Koreans are excellent gamers and Korea is a top-notch place for gaming. Here are ten other reasons why Korea (South, of course) is awesome.
10) No tip. No need to pay an extra 15-20% at a restaurant. Service is still great, much better than in America. Virtues of extreme competition.
9) It’s Wired. Wifi in every café and bus. A long ride home on the train isn’t so bad watching the Doosan Bears battle it out with the LG Twins on your phone.
8) Taxis have TV. Sometimes the drivers are watching the game more than the road, but it still makes a ride more entertaining.
7) You pay what you see. In American restaurants, a price on a menu isn’t what you pay. You have to add tax and tip. In Korea, if it says 5000 Won, then you pay 5000 Won when you leave. No tip and tax is already included.
6) Everything is delivered. I mean, everything. Pizza, yes. Chinese food, yes. But also McDonald’s and chicken and basic groceries. And free of charge. We bought a box of peaches a couple blocks from our apartment. We didn’t want to carry it so we asked them to deliver it. We went straight home and a guy with the peaches were waiting for us at the front door.
5) Free coffee. Like 90% of the restaurants have a free coffee machine. It’s not espresso or anything fancy – it’s the instant variety, but it’s still good and still caffeine and it’s free!
4) Pedestrians yield to cars. In America, drivers gotta wait for every slow-walking zombie to crawl out of your path, but in Korea, you zip ahead of them and if they get in the way, it’s their fault. Yes, the disabled and the elderly still should get a little love, but normal agile individuals need to watch out and let the cars go first. It’s a much more efficient system.
3) Healthier. You walk a lot in Korea. Even with a car, you end up walking. And the country has a ton of hills and mountains. And the food is healthier. Lots of veggies. Kimchi is one of the healthiest foods on the planet. Most meals don’t come with soda like in the U.S. Yeah, there’s some unhealthy fried and salty stuff, but nothing compared to the crap they have in the States. Just look at the people on the streets. A fat person in Seoul would be an average-sized person in Los Angeles.
2) CCTV everywhere. In parks, on buses, every corner, everywhere. Say what you want about privacy rights, but I don’t plan on doing anything wrong. I feel 100% safer when there’s a camera watching my kid in the playground. And if there’s a crime, I’m covered.
1) Video games, of course!
Oh, and isn’t high speed internet over there actually high speed?
My experience was it varied — some places better than others. But it was really like everywhere.
I like the no tip and tax included. I wonder if it could be carried over to goods in stores to. What you see on the price tag is what you pay at the register.