want to do a whole episode on Guangzhou Market.
00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:08.240
The reason I want to do a whole episode is because I'm not going to dismiss Guangzhang as a tourist trapper overrated place right offhand.
00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:20.080
There is really cool stuff to do there, but it has been booked, toured, crowded, packed, photographed to death.
00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:27.840
I think it's a law that every TV show that comes to Seoul has to do a scene at Guangzhou market.
00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.399
So expect to be very crowded.
00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:41.919
It's just one sign that you can tell an area is a touristy, very touristy area is if it has an H B A F almond shop in it.
00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.919
Or a Zhang Games, C Z-A-N-G, Zhang Games in there.
00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:48.240
That's usually a sign something's very touristy.
00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:50.559
Or an interesting Starbucks.
00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:52.879
I should point out there's a Starbucks on the DMZ.
00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.120
There's a Starbucks in Guangzhou as well.
00:16:55.440 --> 00:17:02.320
This was a really cool market, still kind of is, but it's really being transformed into something that is just weird.
00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:09.759
I mean, recently I was there and someone just opened a big South American, South American oyster bar.
00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:11.920
Go there if you want to do that.
00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.119
And if people looking for what are the best stalls, they're pretty much all the same.
00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:17.759
But I will give you a guide on that one later on.
00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:21.119
If you want to go to a market, there's some other markets I think are much better.
00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:25.359
I mean, right next door to Guangzhou is Jongno Xinjiin market.
00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:27.359
That's a real local market.
00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:28.480
That's a fun one to go.
00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:33.039
You see, real, that's where real, that's where the that's where Koreans go to.
00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:37.920
And they're really known for their the dakamari, which is like this whole the soup with the whole chicken in it.
00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.480
Not the Jinseng chicken soup, a much bigger one.
00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:42.319
They're known for the grilled fish.
00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:48.400
And there's this other area right on the edge of it that's full of these really unique street food stalls.
00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:52.079
Some of them are award-winning street food stalls, unique stuff.
00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:53.680
And I think that's a really cool one.
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:58.480
It's right next to Dong Day Moon Gate, so you can get some good photos of the gate.
00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.960
Also, the other one is Mongwan Market.
00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:06.319
Now, Mangguan Market and World Cup Market, they're right next to each other, and we all just lump them all together.
00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:14.240
Mongwan is it's actually a real local market, even though it's starting to get a little more tourist these days and a little more crowded.
00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.440
It's I think it's I think it's a more interesting market.
00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:27.920
I actually do some private experiences where I bring guests to both markets, and people have generally liked Mongwan a lot better.
00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:29.279
So keep it at that.
00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:32.880
I think Mong Mongwan is really good for fried chickens, for croquettes.
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:44.000
It's the inventor of the s'mores ice cream where that they blowtorch the ice cream, marshmallow around the ice cream, has a really cool hotok with uh uh hotok area in the basement.
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:54.640
I'm gonna do a whole I'm gonna do a whole episode about Mongwan market sometime, but it's it really has a cool local flavor, and it's surrounded by amazing cafes if you're looking for that.
00:18:55.359 --> 00:19:01.839
All right, something else I want to point out is looking at tours, especially food tours, because that's our bread and butter.
00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:07.359
We do a lot of food tours or food experiences in what we do in our business.
00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:16.079
I would say they're not overrated, but you need to check before you book grazing tours, the ones where you're just having sampling this and there, that mostly works.
00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:20.079
I think that really works in other cities better than Korea does.
00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:26.640
When I was first starting this business, it was really hard to get businesses to wrap their minds around the concept of a grazing tour.
00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:28.720
They didn't see what was in it for them.
00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:30.720
So they're not really big into that.
00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:34.960
So that means the grazing tours tend to only be around the Guangzhou market.
00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:35.599
That's okay.
00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:37.680
They're kind of light-owned food.
00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:39.119
You get this and that there.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:50.559
Now, if you're doing a Guangzhou tour, this is my personal observation from watching other guides there, is I have not seen them really give a good in-depth take on the market.
00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:51.759
Like what is the market?
00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:53.759
Why is it important to Korea?
00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.240
They just take you in and show you this and this.
00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:01.680
What I also don't like it is some of the tours, especially some of the tours with surprises at the end.
00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:05.359
That surprise is usually live octopus.
00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:08.000
And I have a personal ethical issue with this.
00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:22.160
One thing, I mean, of course, the kill the live octopus itself, but also of this ethical issue of especially Korean guides and Korean tour companies forcing this on foreigners because it feels like they're playing a practical joke on you.
00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:27.759
Because the fact is, even though live octopus is eaten in Korea, it's not a common dish.
00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:44.559
It's kind of like something that people have when they're drinking as kind of a dare food, but the fact that they're just pushing this on foreigners, and what kills me is that they're killing all these little octopus octopuses for entertainment, for that they're not even going to eat the octopuses.
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:47.519
It's I really just I'm not a big fan of that.
00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:58.000
And it just reminds me of it feels like the old Korean shows, and I used to participate in these Korean shows, we're like, oh, look at these foreigners eating this weird Korean food.
00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:02.720
And I really just feel it's condescending to your guest.
00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:06.559
I mean, if you want to try the live octopus, go for it.
00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:11.680
But if you don't, be aware that's really common on a lot of the Guangzhou tours.
00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:16.400
Also, look to see if the food is included.
00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:25.839
Some people have booked really inexpensive food tours and have been surprised to find that the food is not included in the price of the tour.
00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:31.440
Usually it does say, so you need to read the fine print or the big print.
00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:45.839
I've had people on my tours and I've had seen I've seen a lot of complaints from reviews of people going on a tour and being surprised that there's no that the that the that they got a bill at the end of their tour.
00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:53.759
I've also seen this in a lot of Facebook groups for that are talking about a lot of Facebook groups that that are focused on travel in Korea.
00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.000
By the way, we do have our own Facebook group.
00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.759
If you look for Zin Kimsi Concierge, we actually have.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.160
own Facebook group and a page that helps you plan your trip to Korea.
00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:20.319
I think the better food tours, and not just ours, our food experiences really do this, or ones that actually go to sit-down restaurants that want to give you an all-inclusive, more real cultural depth rather than just try this weird dish at this market type of thing.
00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:26.480
I think that I think you want a good food tour that maybe you might do some shopping and go to a class.
00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:29.039
I think the cooking classes are excellent here.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.359
That take you to secret alleys.
00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:33.279
I think those are really good ones.
00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:38.559
Or ones where you're just trying to recreate what it's like to live and eat and drink in Korea.
00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:39.440
I think those are good.
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:44.799
Another one another ones that I would say that are break that rule I was just telling you about pub crawls.
00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:52.160
Especially the the cheaper pub crawls like I would say the absolute pub crawl which I've been on and I will actually I would actually promote this one.
00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:53.680
I'll actually endorse this one.
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:55.519
It's a fairly inexpensive one.
00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:58.880
There's not really you're not really going to really create Korean places.
00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.599
You're not going to be trying traditional Korean alcohols in these places.
00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:14.079
It's the places where you it's the you go to bars where they give you neon rainbow shots and you get some free shots at every bar you go to a one shot or one drink at every bar you go to and then the rest you have to pay for yourself.
00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:19.440
But the purpose of these tours are for tourists that want to have a little bit of nightlife and want to meet other tourists.
00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:25.839
I do recommend pub crawls like that especially if you're single or with a friend and you guys just want to meet more people.
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:39.279
All right really quick some honorable mentions Myungdong's the number two I've mentioned this in the past about Myongdong it is an extremely touristy area it's basically Times Square in New York it's basically Piccadilly Circus in London.
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:42.799
It's just a very touristy area full of Nike stores.
00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:50.960
Insult tower it's beautiful for the view if you have time to go to Insult Tower it is beautiful but check to see if the air is clean first.
00:23:51.119 --> 00:24:13.920
One way to check is at night if the tower is colored blue the air is clean because the insult tower they put colored lights on it based on the air quality so if it's blue the air is really clean and it goes down the to green yellow and red and when tower is red I mean that means the air so bad you can't even see Ensell Tower.
00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.799
That said I would say the locks were really cool.
00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:30.720
These are locks so you might see some I would say chain link fences or such with a bunch of locks on them and way way back some young people thought it was really cool is we're going to prove our love by putting a padlock on this fence at Insult Tower.
00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:51.359
And now everyone does it and you're buying a lock to put on there and you know what there's so many locks on there they have to keep changing the fences and they throw away the old locks and put those back yeah okay so you get that be aware that Insul Tower there is a cable car that goes up there but you're still going to have to hike up a lot of stairs to get there.
00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:52.720
It is cool.
00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:55.599
I've been there a couple of times and you get a nice view.
00:24:55.920 --> 00:25:11.440
Insidong we've talked about that in brief insidong is still fine especially it's really good for pottery shopping or getting name stamps and really getting really cool traditional paper but they bulldoze a lot of insadong to make way for really generic shopping malls there.
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But I mean it's a way to enjoy it.
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Another one I would put as an honorable mention is Nanta.
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This is a a a rhythm one of those rhythm shows remember Stomp Stomp where they're beating old drums and stuff well this is a carbon copy of Stomp that involves Korean cooking it's kind of fun if you know what you're in for I've done Nanta and I've done a few of these nonverbal shows in the past they're kind of fun they were created in a time when tourism wasn't really big in Korea and Korea was just really looking for something to advertise and brochures.
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Be aware if you're going to go to Nanta don't sit near the aisles if you don't want to be brought on stage because they love looking for foreigners to bring on stage and embarrass on stage.
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So be aware of that there's one all these nonverbal ones there's one called Bibop.
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I don't know if it's still around but it's a carbon copy of Nanta which is a carbon copy of Stomp and where it's all about them making bibbimbop and it's very vaudevillian slapstick humor.
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And I remember once when I was there they brought this poor young woman on stage to try the bibbim bop that they made and she spit it out it was so embarrassing.
00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:44.960
Anyway nonetheless if you do want to go to performance the New York Times has officially declared Seoul as the Broadway of Asia and go to Hewa go to go to Hanamdong we have a really great theater scene here most of it's in Korean but some of this is in English we even have big touring companies going through Seoul.
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We get you know Phantom of the Opera oh we I've gotten Hamilton.
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I think Hamilton's a hard one to bring to Korea but we do get wicked we get School of Rocks actually the cast of School of Rock and the cast of Gatsby the great Gatsby have they've taken some of our they've taken our ghost walk a few times so yeah if you want to try some theater Korea's great for theater but just be aware that Nanta's just there.
00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:14.240
So I did mention before that Viator does take giant cuts from from their suppliers.
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Viatur's base is around 20% other ones like get your guide goes 30 35% I and Kluke is around as high as well.
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So I I just really just want to point out if you really want to support local there's this big movement for sustainable tourism and I would include sustainable tourism as booking booking your experiences directly booking your attractions directly because if you're booking through via tour and get your guide and Kluke you're giving a portion of your money to a large corporation that's actually being taken out of the local businesses and local guides.
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So my slogan for this is support local book direct what I do this is my hack I do is I do my research on TripAvisor and then I look at the company that's listed on there I click their link and usually there is a direct booking link.
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Now sometimes I've heard pushback saying well they don't really trust booking from a site they don't know.
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Well if you book on TripAdvisor you're basically getting the same tour but actually in many cases you're actually paying more if you book through Viator and get your guy than you are if you book direct.
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Also if you book direct it's possible to get a lot of extras and other hidden tours that that are on there.
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So you get a lot more inside stuff.
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So that's my little that's my little little tip is support local book direct.
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So if you enjoyed this episode please subscribe on the platform you're consuming this lovely show from and also leave a comment that helps more than you think you can find us on everything on Apple Podcast on Spotify on everywhere.
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You can also find more travel and food tips you can you can book our immersive experiences at zenkimg.com yes and we're on trip advisor as well you can see the irony of that also should point out Korea's booking systems if you want to book a train if you want to book a restaurant these booking systems were built for people with a Korean phone number a Korean ID and a Korean bank card if you need a restaurant reservation train tickets even tickets or a ride from the airport Zen Kimchi Concierge handles it for you just go to concierge.zenkimshi.com and we would be happy to help you book that sports game that train ticket and even that restaurant so check that one out also some new thing we've been working on we have a calendar of events on Zen Kimchi.com and at concierge these are events like festivals concerts classes lots of hand on activities expos so if you're really looking for extra things to do in Korea if you live in Korea I created this because I got so tired of finding out a concert came in town or there was a really cool festival and I found out about it by reading about it in the Korea Times the day after it happened.
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No one ever announces these things ahead of time it's really hard to find some of these things well we are finding these things now we've been collecting them we're making amazing calendars to find all the really cool stuff on top of that we have a newsletter that helps you find all the events if you follow our Zen Kimsi concierge group and our Zen Kimsi Concierge Facebook page both of them on Facebook we give weekly rundowns we do one post a week on festivals and really cool events and we do another another post on concerts we're not just talking about K-pop concerts we're talking about indie stuff we're talking about clubs club nights if you want to find out all this stuff check that out over at ZenKimchi.com or Zen Kimchi Concierge and just look for events.
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Also I should point out again our sister podcast Dark Side of Soul you can find that on any of your favorite podcasting apps as well look for that so thank you for listening thank you for watching if you're watching us on YouTube I'm Joe McPherson.
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See you in the next one
