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Published: April 15th 2013
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February gave us a long weekend for the Lunar New Year, and rather than doing something cultural, Conor and I headed away for a drinking weekend with our Ulsan friends! We all met at the beautiful city of Gyeongju, where we rented a pension at a Western-themed resort called Eurovill. We were staying in the 'Roman' room in 'Italy'! This was basically a studio flat with a bathroom, a kitchen and a lot of floor space for sleeping! As well as barbequeing and drinking, we also went hiking around Namsan on the Sunday. This had been recommended by various co-teachers for the scenic beauty of the area but it felt like hiking any other mountain in Korea! There were some rock carvings of Buddha at various points and places where people had left offerings. We also met the friendliest people all the way through the hike! People shouted hello out of cars and a group out picnicing on the mountain chased after us to give us some rice cakes! At the end of the hike we bought some special Gyeongju
hwangnambread - which turned out to be small pancakes filled with red bean paste. Eurovill offered some complimentary activities, so we
all took out some tandem bikes and went for a spin up and down the hill the next day.
On our last day in Gyeongju, we got a taxi to a sex museum which proved to be very entertaining! Naturally they had a lot of phallic sculptures from ancient times, as well as some very graphic old Korean pornography painted on silk, which was used to try and help boost the population! But most of it was funny art installations including a garden full of interestingly positioned statues and interactive phallic fountains! We headed into town for a delicious lunch of
doenjang jigae - soybean paste, vegetable and seafood stew. Absolutely perfect and a steal at w5,000. After we had sated out appetites, we got the train back to our respective cities.
The first weekend in March brought our only real opportunity to try skiing or snowboarding in Korea. About nine of us joined an organised tour who brought us up north to Gangwon-do and Welli Hilli park. The season was ending but the snow wasn't too wet just yet and the beginner slope was pretty decent - not too steep and plenty wide! There were
a good variety of routes for all levels, and a massive half pipe slope for tricks. Most of us had barely or never skied/boarded before and basically had to teach ourselves, but the park rangers were on hand for tips! Snowbarding at night didn't work so well for me though, the machines turned the beginner slope into an icy treacherous slope covered in balls of ice. The rooms had the traditional ondol floors instead of beds but we were very comfortable on the mattress pads and blankets provided, and the room parties were fantastic craic!
For St. Patrick's Day we headed to Seoul, my first time! The Irish Association of Korea had orgaised an outdoor event, and we met friends from Ulsan and Daejeon there. We stayed in Itaewon, which was very much geared for tourists offering food from around the world all on one street. It was a great day to be sitting around outside. I also met my friend Kyu, fresh out of the Korean Army's compulsory two years service, who I met in the Middle East. We all headed out in Itaewon for the night, and got the slow train back to Busan the next day.
Public transport is a trial in Korea, only because people only seem to want to sit in complete silence. Even when we were talking just above a whisper we had complaints made against us. It's not uncommon to have people (especially older men) tell us to shut up while we're on the subway, even on a crowded subway! Regardless, it was a really fun trip!
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