So we took the 4 hour bus ride up to Seoul Special City only to find it was snow/raining so we didn't do much exploring. We hadn't planned anything so it worked out better anyway. We just hung out in a cafe and waited for Lindsey's friend Ben to get out of work. Ben and Lindsey worked together on the Cape and are good friends and Ben just so happens to be living in Seoul right now. He arrived in August and is teaching at a school for smart children. Ben was generous enough to let us crash on his couch for 4 nights. THANKS BEN!!!! Once we met Ben we went out to get some dinner at a fried chicken place near his apartment and it was delicious! We wanted to eat like westerns in Seoul because its the one place we can. We get our fair share of Korean food here in Mokpo, aside from pizza theres really no way of escaping it. Then we just hung out at Ben's and talked for a long time before passing out. It was sort of like a slumber party with no hair braiding, boy calling, or pillow fights.
Despite our late night of talking we woke up early to get out and see the city. We still had basically no plan so armed with tourist and metro maps and Lonely Planet Korea we just got on the Metro and set off for the city center. We first stumbled upon one of the several palaces there are in the city. Most have been rebuilt several times because they have been destroyed by Mongols or Chinese or Japanese or North Korean invaders a few times over the years but the palace was still pretty impressive. Especially after the nights light coating of snow.
Next we headed to one of the many, many markets: Nam Dae Mun Market. There are just thousands of people walking around small alley ways buying and selling clothes, bags, food, toys, what ever you want. When you walk by the restaurants in the back alleys you are walking right in the kitchens and have people asking you to come in and have spicy fish soup.
After having some street food (delicious pancake things full of cinnamon sugar) and purchasing a Korean flag for our apartment we headed to Namsam Park. This is the large park at the center of the city and ended up being more walking than we expected. We were heading to Seoul Tower but wanted to wait til dusk so we headed to a Hanok village. Hanoks are traditional Korean family homes that would house as many generations of family that you had. Along the way a random Korean man stopped to say hello to us (not uncommon) but upon learning we were going to the Hanok village decided he would be our guide (uncommon). He said it was sort of confusing so he best show us and to his credit it was. He had lived in LA for several years but was living in Seoul for a while to retain his citizenship or something. Upon arriving at the Hanok village he became our personal tour guide and began to explain all of the different rooms, how/what they were used for, and who lived where. At one point we got a little worried the situation was going to turn into a scam and he was going to ask us for money for showing us around but he never did. He just gave us his name (Shin) and number and told us to call him if we come to Seoul again and he will show us around.
We finally headed to the Seoul Tower. This tower sits upon the top of a huge hill in the center of the city and provides 360 views as far as the eye can see and all you can see is Seoul. It was, again, an unexpectedly long hike up to the tower (we could have taken a cable car but we are cheap) but it was very worth it. We got some much deserved and delicious hamburgers upon arrival at the top and then headed for our final destination. The view is unbelievable. Seoul just keeps going in every direction. While watching around downtown Manhattan the builds are all larger than life and overwhelming in a way. Seoul just keeps spreading and the buildings aren't as tall and the city isn't quite so overwhelming. We went to the top of the tower for dusk to watch the sun rise and to see the city transform from day to night. It was all worth the wait too. It was really beautiful to watch.
The next day we slept in way to long and went out for lunch with Ben and then we bought a dozen Krispy Kreme Donuts because that was the logical thing to do. We each at 2 after lunch haha. Having wasted half our day we headed toward the Itawon neighborhood. This is where all the foreigners live in Seoul, or at least a large concentration, particularly of US soldiers. The US still has around 28,000 troops here in Seoul because the Korean War never officially ended. The South refused to sign the armistice and now has the most heavily militarized boarder on earth. Itawon was really fun though. We just walked around through neighborhoods of Indian and Muslim families, streets of antique and strange furniture. There is a plus size market there which was all hilariously big on me. Which is ridiculous because all Korean clothes are too small for me so I don't know what they need a plus size market for. After walking around we met some friends from Mokpo at a craft beer joint and shared stories and information about our time in Seoul. For dinner we met Ben and went back to the friend chicken place from the first night cause I loved it. It was delicious all over again. Then we made a mistake. We bought some cheap beer and headed back to the apartment and ate the rest of our donuts and then drank some cheep Korean beer. Needless to say none of our stomachs were too happy with our decision making that night.
For our last day we woke up early having wasted half of the previous day in bed (or on the couch). We immediately headed for a street food market our friends had told us about the night before and walked through the rows and rows of people cooking some of the same dishes for a whole row but knowing you can really get whatever you want. We had some delicious fried things (great after the previous nights food) made of corn paste and onion. We then headed to one of our favorite places in Seoul. It was in the back of a warehouse labeled "Textiles" and past where you would think of going. It was a second hand cloths market and just had stalls and stalls and stalls of clothes. Probably a hundred different ones. Since I can't find clothes that fit here I went a little crazy but it was great. There was weird, there was practical, there was really whatever you wanted. I bought a sweater, 3 flannels, and a hat. Lindsey bought 2 flannels. Everyone gave us "friend prices" for the clothes and we got to haggle a bit which was fun.
We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon walking around these ridiculous markets of stores overflowing with stuff into the streets. Electronics, old refrigerators, records, tables of old cell phones, outdoor gear, old shoes, literally whatever you want its there. After not quite finding the place we were told about though we headed back to Ben's to wait because it was New Years Eve.
After Ben exposing us to Modern Family, we headed out for a night on the town. We couldn't decide on where to have dinner and ended up at a restaurant that serves the same food that we had had for the lunch the previous day. There was a pair of drunk elderly folks that they were trying to get to leave but that old woman was having none of that until she finished her food. Afterwards we headed to the Ho Bar which is as nice as it sounds. We debating buying a bottle because that is the cool thing to do in Korea. You get some friends and go get a bottle at a bar because in the end it is cheaper than buying round after round of drinks. Plus, you get to feel like you are in a Jay-Z video. We finally just settled for a round of beer and shots. This ended up costing what half a bottle would due to the fact that the cheap beer was very conveniently "sold out."
After finishing our drinks we had decided we had had enough of buying expensive drinks at cheap bars and headed to the local convenient store. We bought some cheap beer and soju (the Korean liquor of choice that is available everywhere and seemingly appropriate to drink anytime) and hung out in a park. We made somac which is when you put the soju in the beer. We had a great time and talked the night away. When it came down the New Years we headed to the metro to go down one stop to where they ring a giant bell. There are apparently huge crowds and its the place to be buuuut we missed it. We got on the train to late and celebrated the New Year in the Seoul metro system with some random guy from Michigan and his Korean girlfriend. To be fair, New Years is not such a big event in Korea. The Lunar New Year (Jan. 23rd) is the New Years that matters here. There is a 3 day vacation and everyone celebrates with their families. The calendar New Year was not such a big deal.
After a long night of walking around Seoul we headed back to Ben's and passed out. We then slept in way too long and missed our bus home. We had to exchange our tickets for the next bus and slept most of the way home. We came home and ate pizza and watched TV and just relaxed. We had to start work again the next day and it hardly felt like we had relaxed on our vacation. We were constantly doing something. We can relax on the Lunar New Year though when all the Koreans are going crazy.
We had a great time and Seoul and loved it. It is an amazing city and looking forward to going back when we can. Many thanks to our host Ben who we will also hopefully see again soon.
- Dave
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