Bird Watching in South Korea

Here's the question:

I am finding no information on this topic, so I thought I would see if you can help me: Where are good bird watching sites in the Seoul area? I live in Bundang (Jeongja), so obviously closer is better, but anywhere reasonably close would be great. Also, are there any groups that go out bird watching together? I am less-than novice, but I would love to find some good places to enjoy the hobby.

This is a tough one, but I did manage to find some pretty solid information for you. I do know that Korea has quite a few species if birds and is a great spot for migratory bird watching in the winter, but outside of that, I have no first-hand wisdom to offer. So, rather than assuming I know where the birds are, I'll provide you with some decent links on bird watching all over Korea.

* Birds Korea

* Travel-Wise Birds

* Bird Watching Trip Report

* Another Bird Watching Trip Report

* And another Bird Watching Trip Report

* And yet, another Bird Watching Trip Report

* The DMZ

* Mokpo

* Cheonsuman International Birds Watching Fair

* Eulsukdo Migratory Bird Sanctuary

* Eco-Tourism in the Wetlands

* GORP Birdwatching in Korea

* A map of where the birds are

* A forum for bird watching in Korea

* A solid page full of useful websites related to birding

* Fat Birder

I know that's a ton of links and, honestly, there are a ton more, but these are the ones that I found particularly helpful.

If any readers happen to know more about this subject, please feel free to leave a comment with a link and I'll post it in the main text.

South Korea Weather and the "Four Distinct Seasons"

Here's the question:

What's the weather like in Korea? All the travel books say that it's the same as Washington DC (I'm from Baltimore) and the seasons are about the same as well. What's the monsoon season like?

Daniel

As I was reading the question I was really hoping that a "four distinct seasons" line would be in there, but I assume the season's comment was a reference to that. As most people do before coming to Korea, purchasing a travel book is always a good idea. And when you start reading it, an absurb fact that has been mocked over and over again for years and years among the expat community is revealed: KOREA HAS FOUR DISTINCT SEASONS. Despite that there is nothing unique about this weather pattern, Korea seems to like push the line. New K-Blog, Dong Chim, takes a nice shot at the claim here.

Unlike those guide books and even the graph to the right, I would say that Korea (or at least the northern regions) has closer to two seasons. The summers are long, wet and hot and the winters are long, cold and dry. Spring and fall are essentially short transitional seasons that experience very unsteady and drastic temperature changes. This winter, for instance, was very long. It started to get really cold last October and was still near freezing this April. In fact, according to Gangwon Notes, it snowed on April 26th in Gangwon-do. Last May, I went camping just north of the Han river and it was literally below freezing at night.

However, you can escape the weather in the north simply by heading south. I might be partial since I had an amazing trip the south last weekend, but Jeollanam-do is really beautiful and the weather seems to be more steady as well as all the other southern islands and cities like Busan, Daegu and, of course, Jeju. That's not to say they don't get cold, they do, but really anywhere in the Gyeongsangnam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do usually experience warmer weather. Or since you're an American, I'll put it this way: If you live in northern South Korea, then expect Midwestern US weather (Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri etc...). If you decide to stick to the south, you can expect southern US weather (Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina etc...)

The monsoon season can be bad and it has been known to flood some regions south of Seoul, but for the most part it just means a wet walk to work for about two or three weeks in July or maybe August. In my opinion, like the Yellow Dust issue, the monsoon season tends to be greatly exaggerated.

I'd say that it's nothing that you should be concerned about. Just read the averages and pack well.

If anybody has any questions, just send me an email at asktheexpat@yahoo.com or leave a comment.

Tap Water in Korea and Masan: Is it drinkable?

Here's the question:

Hi,

I live in Masan, and have been here for three months. I was told many times not to drink the tap water, that I had to buy bottled water for that, but I could boil tap water for coffee, or when cooking, etc. Now I have met someone who has been here for over a year, and he drinks the tap water. He also pointed out to me that everyone, myself included, brushes their teeth and showers with it. What's the story on tap water, is it really not that bad? Does it depend on where you live?

Thanks,
Denise

Just like the toilet paper issue I wrote about in the Korea Times (and my other now-sleepy blog), this is one of my favorite subjects. I also touched on the subject here, but that was a more Seoul-centric approach to the issue.

Before delving back into the psychology of drinking tap water, let's take a few looks at Masan and what's going on with their water. First of all, Gyeongsangnam-do province where Masan is located has consistently tested poorly for water quality standards. In fact, the area has the highest exceeded limitation rate of sewage and pollutants in the country with 13.7% of its facilities over the legal limit for contaminants.

There are reasons for this though. The entire Gyeongsangnam province produces the majority of the fisheries for the nation. Judging by the pictures, it looks pretty clean, however, the fisheries industry has had a severely detrimental affect on Masan Bay making it the most polluted bay in Korea. The quick non-scientific explanation goes like this. Masan Bay has been extensively used over the past three decades causing a huge increase in pollutants which have depleted a lot of oxygen in the water and made the surface almost acidic. That polluted water is contaminating the sediments and water columns which has a direct affect on the quality of drinkable water in the area. Even though they have built water treatment plants to combat the pollution, there seems to be little improvement in overall water quality.

Nonetheless, people like your friend insist on drinking it. I have a friend whose wife is from Masan and while she doesn't dare drink it, he has no problem sucking it back. Your friend is also right about washing and brushing as well. We all brush our teeth and wash our hair with the tap water, so why not drink it?

This issue boils down to a few things. From a Korean's point of view, they will not drink it for several reasons. Of course the smell is strong and taste is pretty bad compared to bottled or purified water, but their overall distrust stems from generations of contempt for the government. Koreans, for the most part, simply don't trust the government and if the government claims that the water is clean, they will not believe it. I actually conducted a taste/smell test with about 50 of my adult students and some of them thought that the tap water wasn't that bad. When I asked them if they would drink tap water if it tasted and smelled the same as bottled water, they all said 'no'. Why? They don't trust the results.

Expats here assimilate in many ways, but adapting to food and drink culture is one of the most common. So, even though many of us come from nations where it is the norm to consume tap water, we adopt the Korean mindset and avoid it.

If I were you, however, I would advise you to avoid drinking the tap water. Looking at the facts, it just doesn't seem that clean. That said, if you live in a new apartment building with new pipes, then I would perhaps be more apt to dabbling in the stuff, but if you're in an old villa, I'd stick to the bottle. You know the facts and it's just not worth it in my opinion.

If anybody has any questions, just send me an email at asktheexpat@yahoo.com or leave a comment