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Japan has emerged the most popular vacation destination in 2015 for travelers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China in a poll of travel habits in Asia-Pacific.
The difference on the number of tourists is not too much.
South Korea also have many visitors from other Asian countries.
Koreans in both South Korea and overseas generally have better english level than the Japanese. South Korean men are very different from Japanese and Western men as they have conscription.
I have lived in both countries. I lived in Seoul for 7 years, Tokyo for 3 years.
OK, Japan is still richer than South Korea. But most visitors can't find a big difference, because the difference between the two countries' economies is not that big. I personally like South Korea more, and I will explain the reasons for that.
1)Mountain ranges covering the whole city of Seoul and even the whole nation of Korea. S.Korea is full of great mountains and if you visit Seoul, you will be able to see mountains everywhere.
2)River crossing right in the middle of Seoul. There is a river called Hangang, and this is a huge river that streams through the center of Seoul city. Visitors will be fascinated to see Han River and across the Han River, modern skyline with some mountain ranges. You will see what I mean when you visit Seoul
3)Great apartment complexes. If you're planning to live in one of the two places, I will definitely recommend S.Korea. Apartment complex culture is a unique culture of South Korea. Inside the apartment complex, you will be able to find convenient stores, academies, laundry service, supermarket, toilets, and almost everything you need. I also love the Internet cafes in Korea. Super fast Internet that you'll never see in other countries, which is another great thing about Korea.
Japan and Korea are completely different countries if you know the history.
Japan was influenced by the west for a long long time (almost a thousand years). They were trading with the Dutch and the Portuguese, and used western technologies to build their castles and invade Korea around 16th century after establishing a massive gun production line. Koreans used bows and arrows to fight off the Japanese.
As a result, by the end of 19th century, Japan was already one of the Major world powers.
On the other hand, Korea was the last country in the whole world to be influenced by the west. The modernization history of Korea began in 1953 when the Korean war ended. In the 19th century, Korea had been called "The hermit kingdom" and even fought off the French, and American ships requesting to open up it's ports.
For now, to a shallow eye, Japan has a lot to offer to sugarcoat it's seemingly original remnants of the past.
But Korea for sure is more genuine and original.
Spent time in both countries and Japan by a landslide.
S. Korea, well especially Seoul is a facade. It's a more moderen replica of Tokyo, but still pales in comparison. Tokyo is my favorite city that I've ever been to mainly because of how sterile, organized, and perfect everything is. It is literally a uptoia. Seoul is very dirty, disorganized, uneducated and clumbsy. It just feels like a very cheap immitation of Tokyo. From all the men wearing $80 suits, to all the women that have facial reconstructive and calf reduction surgeries. S. Korea just tries way too hard to be like Japan. Japan has been there and done that. S. Korea is definitely growing quickly and they are in the midst of their agricultural revolution right now, but to me S. Korea just felt like an enchanced more balanced version of China. And in some regards, China is much better, but China also has a laundry list of disgusting disturbing behaviors and practices as well.
Haha, I think a bit of inaccuracies there. Seoul is somewhat in between what Tokyo is now and what Shanghai is today in terms of hygiene, human development and refinement. Having said that, I think it's somewhat closer to Tokyo (gap between Tokyo and Seoul is narrower than that of Seoul-Shanghai).
South Korea is well past it's agricultural stage, if anything, they are quickly moving into advanced/high value added manufacturing and services (e.g. Entertainment across Asia and getting a foot in the door of Europe/North Amerca/Australia).
In 2012-2013 I visited Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei in that order and to be honest I should have went the reverse order. I went from the best to the worst, Seoul had acceptable levels on all fronts of a "developed society" where Taipei really shocked me, it looks super gloomy, worn down and buildings covered in thick mould.
To cap it off though, there are parts of Seoul and Busan which do remind me of Vietnam (I grew up there till I was 5)...i.e. very bleak and industrial - but I found more of this in Taipei/Taiwan than in Korea.
Which of these two countries do you like better and why? Which do you like better as far as scenery, activities, culture, cities, etc.? I just got back to Japan from Seoul. Korea certainly is an interesting country with many things to see. The food is really good too (bulgogi and kalbi). Overall, I like Japan better since it is cleaner and the people are a little friendlier, imo.
I've been to both Japan and S. Korea. Actually I lived in Japan for a number of years and would go to S. Korean for the shopping on average about once a year. I was also in Korea for the '88 Olympics in Seoul. But I think that S. Korea is a bit more "intense" perhaps because they have to deal with N. Korea continuously. I think that friction turns out the culture to be a bit more abrasive perhaps. I've been involved in both S. Korean and Japanese women and for sure the Japanese women were much more nicer. On the other hand, one of the first things the Korean woman asks me when I bring her home is why do I have a Japanese brand name TV. Also the Korean women seem to be concerned about blood type for some reason as if they are against certain blood types (A, B, O, etc.) I had a Korean girlfriend at one time and we were getting along terrific until one day she asked me what my blood type was. She didn't like my blood type and we sort of drifted apart after that. But both sides (Korean & Japanese) will fight over who invented sushi and who invented kimchi. Ask a Korean who evented sushi and kimchi and they will say Korea did. Ask a Japanese who invented kimchi and sushi and they will say that the Japanese did.
So for me, I prefer Japan (women, food, culture, etc.). Korean women rub me as being way too intense about a lot of trivial things.
Japan is better for non-drinkers, as alcohol consumption is much lower there.
What part of Japan are you from? Both Korea and Japan seem to be about the same in regards to drinking. Not to mention smoking. They both drink like fish and smoke like industrial sized chimneys.
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