Directory A-Z - Seoul - page 417

At the end of May, Seoul pins up its rainbow colours for the Korean Queer Cultural
Festival ( www.kqcf.org ) , usually held in conjunction with the Seoul LGBT Film Festival
( www.selff.com ) . Don't miss the parade along the Cheong-gye-cheon.
Useful resources:
Chungusai (Between Friends; chingusai.net) Korean GLBT human-rights group.
Utopia ( www.utopia-asia.com ) Check the Korea section.
iShap ( www.ishap.org ) Gay HIV/AIDS awareness project; produces a free Korean guidebook
to gay bars and clubs - ask for it at bars such as Barcode in Nagwon-dong.
Health
The quality of medical care in Seoul is high. You need a doctor's prescription to buy most
medications, and it may be difficult to find the exact medication you use at home, so take
extra. A letter from your physician outlining your medical condition and a list of your
medications (using generic names) could be useful.
There are no special vaccination requirements for visiting Korea, but you should con-
sider vaccination against hepatitis A and B. Most people don't drink the tap water, but
those who do seem to come to no harm. Filtered or bottled water is served free in most
restaurants.
The World Health Organisation (WHO; www.who.int/ith ) publishes the annually revised
booklet International Travel & Health, available free online.
Internet Access
Wi-fi is universal and often free. Nearly all hotels offer it, too; if they don't they will have
LAN cables for wired access in rooms. Check charges, which vary from free to around
₩ 30,000 per day at top-end hotels.
If you need a computer, look for places with a 'PC ' sign, which charge around ₩ 2000
per hour and are invariably packed with teenager online gamers. The KTO Tourist Inform-
ation Centre also offers free internet access.
The major phone companies offer USB dongle devices to rent, in the same way as mo-
bile phones, to connect to the internet anywhere around Korea.