Two Ugly Cities That I Would Visit Again

Not everything is about beauty, right? The same applies to cities

In August 2022 I was living in Hanoi, my beloved Vietnamese second home, and I decided to gift myself 10 days in South Korea. I had never been there before and as a lover of anything Asian, once I got the ticket, I was very excited and curious about this fascinating country. Very soon I caught my flight to Seoul where I would have stayed for 4–5 days so that I could experience the capital city before heading to other regions.

You might already be thinking that I was disappointed, looking at the title of this article, but you’ll soon understand what I mean if you keep reading.

I was immediately welcomed by a lot of bureaucracy (mostly due to the strict Korean Covid-19 restrictions of the time), but as soon as I left the airport, I could already experience the top-notch public transportation which led me from Incheon to Central Seoul, where my accommodation was. On a funny note, I was also approached by a couple of teenagers who were collaborating with Korea’s Tourism Board, and with a perfect English (spoiler: extremely uncommon for the rest of the trip), they made me play a Squid Game-related game who made me win a very useful transportation card and a beautifully designed city map.

Once I reached the center, I was happy to notice that my hostel was surrounded by local restaurants and nice pubs, a pedestrian area that made my European heart happy and I was also within walking distance from the city’s highlights.

A similar alley to the one where I stayed in Namdaemun, Seoul.

The day after, I got up early and started with my checklist, even if I usually just enjoy strolling around aimlessly to get a general feeling of the city before passing from a sight to another convulsively.

That was when I noticed something: Seoul reminded me a lot of another city where I had been.

It took me no more than 5 seconds to realise how similar to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, it was. I had been there in 2018 for just 3 days and while I couldn’t say much about the country/island as a whole, I did have an opinion on the city.

People close to me might have heard me saying a few times that Taipei was probably the ugliest metropolis where I have been in my life… though they would soon be surprised by me adding that it was also one of my favorite at the same time.

Taipei looks, for the most part, like a concrete jungle, where gray prevails and there is not so much variety between different districts.

How does it work though?

I find it pretty simple: my judgement was merely aesthetic, as I’m passionate about architecture, landscape and urban design, therefore it is an aspect I just can’t ignore.

Due to a very fast economical and urban development, both cities have built entire districts at once and in a short period of time, often prioritizing practicality over beauty. This happened in other cities in Europe as well, but somehow the more evident charm of historical centers makes up for this downside, raising the average.

A close-up of Taipei… you know what I mean?

In the case of South Korea, it passed from being a very poor and war-torn country in the Fifties, to being one of the most developed nations in the world in just one generation of time. While this is impressive, as the change improved the lives of millions of people, some aspects of the society are still catching up and urban planning is certainly one of them.

Cheonggyecheon, in downtown Seoul, is the result of an innovative project that re-opened a riverbed that had been sealed during the Korean Economic Miracle. It is one of the highlights of the city center.

Not that progress hasn’t been made: Seoul offers more than a few impressive redeveloped areas, which really make the city stand out internationally for urban design. I just believe that the percentage of these pleasant districts or buildings do not make up for the overall sense of grayness that characterize the metropolitan area.

One of the things that bothered me a bit are the “copy-paste” apartment complexes, or at least that is how I would define them. The reason for this definition can be easily explained by the following picture, that I took myself during a hike on the hills around Seoul. If you have a look at the city from above, it almost looks like at least half of it consists of white or gray high rises, with no balconies and, more often than not, with huge identification numbers and the logo of the construction company that had them built.

The unimpressive skyline of Seoul (definitely better looking by night).

I’m perfectly aware of how subjective this statement will be: I find them dehumanizing, as they all look the same (or very similar) and they completely lack an identity. Obviously, as I previously mentioned, I know that they are the result of the needs of the time when they were built.

The thing is… it is not just about the high rises, the grayness extends to the one or two (or three) stories as well.

A building in front of the Express Bus Terminal (고속터미널) in Seoul.

Now, enough with the city-bashing, which is VERY far from the intention of this article. Let’s come to the reasons why both Seoul and Taipei are absolutely worth visiting and great places to either spend some time or live for a period.

Firstly: we’re talking about huge urban areas with millions and millions of inhabitants, clearly there are going to be some nice and charming areas as well. Both cities have multiple parks and squares that are perfect for a stroll, people-watching, picnics…you name it. Being it East Asia, this, often comes with beautiful temples and pagodas to complete the picture.

Seoul has a plethora of temples and traditional buildings that have been incorporated by the modern city.

Unfortunately, I didn’t experience it myself, but I heard that Seoul in autumn can look magnificent in some areas. It is not hard to imagine as both cities are surrounded by beautiful hills and mountain ranges, so even if you might be living in a concrete jungle, it never takes too much time to take a break from it.

Secondly, the FOOD. I mean, they are places, right? They’re in Asia, right?

Food has to be good.

And it was!

I can’t really say which one I like the most, but trust me on this, it is hard to be disappointed either way. My appreciation doesn’t stop to the good quality (and taste) of the food itself, but also to the variety of dining options: from street food stalls to luxury restaurants, there is always so much choice. The same can be said about nightlife, you only need to choose a district, rest assured you’re going to find more than just one place where you can spend a perfect night out.

Taipei has many traditional-yet-modern night markets, some of the best in Asia

I specifically liked Hongdae in Seoul, a district designed for youth. Here you can find all sorts of fashion stores, cozy cafés, amusement arcades, and even some relatively sketchy underground pubs open until 6am (not talking about personal experience…or maybe I am?). Clubs and Karaoke are behind every corner too, of course, if that is your thing.

Another thing that made me like both cities is how tidy and efficient they both were. You can get around easily, despite the huge area, by taking trains or the underground, which is modern and reliable. Moreover, both Seoul and Taipei usually appear at a very high position in safe cities rankings, and that isn’t a small detail when it comes to travel abroad. Not having to worry constantly about what (or who) is happening around you is something that I highly value when it comes to choosing a destination.

Let’s get to the people: I don’t like generalizations unless they’re positive, and this one definitely is: by personal experience, I found the Taiwanese to be some of the friendliest, most respectful and most polite people I’ve ever met. I also had a similar impression of the Koreans, even though there was more of a language barrier. It didn’t bother me at all, (I mean, I was living in Vietnam…), but it didn’t allow me to create deeper connections with the locals.

If you read until here, you can now better understand what stands behind the tile of this article. We all like a beautiful city, but we can also love one that doesn’t appear to be charming on a visual level. There are many other reasons to love Seoul and Taipei, but I’ll probably leave that to another article.

I truly hope that what I wrote won’t offend any Korean or Taiwanese, as that isn’t my intention: I did love visiting both cities and I would love to go back someday, it’s just that I don’t find them conventionally “beautiful”.

I would love to receive some feedback about the article and/or some opinions: have you been to Seoul or Taipei? Do you agree with me? Let me know in the comments!