IKYK, there is much more to travel than taking a picture in front of a famous landmark and posting it on Instagram. I am not saying not to do those things. I am saying do it and some more. More of the things you are passionate about, alongside the travel itself. Be it food, art, architecture, music ━ anything really.
For me, it’s the culture.
I am an advocate of dipping your toe into the local culture wherever you travel to.
From attending a cooking class to staying in an Airbnb to understand more about the locals’ cultures, from visiting small towns with unique local cultures (e.g. Haenyeo in Jeju Island) to drinking in the neighbourhood pub.
There are a lot of cultural activities you can do to enrichen your travel experiences. Though most of these cultural activities can be done wherever you travel, bonus points if you dip your toe a bit deeper to do country-specific travel culture.
Here are some ideas I gathered for Korea travel culture activities.
Ideas for Korea Travel-Culture Activities
Nanta Cookin’ Show
Nanta Cookin’ Show was the first thing that came to mind when my friend Aina asked me about the must-do Korea travel culture activities during her upcoming trip to Seoul.
It was also the first thing I booked and the first thing we did on our first evening in Seoul. And let me tell you. It really is a must!
Nanta Cookin’ Show is a nonverbal comedy show using four traditional Korean musical instruments. You also learn a bit more about Korean cuisine, music and culture. Instrument here. The energy from the performers was electrifying, and to have a non-vocal show be so engaging was terrific. In addition, the 90 minutes kids-friendly show kept us thoroughly entertained.
After watching it, it made sense why Nanta Cookin’ Show kept going for 20+ years.
I highly recommend it to anyone who’s visiting Seoul.
Play Korean Drinking Games
Korea has a prevalent drinking culture that comes with prevalent drinking games, which I think is one of the most authentic forms of Korean travel culture activities.
These drinking games are pretty simple. But, of course, the more you drink, the more fun “simple” can be.
There were two games that I enjoyed the most, which I am sure was highly supported by my drunkness level.
The first was to guess the number printed on the inside of the Soju cap, which was known to only one group member. After that, everyone else gets to guess it. After each guess, the person who knows the number must say whether the printed number is higher or lower. Once everyone in the group has done guessing for the first round, the second round of guessing involves drinking a cup of soju for every wrong guess. If the number is guessed correctly, the person who knew the number from the beginning (the one who’s not guessing) must drink.
If you think the above game is silly, wait until you hear about the second drinking game: everyone in the group must add a drink into a beer glass with a floating soju cup inside it. The objective is to keep adding drops of drinks into the glass without making the soju cup sink to the bottom.
I know both games must sound super silly ━ even I feel the same while writing and explaining it here. But I can’t deny playing those drinking games was one of the highlights of my Korea trip.
Book Yourself A Skincare Session
Skincare is a huge part of Korean culture. Similarly, the Korean skincare business has boomed in the past years, including beauty tourism, proofing that Korea offers some of the best skincare treatments money can buy. Though you can always buy back a year’s worth of skin products from Korea (like I did), if you have the means, I suggest getting some non-evasive non-surgery skin treatments while in Korea.
You can find and even book in advance from one of the hundreds of clinics in Gangnam, Seoul. Treat yourself to a whole day of beauty treatment if you can.
If a facial is not your thing, I recommend spending an afternoon in Korean Jjimjilbang. And I dare you to book a scrub session there. I can’t think of a better way to relax your body and mind during your trip to Korea.
Aside from the Korea travel culture activities above, I’d also urge you to make a pit stop at a Korean tea house.
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