안녕하세요
or, "An-nyeong-ha-se-yo!" (Konnichiwa)
Our long weekend in South Korea was a refreshing jolt to the senses. I loved Seoul's city sewage smells, bright colors, rugged pavement, and loud Korean voices. Everywhere you look there is a pleasant array of trash, whether it be coffee cans cluttering a table on a convenient store patio or a spontaneous chair sitting in an alleyway. There are inside-out bookstores with their shelves embedded in brick walls, vendors with tables crowding the sidewalks, and steep hills made of disorderly bricks and cracking cement. Patio cafes line the streets advertising cake and tea, hand-dripped coffee, and cream-cheese filled pretzels. Along with a prominent cafe culture, international cuisine is very popular, and Korean restaurants are sandwhiched between foreign food stands in every district. Most eateries are small, many with traditional hole-in the ground toilets, and some without soap. The subways and stations are a bit more tarnished than those in Japan but still madly efficient. Seoul's snippets of chaos work to create an emotional city, vibrant with movement and a tangible humanity. Living in Japan, where sometimes city streets seem almost too clean, I'm learning to appreciate some grime.
Stephen and I arrived in South Korea after a surprise first-class upgrade on our flight with Korean Air. We met our friend, DK, who stayed with us in Nagoya the week before, at our hostel. The three of us studied in Florence so feel in our element exploring foreign countries together and invariably return to conversations surrounding our shared adventures. Not surprisingly, some unstoppable force brought us to an excellent Italian restaurant later in Busan (once we'd connected with our other Florence friend, Joe). Anyway, our first venture in Seoul was to locate traditional Korean-style barbeque. We found a restaurant nearby filled with people sitting on the floor and cooking copious amounts of red meat on personal grills. Our waiter presented us with various kimichi soups and side dishes, such as potato salad, sweet and spicy sauces, and radish, to accompany our sizzling slices of pork. The bill's astoundingly low total was a pleasant shock after living in Japan for six months, where for the same meal you'd pay more than twice the amount.
During our time in Seoul we visited some of the main tourist sights, including Changdeokgung palace (where we saw the changing of the guards), an Arts and Culture Museum, Namsangol Hanok Village (with traditional Korean-style houses and an amazing view), and Namdaemun Market. We also relaxed at the top of Seoul Tower, waiting until dark for the beautiful night-view dotted with lights. Along the way we sampled more traditional Korean food, including many spicy kimichi stews (some of these were better than others), noodle dishes, and flat egg pancakes. We were particularly engrossed with the doughy, crepe-like sweets filled with sugary cinnamon goo we found at Namdaemun Market. That was one aspect of Korean culture that surprised us: they love sweets! Ordering "iced tea" might bring you sugar-water.
Our final evening in Seoul was especially memorable. As we wandered through our hostel's Hongik district, a popular hangout for students of Hongik University, we passed a small open-air restaurant. Two pairs of Koreans were eating abundant spreads of noodles and flat egg pancakes. Observing their platters I said, "That looks good," and the two men closest to us yelled, "Yes, it's delicious! Come eat!" and proceeded to holler to the chef (who doubled as the server) to start cooking. Once we were seated, Korean beer and Takju (a traditional alcoholic drink that looks like watered down milk and is slightly sweet) appeared, accompanied soon after by one of the pancakes. Our new friends were extremely hospitable and loved speaking English. They encouraged us to sample their food, unsure if we could tolerate the spice level, and welcomed us to their ceramic teapot of Takju. The beverage pairs well with spice as it reduces the intensity.
One extremely amiable, inebriated man was impressed with our eyes and kept forming large circles with his hands and holding them to his face, telling Stephen and I, "You make babies! Angel babies!" He also admired Stephen's handsome face and DK's built figure and repeated these sentiments for many hours. Another man spoke English very well and taught Stephen how to count to ten in Korean. This took only about six minutes to everyone's amazement. When the final bill came it was ridiculously low- less than about $6 a person. When DK inquired about tipping he was told,"In Korea, the chef is happy you enjoy the food. That is tip enough."
The following afternoon, after wandering around some neighborhood shops and eating breakfast at an cheerful-looking cafe with brightly painted walls and enormous muffins, we took a train to Busan. We had unreserved seats so camped in the connecting cars, peering out the tiny windows as the food carts rolled by without stopping. It was a two and a half hour train ride and Joe greeted us at the station. After some spicy kimichi soup we took an extremely affordable taxi to a beautiful beach suburb lined with bars, restaurants, and love motels. On our way we saw a dog restaurant... where people eat dogs. Twenty of Joe's British friends had rented a condo for a birthday celebration on the water. We spent the evening enjoying Korean beer, barbequeing on the roof, and some, lighting fireworks on the sand!
The following day we explored the city and later successfully found a decent motel for under the equivalent of $20 a person. Living and working on the yen, South Korea felt like a cheap vacation. I'd definitely recommend a visit to enjoy flavorful food, a rich, cosmopolitan culture, and affectionate and hospitable company! I'm so happy that DK could visit and we could all reunite with Joe and Katelen.
On a different (less happy) note, we are very interested in the relationship between Korea and Japan. During its infamous thirty-five year occupation, Japan enslaved thousands of Koreans and banned them from speaking their native language. Today, while the younger generations deviate away from discrimination, some older people still remember the occupation clearly and harbor significant resentment. This has propelled long-standing tension between the neighboring countries. Interestingly, many of my Japanese students love Korean food, obsess over K-Pop, and Korean dramas are extremely popular with Japanese women. We talked a lot with Joe, who teaches English in Ulsan, who told us about his student's reactions to the earthquake and tsunami. Some echoed their parent's sentiments that Japan was being punished for its past evils. It seems that different people, naturally, feel differently.
Anyway... I hope family and friends at home are doing well and we miss you! I'll write another Japan-update before our next trip in August to the land of Phad Thai.
Thanks for reading!
Claire