Seoul Sensation

SEOUL OF ASIA
A towering statue of the Emperor of Korea's famed Joseon dynasty looks over downtown Seoul.

Anything Korean conjures the image of an ostentatiously dressed Sandara Park singing with her high-pitched voice, amidst an army of similarly dressed groupies and flashing lights. Well, at least that’s it for me.

Korea is now making waves across Asia. Not only has it dominated the electronics market (read: SAMSUNG), it also makes some of the most recognizable car brands in the market as well as exports the most excruciatingly entertaining pieces of Asia’s post-modern vanity called K-Pop. Korea today was like the Japan of 30 to 40 years ago. Since the Japanese economy has been stagnating for the past 20 years, it was high time for the Koreans to shine. 

No wonder when you arrive in the land of Sandara Park, you get an instant glimpse of its economic prowess. Incheon, once a small fishing village is not only home to the world’s best airport (flying from the world’s worst airport makes it a lot more daunting) but an industrial hub in the region. Seoul, Korea’s glitzy showcase of a capital, is up on the mountains and is connected to Incheon by a high-tech rail service.

Seoul is like Tokyo – filled with skyscrapers, broad avenues, hordes of pedestrians, oriental neon signage, snaking high-speed rail lines and exploding pockets of shopping plazas. What makes it striking, though, is the city’s landscape. It sits on a mountainous terrain overlooking the Han River. It’s different from Hong Kong as the climbs are not steep but it still exudes a majestic vista to which one can only stare with awe.

More soon!