On a whim, I broke out ye olde Wikipedia and took down the population numbers for U.S. and South Korean cities. I matched them as closely as I could and plotted them out on a map. This is the result. I don’t know if it means anything to anyone, but it was a fun little exercise.
Austin is much more fun than Incheon 😛
Which ghost town for Dokdo?
Cool. I like this – good frame of reference from which to explain the country to other Americans without much background.
The way I hear people complain about Incheon, they make it seem like it’s the Oakland of Korea.
That would make Sokcho the San Francisco of Korea because it’s so foggy.
And so, Gwangju is the ATL (or the Memphis) of Korea because it has good fried chicken.
My friends say Suwon is a toilet so it’s the Philly of Korea.
Jeongsan (High 1 resort) attracts a lot of old and sketchy people so it’s a combo of Vail & Aspen, and the casinos make it Vegas, but it’s really more like the Branson of Korea.
Gangneung is a fun place so it can be Seattle or Portland, but it has fun beaches so maybe it’s better off as the San Diego of Korea.
Chucheon is always so damn cold so it’s the Minneapolis of Korea. That makes Paju the El Paso of Korea, and Daejeon the St.Louis of Korea. Can’t figure out Ulsan or Pohang; Pohang should be the Pittsburgh (steel mills) and Ulsan the Chicago or Detroit or Flint or Cleveland or Buffalo, depending on who you talk to.
Mokpo has a reputation for mafia and smuggling so it should be the Miami of Korea, but that could go to Geoje as well. Goheung is the Cape Canaveral because of the Naro rocket launches, and Yeosu is the Houston of Korea because of oil refineries. Gwangyang has the steel plant and big port so it can be the Biloxi or the Alabama of Korea.
Daegu is hard one to place. I’m thinking either the Albuquerque or the Denver of Korea. You could go the history route and make it the Nashville or the political dynasty route and make it the Prince George County of Korea.
Andong is the Macon/San Antonio/Birmingham of Korea because it’s all about the traditional history.
Jeonju is the Kansas City/Salt Lake City of Korea because it’s a big ass city in the middle of nowhere and it has film festivals.
And Nakdong estuary is the Gettysburg of Korea due to the battlefield.
With all the complaints about migrant workers in Gyeonggi-do, I’m gonna call Ansan/Pyeongtaek/Songtan the Phoenix/Tucson/Inland Empire of Korea.
People Say Jeju is the Hawaii of Korea, and I think it’s somewhat close in description. I would also go with the Key West of Korea. The mainlanders, the way they talk about Jeju, they make it sound like it’s the Puerto Rico of Korea.
I like this approach. anonymous
quotes about life