The contrast between the big modern city and the poverty , trash and relative filth of the rural countryside is very stark in South Korea. Big inequality issues with wealth distribution between the rural poor and the affluent types from the city. Japan does not have that huge contrast , at least to the casual observer .

spot the Fraud ? 

Had a guided stroll thru Some small corners of the centre of this impressive city. There is still some considerable unease between Korea and Japan due to the terribly harsh treatment dished out after annexation and on thru WW2. Some significant national treasures were destroyed by the Japanese as retribution for Korean resistance to Japanese rule .