Korea, and the end of the journey!

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In my last entry, I said I was headed out of Daejeon, but a stomach flu kept me in bed for an entire two days! At first, a doctor even thought it might be swine flu =/ But with my trip effectively shortened to 8 days, I had to really move it to squeeze in all that I wanted to do.

I would be in Daejeon for a couple more days before and after my trip to Daegu, and I saw a lot of local sights. Temples, Mountains, and lotus festivals, it was nothing huge compared to some of the sights we saw in Southeast Asia, but it was a very good way to get a feel for what the Korean landscape is like. We went to a huge once-every-5-days market, where I picked up some fun souvenirs, and had great stand-food. I was a bit apprehensive because the markets in Chiang Mai were so dingy, with flies crawling over exposed meat, but the Daejeon market was very clean and interesting.

At the market, I saw people selling dog meat. I had meant to try this decidedly local dish, but after seeing the crudely butchered dogs (don't want to post the pic in case it offends), there was no way I could eat it. Koreans themselves seem to regard it as an oddity, and all of my relatives say they wouldn't eat it. So no, it's not a widespread custom, and you probably won't find it neatly packaged in un-identifiable slices at the grocers.

I also went to a Wood Charcoal Sauna (Bulgama) in Daejeon. They do some crazy things in Korea, and this is one of them. they have huge clay ovens that they fire up with wood, and then slowly turn the wood into charcoal by cutting off the air. After heating up the clay, they remove the charcoal for use in barbecuing meat at their restaurant, and the walls of the oven stay extremely hot for a few days afterwards. Unlike a normal sauna, it's an extremely dry heat, although you start sweating more than enough to compensate. Your clothes get so hot that it hurts to move, and your hair is too hot to touch.

I only spent 10 hours in Seoul. Getting to Seoul from Daejeon takes 1 hour on the 300 km/h KTX hi-speed rail. I wish New York, Philly, DC, Boston were linked up with something like that! (especially at the Korea price of $20). In fact, inter-city transport in general is really cheap and comfortable. The 2 hour Luxury-bus ride is $10, and has leather seats that recline almost all the way, and give you ridiculous amounts of butt space. In comparison, we have the chinatown bus =(.

I met up with Tommy and Jiwoo in Seoul, and had a great time. We had food and drink, and just wandered around COEX, a large indoor shopping complex. I really wanted to stay for longer, but JAL was fully booked for the rest of July =/.

Korea ended on a quiet note, with more food and drink. If your tastes aren't too expensive (local beef and imported alcohol), it's easy to live a comfortable life here. The food is really cheap and varied, and night clubs, bars, pool halls, saunas, internet cafes (50 cents an hour) are everywhere, with competition driving down the price.

You'll see some odd things too, many times because of the friction between traditional Korea (our grandparents who lived in pre-modern Colonial Korea) and the younger, modern generation. DVD-rooms can be found everywhere, private rooms with a sofabed and a large screen, supposedly popular with younger couples. Motels are abundant too. In Korea, where most people live with their parents until they get married (oftentimes, even after), this makes sense. High School students are expected to study until 10PM daily, and go to school on the weekends; Korea's academic system is based on rigorous exam-taking, possibly a remnant of the imperial examinations of old-Korea. And now that nearly everyone can afford to send their kids through high-school, the traditional cultural emphasis on education as a virtue creates self-destructive amounts of academic competition.

I really enjoyed meeting my relatives in Korea for the first time, and can't wait to go back. Visiting Korea is fun, but I think that living in Korea for a while would be a great experience.

Thanks for reading this blog, and I hope you enjoyed it. Until the next big trip, goodbye!

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