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Published: August 15th 2016
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Today is day we go to
Pyeongchang(hometown of Halahbujee, Harmonee and Ann).
While most of the Lee and Hwang families are in Canada now, we have a few family members, Pyeongchang Aunt and Uncle, who still live in Pyeongchang so a visit to Korea wouldn't be complete without a trip back home. (Pyeongchang Aunt is cousins with Halmonee. Halmonee's mother and Pyeongchang Aunt's father were brother and sister.)
We took subway to Gangbyeon Bus Terminal to purchase tickets early this morning. We didn't account for the long weekend* and tickets were sold out for morning and afternoon buses to Pyeongchang. The last train at 4:30p had a few seats open so we figured better late than never.
*Monday Aug 15th is a national holiday in Korea -
Gwangbokjoel - known as liberation day, the holiday marks the day when the Allies liberated South Korea from Japanese rule.
Bus ride to Pyeongchang was 3.5 hours to cover about 200 km. Halahbuhjee said that back in the day, the trip between Pyeongchang and Seoul took up most of the day, along dusty roads, in an old bus. Today, there's a modern highway that extends the whole route, with myriad
Halahbujee and familiar face from when he lived in Pyeongchang
Don't recall name, but man is friends with Halmunee's brother, Uncle Andy. of shops and markets along the way. The trip was unrecognizable for Halahbuhjee until we got closer to Pyeongchang.
Pyeongchang county (Pyeongchang-Gu) is made up of 8 different towns. Our family leaves in the county seat called Pyeongchang. The 2018 Winter Olympics will be held in Daegwallyong-myeon, Pyeongchang, an area known for winter sports. We didn't have time to visit the Olympic site as
Daegwallyeong-myeon is about an hour northeast of Pyeongchang.
It was a tearful and terrific trip home. The old homes where Halahbujee grew up (where Ann was born) and Halmonee grew up are all gone now. The roads which used to be single lane dirt paths are now paved and have wall to wall shops on either side. Big Aunt (sister-in-law to Halahbujee's oldest brother) still lives in the same house we visited in 1981 but you wouldn't recognize it. Where it once stood some distance from its neighbours with wide open fields around it, it is now down an alley and boxed in among a bunch of other homes. She wasn't home. Neighbour told us she left for Seoul a couple days prior.
Aunt and Uncle own a hotel as well as several
other establishments in Pyeongchang, and gave us two rooms to spend the night. They had been waiting since the morning for our arrival but were still in good spirits when we showed up at 8p. We had late kalbi dinner - Pyeongchang beef is extremely tender and melt in your mouth soft. JoSo got to sleep on the floor in traditional Korean style (they said beds are more comfortable). A feast for breakfast and a walk around town before heading to bus terminal for ride back to Seoul.
Arrived in Seoul around 4p. Halahbujee was going to meet his friends again for dinner. RoAnJoSo went to
Dongaemun market at night to do some shopping. There are tons of vendors selling all kinds of things and it's ok to negotiate. It was an experience to see, smell, touch. Seoul definitely is more crowded and awake at night. We arrived back home at Midnight. And may do night visit to
Gangnam tomorrow to see if it too is different at night vs during the day.
Tomorrow is our last day before we fly back to Canada on Tuesday.
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Tina Lee
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"have a wonderful and safe trip"
have lots of fun and make amazing memories with your family