Korea

Korea was a whim. I had the choice of either staying in the Tokyo-area for five days, or take a ferry to a different country. And really? Korea is cheap compared to Tokyo. Especially since I was couchsurfing, so I didn't actually have to pay for any lodging.

The ferry itself was one of the more awkward experiences of my life. I was the only native English speaker and white person (let alone white female) on the ship -- which wasn't really all that surprising, but made for strange situations. Such as having to convince the waitstaff that I know what kimchi is, I know that its hot, and that I really, really like it. Thank you, Paul, for introducing me to the beauty of kimchi in high school.

We landed in Busan and, after clearing customs, I navigated the subway system to the apartment I was staying in for the next couple days. At least in Japan, I couldn't really understand the people. I understand the basics of Korean, so I knew what they were talking about -- specifically me. But, I was out of place, and it was fun to see their faces when they figured out that I could understand them.














The floormates of the guy who lives in the apartment I was crashing took me out around Busan. We went to one of the cleaner beaches with Korea's longest suspension bridge. At night, they light it up. Koreans have a strange obsession with colored lighting. The lights on the bridge went through a cyclical suite of colors.

There's also the bright red neon lighting on the crosses of churches. That was... something.

Both times I was on that beach, I was approached by groups of grade-school kids who wanted to practice their English on me. It was nice because they taught me some Korean and learned some English. One of their families took me out for lunch as thanks. This was not a one-time deal: I was taken out several times and had drinks and food bought for me when I talked to people in English. There was even a girl on a subway who asked me to explain a phrase she read in a newspaper, and then took me to meet her friends and out shopping. It's a completely different experience than the blank looks I was getting in Japan where they know how to speak English... they just choose not to.


















Apparently there is also a phobia of subway attacks and disasters. There were chests at every station filled with gas masks. No where near enough for the number of people that are there at peak times, but they're there nonetheless.

I caught a lamentably late train to Seoul. I was supposed to meet my host at the Sinchon subway station, but the taxi driver sent me to the train station. Of course, I didn't have the Hangul for "metro" versus "train" so I didn't know the difference. Jonathan found me, though, which was a relief and took me to his place. He set me up with guide books to the city and we had some really good conversations the four days I spent at his place.

He also introduced me to true Korean barbecue (bulgolgi), so he's doubly awesome in my book.

















The neatest cultural place I came across while in Korea was a restored village near Itaewon. The urns are actually the jars that held the kimchi while it was pickling. It kept it relatively fresh and preserved back before the days of refrigeration. The Korean style of building is also much different than the Chinese/Japanese styles prevalent over the first part of the trip. Korean architecture is more... round.













The first men's World Cup tournament that I really followed was the 2002 games in Korea and Japan. So, of course, when in Korea... I went to the World Cup Stadium. It's now used as an open-air concert platform mostly with the occassional soccer game as well. The bulk of the building has been renovated into a shopping mall. There's also an insanely nice movie theater. That's one way to recycle.

Speaking of recycle, the park (above, left) is just across a metro rail line from the stadium. It's actually a landfill that was revegetated to a park. Korea is making a beautification effort, so you find random bouts of greenery amidst the highrises. They take it very seriously.

The last two nights I was in Seoul were the nights of the major protests against the president. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of "anti-American" (which was really more like "anti-lying") sentiment at times because of the beef ban being lifted. My host and I actually went to the protest with some of his students. The people watching was great (and even better since I could understand what was going on).
The powers that be were afraid that sentiments would escalate and there would be a riot instead of a protest, so they called out all of the active armed forces in Seoul and had buses blocking the roads to the protests. Unfortunately, you could tell that most of the soldiers actually agreed with the cause that was being protested -- in Korea, all men are required to serve for a year before they are 25. That was the bulk of the age group at the protests.

The protests also showed an interesting juxtaposition of old and new. Seoul city center is at a crossroads of the largest thoroughfares in Seoul that pass right by the original city gates and the entrances to the royal palaces. So you have these ancient gateways next to highrises and people of all ages coming together to protest. Enlivening, for sure.

The thing that surprised me is how smoggy the area is. Korea isn't known for being the most conservative nation when it comes to its carbon footprint, but it's excessive even for the number of people. I did some research and found out that the winds from the continent funnel through the Korean peninsula bringing the pollution from China. It was really disgusting to see from the air.

Interesting, however, was the effective use of all land possible. They just build right up into streambeds.

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And thus ended my Asian adventures. After the 13-hour flights from Seoul to Chicago via Narita, the plane to Orlando had a mechanical issue and we were bumped. Eight hours later than planned, I finally got to Florida and promptly slept for 1.5 days straight. Ah, crossing datelines.