KOREA

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I flew into Seoul and waited for my former student (Jae) to meet me at the airport. We had arranged to meet, but I hadn't realized just how far away he lived. He was taking a 4 hour bus ride to meet me and since he missed the bus, he was going to be a few hours late. Instead of trying to figure out how we were going to meet in Seoul, I decided to wait for him at the airport. It was really funny how grateful he seemed that I would wait for him, but it was the least I could do after he traveled 4 hours to meet me.

I checked into my hostel (Banana Backpackers) in Insadong and was happy to be taking off my fatty backpack for a few days. Then Jae and I tried to go to a few places near my hostel, but it was SO cold and we couldn't figure out where we were going, so we just went into a coffee shop instead... btw- who knew Nescafe had stores? Anyway, then we met up with another former student (Joo Yeon) in Hongdae. This area is where all the young people go out because it's next to Hongik University. We went to a restaurant to eat bibimbap which is a delicious Korean dish with rice, veggies and an egg. After dinner, we went walking around the market area where I was so cold that I bought a new hat, scarf, and anything else I thought would keep me warm along the way. Then we went to a Saju (a fortune teller that gives you information based off your birthday). It was strange because Jae and Joo Yeon had to be my interpreters, but from what she told me, it sounded like a crock of shit. Anyway, after that we kept walking and once again got too cold, so we decided to go into a restaurant to drink Makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and eat bindaedduk (a potato pancake bigger than my head). I was a little worried about what I would eat while I was there since I figured it would all be spicy Korean bbq, but I was really surprised by how much I loved the food (my waistline is now telling me that I loved it a little too much 😉

I started off the next day by looking for a pharmacy to buy a foot brace because I think I injured my foot after slipping down some steps at a hostel in Japan. It had gotten worse since I insisted on walking on it, but I kept figuring, hey- it's not everyday I'm in Japan and Korea. Anyway, in my quest for a foot brace I ended up finding a Saturday market instead. I walked around there for a bit before I went to the Daehangno neighborhood. There, I checked out the local shopping area, the Filipino Sunday Market, ate a potato tornado, found a foot brace and went back to the hostel.

The next day I went to the Chagdeokgung Palace only to find out that it was closed on Mondays. As I was standing there looking through my guidebook and deciding what I was going to do next, this girl came up to me and asked me where she could buy tickets to the palace. I told her it was closed and we got to talking... turns out she's from Taiwan, but has lived in L.A. since she was a teenager. I decided to go with her to the Myeong-Dong shopping area instead. We walked around the outdoor market and even into some of the indoor ones that felt like cramped mazes. We stopped to eat gimbap (Korean sushi) along the way. My foot started hurting by the end of the day, so I decided to head back to my hostel and drink some wine.

I went back to the palace the next day and realized they had 2 tours- one for the palace and one for the Biwon gardens. I was really more interested in the garden tour and since I already had plans to meet up with my former student (Woongki), I decided to come back the next day... luckily this palace was only about 5 minutes from my hostel. Anyway, I met Woongki at the Seolleung Park of Royal Tombs which were basically burial hills with statues on top for protection. After that we decided to go up to the North Seoul Tower in time for sunset. It was perfect because we were able to see the city during the day, but it also looks so pretty at night with all the bridges and buildings lit up. After that we stopped to drink some Makgeolli and eat another giant potato pancake. Then I walked back to my hostel which was only about 15min. away, but felt a lot longer because it was sooooo cold.

In the morning, I figured 3rd time's a charm and was very optimistic about getting to go on the garden tour. I got to the ticket office about 5 minutes before the tour began, but the ticket agent told me that it would take me 15 minutes to get to the garden entrance where the tour started and that I was too late. So, I bought a ticket for the afternoon tour and walked around the Bukchon Hanok Village the rest of the morning. Then I went back to the palace in time to FINALLY go on the tour. After all that, I have no idea what I was thinking... it was about a 3 hour tour outside and it was -12 degrees celsius! At the beginning of the tour, I walked through the doorway which brought longevity (because the kings died so young). I also saw a frozen square pond which represented earth while the round island in the middle represented heaven. On the tour I met a girl named Naomi (she is from Peru, but her grandparents are Japanese and she is studying Japanese and living in Japan now). Anyway, we decided to leave the tour early and go to Lotte (the duty free shop), Myeongdong and Namdaemun Market together instead. We ate a kimchi pancake from a street vendor and then went to a restaurant for some Makgeolli and sweet potato pizza.

The next day, I went on a tour of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone... the line between North Korea and South Korea). I was a little nervous because the tour had just opened 2 days earlier after the attacks on Yeonpyeong island. I decided to go because all the locals I talked to said that the tours wouldn't have started again if it wasn't safe. The bus picked me up at my hostel at 7:30 and I passed out on the 1 hour ride to the Freedom Bridge.
At the bridge there is and old train car that was gunned down during the Korean War. There is also a giant peace bell near the bridge. There is a holiday in Asia called Tomb Sweeping Day where relatives go to clean and visit the grave sites of their family members every year. Since many South Koreans have family members who are buried in North Korea, people come to this place (the most northern place they can get to) and ring the bell.
We walked around a bit and then took the bus to a tunnel that was dug by N. Korea and led straight to Seoul. Apparently it is the 3rd tunnel out of 4 that they've found, and they speculate that there are many more that all lead to Seoul to be used for a surprise attack. It's funny because when S. Korea discovered the tunnel, N. Korea denied digging it and claimed that S. Korea dug it. However, based on the angle (it sloped up towards S. Korea), the U.N. knew the truth. So, N. Korea went back and rubbed coal powder on the walls and said that the tunnel was used for mining, even though there isn't any coal in the area. About a year later, S.Korea opened the tunnel to tourists and N. Korea demanded part of the profit since they were the ones who built it 😉
We were supposed to go to the observatory where there are views of N. Korea, but that part of the tour was still closed, so we went to a ginseng store instead. Apparently, Korea is the only place ginseng grows for 6 years (in most places, it dies after 3-4 years).
After the tour, I went back to Insadong with Jules (an Australian girl I met on my DMZ tour). We ate bibimbap and drank Makgeolli before I went back to my hostel to do laundry and start packing. Later I met up with Woongki again and we ate spicy tofu soup. Then we walked around and did some more eating... got a hot honey pancake and some traditional Korean peanut candy. Got some coffee and then went back to my hostel to finish packing before meeting up with Naomi (the girl I hung out with the day before). We planned to go Salsa dancing, but the bar was dead and there was no music on, so we went to a more local joint where we drank Cass Beer and split another Kimchi pancake. While walking around, it started to snow (the first snow that winter) and when I woke up the next morning to go to the airport, it was still snowing.
Korea was much different than I expected (and much colder), but overall, it was a great trip.

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Photos

Makgoli
Korean rice wine... tasted just like beer

Gimbap
aka- Korean sushi

Seoul Tower4
Freezing my ass off

I love eating with locals4
Bingbong... Need more beer? Just push the bell ;)