Move over Paris, we all know that Seoul is the real City of Lights.

Ask any Korean and they will proudly tell you that Korea is over 5000 years old with Seoul being at the forefront of many battles and historically significant moments. It slipped through the hands of many a greedy conquerer and remained independent. Ask any Western Political Theorist and they will tell you that Korea was the fastest nation to develop fully in the history of the world. Within thirty years Seoul went from being a broken, war-torn and poverty-stricken nation to a high-end, economic powerhouse with one of the highest standards of living in the world. In fact, in recent years Seoul has repeatedly been listed as one of the top ten most expensive cities in which to live.

Indeed, Korean history is a huge source of pride for the people of Korea. They have repeatedly suffered under the hand of other, larger countries only to persevere and bounce back, more determined than ever to keep their land and culture distinctly Korean. Even though Korea can be considered one of the more "westernized" East Asian nations, this protectionist view toward culture and language means that expats who are expecting Korea to be Westernized often experience culture shock upon arriving in a very distinctly Asian city.

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