South Korea Travel Guide

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On the continuum from most Asian to most Western-- Korea is the peninsular bridge that figuratively connects the island nation of Japan and its Western pretensions to the confusing commu-capitalism of mainland China. China is very Asian, and happily so. Meanwhile, Japan is the least Asian of Asian countries, still uniquely Asian but proudly Westernized and aloof. That is to say, while Japan is famous for sushi etc, China is very raw. Korea, geographically and metaphorically, is right there in the middle. Between these two giants, South Korea, "like a shrimp caught between two whales" has witnessed an enormous modernizing project that has brought this divided nation to the top echelons of economic success after the ravages of civil war. A proxy stage for the Cold War antagonists to practice their belligerent theatrics, South Korea today is a thriving modern Asian success story. While Japan prides itself on not delving into the 'dirty' proliterate delicacies of Chinese market places with their questionable sources of white meats, and China prides itself on not being non-reformed imperialists...South Korea harmonizes the two sentiments.

Nutritionally, South Korea has some foods, like China, that the Japanese would consider below them gastronomically; like eating live squids, crunching through the tentacles as they writhe and stick to your teeth, a desperate instinctual attempt to escape your gaping maw. South Korea is much much richer than China; the average South Korean standard of living presenting a stark contrast to the hundreds of millions of poor agrarian Chinese . At present, South Korea is drastically closer to Japan on a per capita economic scale. China rises however, and this gap will shrink, if frustratingly slowly for the millions of China's poor. Meanwhile China's Porsche Cayenne -driving super rich join the Seoul-train of the leisure lounges and investment class. While this demographic of Western levels of wealth is much more commonplace in South Korea, China's growing elite is a burgeoning segment, creating a vast discrepancy between the fortunate few and the masses of peasants scattered throughout China. A trip to Korea is a good transition from a visit to China or Japan. Stop here either coming or going, and pause to acclimate yourself to the conflicting soy sauce sensibilities and sushi surroundings.

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