Korea doesn’t cater to tourists much at all in actuality, however despite this both the damage done by tourism and the experience for tourists are both rather good. Korea achieves this by prioritizing the city and improving the well being for the citizens first. Of course there are areas which certainly cater to tourists, the important factor is that the needs and lives of the Korean people are not impacted by touristic activities. As such there are several ways in which Korea improves the lives of the people and in tangent, the tourists as well.

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As previously mentioned trash and waste disposal

Trash and littering in Korea is rather strict, many areas have hefty fines for littering (which are actually in forced) and trash disposal comes at a high price. Both of these are mildly inconvenient for both parties, however it greatly benefits the locals in the long run, but it is not very important for the tourist. Areas in Thailand where the littering and trash is poorly maintained face large issues with trash effecting the tourism industry, pollution, and aesthetics.

As previously mentioned transit

Transit

The transit in Seoul is made for the locals, but foreigners are also accounted for. The destinations for the buses and subways are all on major hubs like universities or economic areas. The areas with more tourism do not receive better or worse transit. While the transit does prioritize the locals that does not mean it disregards tourists/foreigners. All of the pertinent signage is all in English and the directions to transfers are understandable and are concise. Furthermore the method to pay for buses and the subway is very easy to acquire and very easy to use.

Museums/attractions/others

The museums in Seoul are fantastic . The “Korean Miracle” is well known however the reasons for why it happened are not often known and the museums do a showing the vast amount of development which happened in that small period of time. Many museums in Korea also bring light to the history of Korea previous to the Korean War. The ages of the Japanese occupation and when it was still part of Chinese dynasties are very rarely known. One of my personal favorites is the models which the museums display.

Restaurants

It’s rather clear to discern tourist restraints from local ones. In fact it is more difficult to find a tourist restraint than a local one. Although around DDP there is a lot of food stalls which, as I mentioned before, are all very touristy. However the food stalls are in the very small minority. Every restraint I’ve been too has been rather good and cheap and arguable most importantly, I feel as if I am eating traditional Korean food. Furthermore you feel very healthy as there is little meat and a lot of fermented vegetables.