Blogs from Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea, Asia - page 3

I have been in Korea for seventy-two weeks. It’s been long and hard, but rewarding. In the last month so much has changed. I started working again at my school and took on a management position. On top of that I moved away from work to Yongsan and in with my friend. It’s been nice living with someone. I like change. But I found out that I don’t really deal with it very well. My way of dealing is pulling away and shutting out everything. Having Lily around has been good. I haven’t lived with anyone in a few years, and she makes a great first roommate. It is teaching me a lot about the type of person I need/want to become. She has been a blessing. My flaws… I am moody. I hold grudges. I ... read more

As my vacation draws to a close and I prepare to return to work I feel its time to update on my trips around Korea that were taken on my weeks off. We decided to head to Seoul for the first time since orientation. The bus ride direct from Hwacheon was relatively uneventful, the bus still stops in Chuncheon and then continues on to Dong-Seoul. At Chuncheon everyone got off the bus except us, as we had only been driving for 45 mins we didn't expect a break so we waited for the driver to pull in to the Seoul stop and pick up other passengers. Except he kind of didn't - he was speaking to us and then realizing we couldn't understand a word he was saying he got back in his seat and we ... read more

Even though Seoul has commercialized it as one of the tourist hotspots in the capital, every travel guide NOT written by bilingual Koreans has said that Itaewon is nothing particularly special. Less, even, some of them say. If you're not into shopping (I'm not), then there is nothing there for you except "alcohol, testosterone and grime." Certainly never a place I would go at night by myself. So why the entry? Here are the things that, tourism aside, Itaewon DOES have: * Signs in English * A MUCH higher concentration of shopkeepers who are bilingual, or close to it * Ethnic restraunts * A higher concentration of people who don't look Asian * Grocery stores with western food But why would I want these things? Why would I take an 18 hour flight just to seek ... read more

Since we arrived here in Korea, we have been sampling different types of Korean dishes. Each Restaurant creates their unique flavor and taste. The Korean dishes have different colors of food which they believe it provides nourishment to the soul. Take for example, a bell pepper will served in different colors to include green, yellow, red and orange. But the most important fact is that it tastes wonderful. Every Korean dish is served with rice and kimchee. The restaurants will also serve you a variety of side dishes that will sooth your taste. Everyone shares the side dishes and you can get as much as you want. When you order hot and spicy food, make sure to ask for mild, because if you don’t, you will be served at full strength. If your mouth still burns ... read more

Seoul Tower is located on Mt.Namsan, near Myeong-dong and other downtowns. We climb up to the Seoul Tower from the Hyatt hotel. It was a hot day but in the end it was well worth it because the view was breath taking. We took some pictures at the base of the tower as well as on top of the Tower. It had a 360 degree view of the entire city of Seoul. At the base of the tower offered a lot of entertainment. They had a concert with live bands and performances as well as fire works. We took a few moment to have an artist paint a picture of us. Taking a picture would have only took a second, but because the artist had so much talent, we could not pass up the opportunity. We ... read more