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Published: November 28th 2010
Geoje
Mama and I cooking in my little kitchen!At my 5 1/2 month mark of living in Korea, I was lucky enough to have my family come to visit. It had been one year and one month since I'd seen Cameron, due to him being in the Peace Corps. So, after spending a week in Japan, Nana, Mom and Cameron came to visit me here in Korea! They took a ferry over from Fukuoka, Japan to Busan, South Korea. I was working, so unfortunately I was unable to meet them in the city, which left them to the task of getting down to the island. Now, Japan is extremely travel friendly, but Korea on the other hand takes some getting used to. Somehow, we worked it out and I met them in the first mainland city off the island, Tongyeong, then took the bus back to Geojedo with them. It was midnight and I had another day of work in the morning, before I'd be off for summer vacation and able to really enjoy the company of my family. Nonetheless, it just felt good to have them in my apartment with me. We crammed in and with the help of many friends who lent me futons, blankets, cots and
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My town's traditional market. chairs, we were able to comfortably squeeze into my little home.
Finishing work the next evening was the best feeling! I knew I had a week ahead of me to just enjoy my family and traveling around Korea with no worries. We spent our first few days together on the island. They got to see my school and town, the traditional market where I do my shopping for fresh veggies, fruit and fish and get a taste of my life on the island. We rented a car and drove all around the island checking out the various beaches, waterfalls and coastlines. This was a treat for me as well, because I don't have a car here, so I had not been to many of these otherwise difficult to access places! It was a relaxing few days, which was great for me after a stressful work week and great for my family after being on the go in Japan.
So, after our relaxing first few days together we jumped on a bus and headed north to Seoul. Our first task was to find our way from the bus station to a motel for the night. We had lots of
Geoje
Out for Korean BBQ with friends. bags and were standing on the street totally confused, trying to find our way. I ran back into the subway station to check out a map when a Korean girl with broken, but sufficient English came over to ask me if I needed help. I was so grateful! She ended up walking us all the way to the motel we were looking for, which had changed names, hence the difficulty in finding it!! Then she came upstairs and bargained a price for us and a couple of other lingering and confused foreigners. Her name is Jin Ok and we exchanged contact information so I can get together with her next time I head to Seoul...it is so great to meet friendly people who are so helpful when traveling. I've kept in contact with her through e-mail, but have yet to head back up to Seoul.
We spent our Seoul days checking out the beautiful eccentricities of the big city. We spent half a day at Gyeongbok Palace, a royal palace first constructed in 1394 and reconstructed in 1867. It was the main and largest of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. The name of the palace,
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Rice fields on Geoje Gyeongbokgung, translates in English as "Palace of Shining Happiness." We took our time and strolled around the grounds, taking in the beautiful architecture. We came across a man sitting in the shade painting and took a moment to chat and observe. Though there were many tourists, the palace is so large, that it still felt peaceful.
Next we headed to Insadong, a part of Seoul that is known for it's souvenir shopping and tea houses. At one time it was the largest market for antiques and artworks in Korea. It is a great place to walk around, people watch and enjoy a nice cup of traditional Korean tea, so we did just that. We were tired from being on the go all day and decided to relax for the remainder of the night.
The next morning we got going early and headed to Dongdaemun market where we spent the better part of our morning shopping and haggling. We lost Cameron to a coffee shop before long, but were able to find some funny t-shirts for him in the meantime. After getting some good bargains, we headed to the coffee shop where we were to meet up with Cameron's
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One of many beautiful views driving around Geoje friend Ken. Ken had lived in Khovd, Mongolia with Cameron but just recently returned to his homeland of Korea. We had a coffee and before long Ken was there to hangout with us. It is always so helpful to have a local with you when traveling in a foreign country. It just makes everything that much easier!
From the coffee shop, we headed to a little known area of Seoul, Mongolia town!! It was really cool to have this opportunity to see a bit of the culture Cameron is living in, since Mom and Nana didn't make it to Mongolia on this trip. We went to a restaurant and had a few traditional Mongolian dishes, along with traditional tea. Cameron and Ken were laughing at the difference in taste and the extreme difference in price! After our visit to Mongolia town, we did some street shopping and eventually made our way to the Hongik University area of Seoul, where Ken took us to a traditional Korean restaurant with endless side dishes and delicious food!
It was a long day, but there was an important part of Korean culture that I really wanted everyone to experience before they left.
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Beach season in Korea So, at the end of this day, we made our way to a jimjilbang. The jimjilbang is a public bathhouse/sauna. You go in and pay a small fee, usually around $5-7, then they give you towels, shorts and a t-shirt. There are separate colors and areas for the men and women. So, from here you go in and place all your clothes in a locker, then head to a seating area with mirrors, soap and a handheld shower head. You take a quick shower, then have many options for hot and cold baths, saunas, steam rooms, rooms with heated lamps (that my friends and I like to call the lizard room), high pressure shower heads that you can sit under for a massage, green tea pools, and more! I love going to the jimjilbang to sit and relax, but it's real purpose is to go in and soak, then scrub your whole body very, very thoroughly. The Korean's will spend the majority of their time scrubbing. But, for $20-25, you can pay a Korean lady to scrub for you!! It is a body scrub, facial and massage all rolled into one. And it is amazing!!
So this body scrub,
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Windy Hill that I have been getting once a month since being in Korea, is something that I really wanted mom and nana to experience. So, they each got a scrub and after a bit more soaking, I put on my t-shirt and shorts and headed to the unisex area of the jimjilbang. It was only a few minutes before Cameron came out and we were able to check out the unisex saunas. There was a hot room with sand to lay in, one with rocks, and another one where you were supposed to take a big sack with you and place it over your head, then sit there and sweat for a while. Before long the girls finished their scrubs and came up to meet us. We got a cold Korean rice, tea drink and sat in the massage chairs relaxing and chatting for a while, before heading back to our respective areas to get dressed again. The girls had loved their scrubs and it was a great way to end the long day!
The next morning we were up bright and early to head to the Odusan Unification Observatory. This observatory is at the northern most end of the
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My beautiful mama! western battle line and divides South and North Korea by Im-jin River. From this observatory, you can view North Korean collective farms and mountains, as well as the residents seen through binoculars. It was extremely interesting to see footage of North Korea and learn a bit more about a country that the world knows so little about.
We spent the morning at the observatory, then headed to another attraction on the outskirts of Seoul, Herb Island. This place was too cool!! There were crazy amounts of herbs, plants, flowers and trees. Tons of butterflies and dragonflies. It was a spectacle for the senses! I loved it. It was a struggle to only post the Herb Island photos I posted, as I wanted to post every one!!
With North Korean views and lots of beautiful flora behind us, we headed back to the big city with the goal of making it to the North Seoul Tower for views of the city. With a bit of effort and confusion, we eventually made it and went up into the 777ft tower, which sits on the peak of Namsan mountain. The city was all lit up and beautiful. Despite the beauty, we
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Nana and I posing with Mongdori and Mongsuni, the characters selected to be used as cultural envoys and helpers for the promotion of Geoje. were starting to feel the constraints of time, as I had to head back to Geojedo that night, since I had work the next morning. We took photos, then made our way quickly back to the car to race to Nambu Bus Terminal in hopes of there still being a ticket left for me. There were two busses left for the night, so it turned into a bit of a mad dash. Ken drove like a champ, once again it was so helpful to have a local with us!! We made it with time to spare and I bought a ticket for the midnight bus.
It was bittersweet as usual. I feel so blessed to have had my family visit, but the goodbye was especially hard this time. I hated getting on a bus south knowing they were spending one more night in Seoul before flying out the next day. I was the crazy foreigner on the bus balling my eyes out, but it was all worth it for the short, but amazing time I got to spend with my family.
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Char
non-member comment
thanks
Thanks Kailie, as always, I enjoyed reading your blog. It sounds like you had a great visit with your family!