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Published: July 15th 2008
One of the many perks of living in China is the proximity to other interesting Asian countries. I took advantage of my geographical prowess to jet off to Seoul, Korea this past weekend. A good friend of mine from high school and college, Martha Ja-yon Hong, had just moved back to her hometown of Seoul to do some soul-searching, and I had just finished my semester at Beijing Language and Culture University, so the timing was perfect. I had no idea what to expect, nor was I 100% positive that my student visa would allow me to leave China, but I bravely boarded the Air China 737 bound for Seoul and crossed my fingers.
After a leisurely hour and a half long flight, we landed in Korea. As I strode through the Incheon International Airport, eagerly looking around, I expected to be greeted by a full song-and-dance ensemble welcoming me to Korea. In reality, the first place in Korea upon which I stepped foot - the airport - was the same as every other airport I'd been to around the world. Shrugging off my disappointment, I felt my smile widen as I anticipated seeing my friend after the two long
years of separation since graduating from UW-Madison. I confidently walked out of the International Arrivals hall, scanned the hundreds of Korean faces waiting for friends and family- and was stunned to discover that Martha was not among them. Korea was the first country I'd visited where I couldn't put two words together (China, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Tibet, Canada and Mexico all enabled me to utilize either Chinese or Spanish) and I began having a mini panic attack. I walked up to the information desk and helplessly flapped my hands in the air, desperately attempting to mime the fact that my friend was not there to meet me and I didn't know what to do. The woman at the desk smiled at me and asked how she could help- in perfect English. Chinglish- or rather Konglish- didn't exist in Korea.
After I'd calmed down, I was thrilled to hear an announcement made over the PA system entirely in Korean which included my name. I'd only been in Korea for twenty minutes and already I was famous! Mere minutes after the announcement had been made, I saw a panicked Martha running towards me. As if in slow motion, we careened
Lunchtime
Martha, the master multi-tasker, cutting kimchi, talking to her mom and ignoring my picture taking towards each other and somehow managed to hug gracefully without falling down. I was so thrilled to see her! Although the stick-straight hair she'd sported all through high school and college was gone with the addition of a perm, she was the still the same Martha. We couldn't wait to catch up.
The first thing I noticed about Korea while Martha expertly wound in and out of Korean traffic, was how clear the sky was. Despite Martha's insistence that the sky that day was unusually clear and the humidity extraordinarily low, I couldn't help feeling a bit jealous of the lack of pollution in Seoul. Sixteen of the world's twenty most polluted cities are in China; it is said that living in Beijing is akin to being around the secondhand smoke of a pack of cigarettes per day. Admittedly, the horrendous pollution is one of the reasons that I elected to cut short my final stay in China, but it doesn't make leaving any easier.
Another difference I noted right away was the organization and civility of Korean drivers. Everyone stayed within their lanes, drove at or around the speed limit, and I don't recall hearing any honking.
Korean Restaurant
We sat at traditional Korean tables for lunch. We had to remove our shoes and sat on mats around the low tables. After the chaos of the streets of Beijing, it was a welcome change, but after a few days, I found myself missing the symphony of Beijing street noises. Seoul was incredibly cosmopolitan and international- one of the biggest chains in Seoul was Dunkin Donuts, and I will admit that Martha and I stopped in many a time for coffee. It's interesting how the chains in the United States that many may view as tasteless, such as Dunkin Donuts or Seven-Eleven, are actually quite gourmet in Asia.
I stayed with Martha and her family in their 34th floor brand new apartment. Not only was it immaculate, it was absolutely beautiful. On clear days, such as the day I arrived, expansive views of Seoul were visible from the living room and bedroom windows. Martha's brother was living on the United States military base in Seoul, completing the mandatory two years of military service required by the Korean government, so I was able to camp out in his bedroom.
My first full day in Korea, Martha took me to several busy marketplaces in downtown Seoul. The young, the hip and the wealthy took to the streets in droves, drifting in and
out of high-end air-conditioned shops, buying sweet snacks and people watching. Street vendors displayed inexpensive goods as girls giggled and tried on sparkling earrings and funky hats. Flashy store signs and neon advertisements were everywhere- hanging above the pedestrian walkways, jutting out into corner alleys and emblazoned on storefronts. I was amazed to see several men roaming through the packed streets, wearing placards and droning into bullhorns about the importance of finding religion and Jesus. I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting plainsclothes policemen to swoop in and cart the religious offenders away, but nothing happened. I saw informational pamphlets about the mistreatment of Falon Gong practitioners and other perceived injustices. It really struck me that this was the difference between democracy and communism, freedom of speech and censorship, and human rights and the lack thereof. China has come such a long way, but there are definitely areas in which improvement is needed.
We had an amazing lunch at a local restaurant near one of the marketplaces. For four days, I gorged myself on Korean sushi rolls, pickled vegetable dishes and ricecake soup. Beijing food has always been far too oily for me to enjoy every day, so tasting
Crazy Prices!
I was shocked that a cup of coffee would cost 3,500 won, but relaxed after Martha explained that the 1,000 won bill is like an American 1 dollar bill. I guess it's all relative. so many varieties of Korean delicacies was a welcome treat. In addition to all the excellent restaurants and food stands Martha and I frequented, Martha's mother made us breakfast each morning. I couldn't imagine a better way to start the day than a homemade, traditional Korean breakfast. My favorite breakfast during my stay was ricecake soup with fresh fruit. I'm interested to discover good Korean food haunts in the American Midwest upon my return.
The second day, Martha and I met up with another high school friend, Aaron, and his boyfriend, Ryan. They have been living in Korea for the past two years teaching English, so the three of us had a lot to talk about. Aaron and Ryan are teaching kindergarten Korean children, while I taught working Chinese adults, yet there were many similarities in the English learning process that were fun to discover. The four of us took the high-speed KTX train from Seoul to the city of Kyungju (sometimes spelled Gyeongju) in southern Korea. The train reached speeds of 300 Km/hour (or about 186 miles/hour) and it was fascinating to see the Korean countryside through the train windows. Everything was so lush and green; I was
told that Korea is in the middle of the rainy season, and indeed, it did rain that day.
Once in Kyungju, we hired a taxi driver for the day who introduced us some of the most famous tourist sites in Korea. We visited an old Korean family compound, several temples, a famous restaurant, burial tombs and the oldest space observatory in Korea. I was pleased to discover that my acclimation to Beijing's heat and humidity carried over to Korea and I was able to comfortably wear jeans throughout the day, even as others sweltered in shorts and tank tops.
My last full day in Korea was a bit disappointing. Originally, we had planned to take a half-day tour to visit the DMZ, or demilitarized zone, also known as the 38th parallel, that divides North and South Korea. This region between the two countries is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides, who literally stand back to back as they watch over their prospective territories. There is an observation point on South Korean soil where tourists can gaze across the river and spot North Korean soldiers patrolling the border. Additionally, tourists may venture down into the depths of a
Hilarious Warning in Seoul
Don't fly balloons because you will be electrocuted! tunnel dug by North Korean soldiers intent on invading South Korea by tunneling under the DMZ; this venture was discovered and halted by South Korean troops and now barricaded by an immense steel door. I'm sure it is heavily fortified by North Korean troops on the other side.
Being a history buff, I was extremely keen on visiting this historic area and perhaps learning more about the Korean perspective of the civil war which divided the countries in the early 1950s. (Incidentally, the Chinese phrase for the Korean war translates into English as 'the war of resistance against the Americans to aid the Koreans'). However, the day before we were to embark on the tour, the terrible news of the tragic and senseless shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the border left the country reeling in shock. It seems the 53-year-old housewife was walking along a beach in North Korea and wandered into forbidden territory, after which she was fatally shot in the back. The reclusive and secretive regime of Kim Jong Il has yet to admit fault or apologize to South Korea, and is, incredibly, demanding that South Korea apologize for halting tours to North Korea.
Tourism has become a major industry for the communist nation, where it is said that 37 percent of North Koreans are chronically malnourished and 2/3 of all North Korean children do not receive enough food. . Such a senseless and avoidable death has only exacerbated the tension on the Korean peninsula; I don't see any real improvement in relations occurring until Kim Jong Il is out of power.
Growing up in the United States, we learn in school that communism is bad and that every country should be entitled to democracy. I don't entirely agree with that statement, but I do believe that every citizen on earth is entitled to the rights and freedoms that encompass a democratic society. Living in China and attending a university with a massive international student population, I've been exposed to perspectives and citizens from countries and governments all over the world. In fact, I became friends with several North Koreans in some of my classes. It has never been so apparent to me as it is now that citizens and their government can be completely and utterly, 100%!s(MISSING)eparate entities. While my North Korean friends are certainly patriotic and
supportive of their country (as are most citizens of any given country), I can't imagine that they would greet the news of the South Korean tourist's death with anything less than genuine sorrow and consternation for the newest misunderstanding between the two countries. Those American citizens not as fortunate as I to have the opportunity to live abroad will likely view the situation in same vein as President Bush, who irresponsibly dubbed North Korea part of an "Axis of Evil". It's only after we stop making unfounded statements and start earnestly attempting to learn about and understand a culture and system of government different from our own that true progress will be made in global relations.
With the lost opportunity to be immersed in Korean history, Martha and I instead took it easy, revisiting our favorite spots in Seoul, drinking delicious Dunkin Donuts coffee (I do not jest), and teaching each other key Korean and Chinese phrases. To end our visit with a flourish, we managed to track down tickets to a screening of "Sex and the City: The Movie" which was playing on limited screens in Seoul. Having been a big fan of the series in college, I
was ecstatic to finally see the film I'd heard so much about, and be able to watch it with one of my closest friends from those years of yore. What made the experience even more entertaining, was that the Korean audience would inevitably read the Korean subtitles before the characters on the screen finished speaking the English sentence and so the lines were often drowned out for me by audience laughter. I'll just have to buy the movie once it comes to the Beijing DVD shops
I had a wonderful visit with my friend, enjoyed experiencing a new country and culture, and was interested to learn some Korean. However, when the time came to board the plane back to Beijing, I truly felt as if I were going home. China is, and always will be, my home away from home. I never imagined, back in 2004 when I first arrived in this enormous country, that I would ever become so comfortable in a country that was not the land of my birth. I still have those days of cultural misunderstanding or when I just can't seem to remember a specific vocabulary word to express myself, but I am cherishing
Me, Ryan, Aaron and Martha
This was towards the end of the day. We were so tired; I don't remember where we are. It was pretty, though. even those moments of frustration, because I know this experience is all too fleeting. I hope to have the chance to return to China someday, and when I do, I know I will be welcomed back with open arms.
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Thai
non-member comment
Wow your trip sounds amazing! I'm sure the pics don't do it justice, but it looks really nice there. Now it hurts even more that I wasn't able to go to Korea a few weeks back..thanks :-P By the way Dunkin' Donuts is from Boston! They have awesome coffee and of course donuts.