Four Days in Seoul, South Korea - June 2019
RETURN

For me the heart of a country is its farming/fishing and its industry. Without these, nothing else is possible, but they don't usually figure as "tourist attractions". I had wanted to visit a Samsung factory, but poor organisation in combination with a lack of time and energy ruled that out. And I have never seen a FARM advertised as a tourist attraction!

Doing what we did, you mostly see people shopping, working in shops and restaurants, walking and/or eating in the streets, sometimes singing and dancing in the streets, visiting tourist sites and travelling by subway .... and it was all HUGELY impressive. South Korea really is an amazing country that punches above its weight. It has the 27th largest population in the world at around 51,000,000, yet the 12th largest GDP at $1,619,424,000,000.

Four days was nowhere near enough, but it was at least a start.

A few Miscellaneous SK Facts  
Babies are considered to be one year old at birth. Cybersports are very popular. Stadiums with big screen televisions are used for competitions in video games.
The Siberian tiger is the national animal. 60% of South Korean families use professionals to find a name for their babies.
A minority of people eat dog meat in South Korea Most restaurants offer delivery service, and they even bring the food with real plates.
Taekwondo can be considered as the national sport At least 20% of the population is named Kim. Lee and Park are another two common names. 
The number four is considered unlucky - and our hotel had no 13th floor either. it is illegal to sympathize with Kim Yong-un and the North Korean regime.
As in Japan, NOBODYcrosses the road if pedestrian lights are red. When taking a photo, South Koreans say “kimchi” instead of “cheese”.
K-Pop, also known as Korean Pop has taken the world by storm in recent years. First out was Psy with his world hit “Gangnam Style”, which is btw the most viewed video ever on Youtube!
After Psy, numerous K-Pop bands have delivered hit after hit. Both girl and boy bands are popular, and many of them now offer international concerts.
Along with Japan, South Korea is one of the least obese countries in the world. Only 3% of the population is considered obese. Compare this with countries such as the US, where more than 60% is considered obese.
The shadow of North Korea hangs over the country. The people seem happy, busy and very productive, but the DMZ is only about 35 miles away. The country is still technically at war with the North, and thousands of heavy North Korean guns are trained on Seoul, not to mention the threat of nuclear weapons.