So, what's the story, you ask? Why Korea? I was stationed there when I was in the US Army (I was in Euijongbu in March 96 -- April 97), and I absolutely loved it. I don't know if I can even begin to describe all the neat things I got to do in that year: from learning hangyl, the Korean alphabet, to trying the spicy but flavorful Korean food, to strolling through the palaces in Seoul, to hiking and scrambling on Tobong mountain, to visiting the Korean Folk Vilage by Soowon, to shopping in Namdamun and Tongdaemun markets, to meeting and talking to all kinds of people, to...
Unfortunately, I did not learn as much of the language as I should have in that year -- due partly to the fact that I was living and working on an US Army installation, and did not have to use much Korean for the work I was doing. I did take an intensive course in Korean at the University of Washington in Summer of 1998, and learning the language has been a project I've pursued with varying degrees of success ever since.
If you have a chance to visit Korea, I think it is very important that you keep an open mind about the experience. Granted, the country, the customs, and even the food are quite different from what you find in America, but if you hold off on judging, and try to understand instead, you just might enjoy the experience.
Well, I suppose, I should stop rambling and provide a couple of links.