Southern South Korea

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I arrived in Seoul late on the night of the 21st, as was becoming my habit. My first impression of Seoul was similar to my first impressions in other rich Asian cities, as it was sense of amazement at both the efficiency and size of the public transit system. I was able to take a train from the island airport that after twenty minutes connected with Seoul's subway system. As you can see from the picture below it has thirteen lines and can be both overwhelming and confusing at first. I was tired and disoriented at the time so I decided to ask a local for help in deciphering the colourful and confusing subway map. I received some friendly advice but in the end it was also wrong advice, which sent me in the opposite direction of the hostel I was looking for. I realized this after one stop but the damage was already done as this was the last train of the night. After half an hour of hopefully waiting for another train, I caved and paid $15 U.S. for a taxi to my hostel at midnight.

I ended up spending another day in Seoul but this entry is focused on my time in Southern South Korea. On the 23rd, I boarded a bus that would take me to Gwangju, where my friend Kylee was spending a year teaching English. Once again I was left astonished by the smoothness with which Korean transit operates. Gwangju is on the other side of the country from Seoul and requires a 3.5 hour bus ride to reach. Despite this distance, buses leave every ten to fifteen minutes all day long from Seoul's central bus terminal bound for Gwangju. I paid $16 and boarded my 12:00 P.M. bus at 11:50, noticing immediately there were only two other people on the bus. By 11:59 it was almost completely full and we left as soon as the clock hit 12. So it only makes sense that after a smooth ride, including a stop at what must be the World's nicest highway rest stop, we arrived in Gwangju at 3:32 P.M. After dealing with different interpretations of time in other Asian countries, this Swiss-like efficiency was a welcome change.

Kylee met me at the bus station with a beer in hand, setting the tone for what would be a wild four days. That night we went for Korean BBQ, which involves small slabs of meat being cooked on a grill at the center of your table. You then take the meat, wrap it in leaves of lettuce, and then add sauce and cloves of garlic. It tastes great going down, but eating cloves of garlic with each bite can leave you with quite a gross taste in your mouth the next morning. After dinner, we went to an American style restaurant named Miller Time (Seriously) to watch the England vs. Slovenia World Cup game. We ended up watching the game with a bunch of Brits and England pulled out a hard fought win, making it a good night all around.

The next day Kylee had to work so I got caught up on some blogging and did some sightseeing in Gwangju. It is a provincial city with few sights, so this mainly consisted of me visiting some malls and one of the stadiums where the 2002 World Cup was played. That night Kylee and I went to a KIA Tigers game; the Gwangju baseball team that happen to be the defending champions of the Korean baseball league. This was a decidedly different experience from your average MLB game as tickets cost $6 and you could sit virtually anywhere you wanted to. Better yet, you could bring in your own food and drinks to enjoy over the course of the game. We brought in a whole large pizza and a 1600 ml plastic bottle of beer each. A great way to enjoy a baseball game whose outcome matters very little to you. The crowd was insane too; chanting and singing throughout most of the game, even though KIA was getting killed by the Nexen Heroes. Why Korean baseball teams are named after multinational companies, I cannot tell you.

The next night we headed to Busan, a port city on the Southern coast of Korea, with a bunch of Kylee's friends. We didn't get to Busan until 12:30 A.M. Saturday morning but this did not stop everyone from dropping our bags at hotel rooms and then going back out until 6 A.M. They go HARD in Korea! The night ended with Mexican food as the sun came up, before everyone retreated back to their love hotels. In Korea, a love hotel is a gaudily decorated motel, where rooms can be rented for two hours or the full night. They are everywhere and also one of the cheapest options for people on a budget. As a result, this is where most backpackers stay while traveling in relatively expensive South Korea. The rooms were actually pretty nice if you kept your mind off of what the beds were usually used for. This was harder to do once I realized that the beds did not come with bed sheets at our particular motel.

I spent approximately 36 hours in Busan and it either poured or drizzled for the duration of my time there. We woke up on Saturday to more rain but headed to the beach anyway, as this is what Busan is known for. The beach was relatively uncrowded, besides the big screens that were set up to broadcast South Korea's elimination World Cup match against Uruguay, scheduled for 11 P.M. that night. We hung around the beach and watched an embarrassing "International" surfing competition before retreating to a restaurant and its protective umbrellas.

That night we watched the game on the beach for awhile with thousands of poncho wearing Korean soccer fans. At halftime we retreated to a bar which was also packed with both Korean and expat fans. When Korea tied the game in the 68th minute the roar was one of the loudest that I have ever heard. Uruguay ended up winning the game and breaking everyone's hearts but being in Korea for this game was a very cool experience that I won't soon forget.

The next morning (Afternoon) the Gwangju contingent all shuffled onto the buses headed out of Busan. We spent the day recovering and then went out and had shabu shabu for dinner. Shabu Shabu is a Japanese style of dining that involves a boiling pot of soup broth on your table, that you use to cook vegetables, meat, and noodles. It also involved sitting cross-legged on the floor, which I am never a fan of, but was spicy and delicious. I then stayed up until 1 A.M. only to see my favourite team, England, eliminated from the World Cup, before going to bed angry.

The next day Kylee went back to work and I headed back to Seoul. After four days of partying I needed to detox and I figured the capital would be an interesting place to see. I was also looking forward to visiting the famous demilitarized zone (DMZ) that exists between the two Koreas.

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Photos

Ball Game
Pizza and beer, what else could you want at a baseball game. You can also tell from my lean that I am starting to feel the effects of a 1600 ml beer.

Party Animals
These guys came in suits to a weeknight baseball game with a 24! That means 12 beers each and then go to work the next day. I was seriously concerned for these guy's safety until two of their friends showed up around the third inning.

Off Night
KIA may be the defending champions but from what I saw, they are just terrible.

Kylee and Teddy Bear
Kylee left this teddy bear at the bar. She was distraught for days after doing this.

DARBY!!!
One morning I went into Kylee's class to help out with the teaching. That is me holding her worst student, Darby. Also notice how I wrote, "Discipline" and "Respect" on the board, to instill these values in the children.

World's Smallest Elevator
This is an elevator at Kylee's school. Photographic proof that this school has more money than they know what to do with.

Asian Kareoke
Some Korean guys invited us to join them in a karaoke room that they had rented (There were alot of girls with us). It got out of hand quickly after these girls got the mic.

Dance Off
This guy was from the karaoke room and kept coming up to me on the dance floor and busting moves. Not sure if he was gay or not, but he does now know not to mess with a dancer of my ability level.

Chris and Me
Kylee's friend Chris; also an English teacher in South Korea.

Red Devils
The South Korean soccer team is called the Red Devils, so during the World Cup they hand out these horns to everyone. Judging by the expression on Lee's face, I'm assuming this is after the loss.

Beer Pong
Alot of the bars in Asia actually have Beer Pong at the bar. It was winner stays on and Kylee and I were killing it for awhile, but eventually two guys knocked us off.

Beach Soccer
Literally thousands of people watching the game in the pouring rain.

Inside
Watching the 2nd Half inside a bar. This place absolutely exploded when Korea scored.

Drunk Man Doing Handstand
I was going to write an explanation of this but I think the title says it all.

Seoul Subway Map
Designed to be confusing.

Comments

[anonymous]

HAHAHA Scott epic 4 days with you! Still lauging at the drunk guy and the handstand... oh geeze! See ya in a month when I return!