SEOUL - Korea

View from Seoul Tower

As many of you know, when I travel, I love to hang with locals. My favorite thing, or one of my favorite things I should say, is to go for a stroll at the local supermarket. And yet again I was a very lucky vagabond and was allowed to really enjoy local life when I visited one of my best friends Dohee who lives in Seoul, South Korea. I departed Copenhagen and via Doha and Hong Kong, I made my way to the megacity that is Seoul. 

Before coming to Seoul I started, as I always do, to read up on the city and country. I must say I didn’t know that much. Seoul proved to be a fascinating place – a mixture of old traditions and forward thinking. I imagine the first thing people think about when they hear “South Korea” is high tech. And yes, wifi was prevalent in so many places. Most restaurants and bars gave out passwords for their internet. And speaking of restaurants, I think we shall start off with a discussion about food. I have had Korean food in the US, but that was before I met Dohee and nobody really explained to me what anything was. So I wrongly thought I didn’t really like Korean food. But after this trip, I LOVE it. I had made a list of things I wanted to try and Dohee was a great guide and eating companion. Overall, I feel Koreans have a very varied way of eating and therefore they get lots of different nutrients with each meal. I think they have cracked the code to healthy eating. I thoroughly enjoyed eating dinner at restaurants, but also the street food. My stomach is made of iron and I have yet (touch wood) to ever get sick while traveling. My immune system must be rather strong as I have eaten my fair share of suspicious looking meats and veggies. Korea delivered in a big way: I had

BBQ

bibimbap, kimchi, kimbap, etc…these names won’t really tell you anything unless you are familiar with Korean food, but I can say those dishes are delicious and well worth trying. Fermented foods, rice, meat, pickled radishes, cold noodles, black noodles, pork chops…Dohee’s mom was pleased to see I ate everything  that was offered and was also happy to see I could maneuver chopsticks. Although it’s a bit trickier to eat with chopsticks in Korea than in China as Korean chop sticks are made of metal and therefore more slippery than wooden ones. Dohee’s dad took us to a very local place and we had spine soup. Dohee was pretty sure no tourist had ever had that. I am so happy that Dohee and her family made sure I had all these different experiences. And what about those famous Korean BBQ places? Yes they were very cool to visit. Each tables had their little grill and you cooked various meats like pork, beef, chicken, prawns etc. on them. I asked Dohee and her friends if it ever happened that people got sick because of someone accidentally undercooking the meat. “No” seemed to be the collective answer, people just know how to do it in Korea as they frequent BBQ places so often. At the market there was an abundance of fruit and veggies and I ate persimmons (Sharon) fruit every day. Large and juicy, they were amazing!! Some things I ate brought me back to the days I worked for the Chinese government and used to frequent Asian stores a lot. Like buns filled with red bean paste. Those are my favorite and I kept buying them over and over while in Seoul. 

Makkoli tasting

So after all this talk about food, maybe it’s time to include a paragraph about drinks. Koreans are known to work hard and play hard. My second night in Seoul, Dohee and I did a makkoli tasting. Makkoli is rice wine and has a milky consistency. We decided that sesame flavor was the best, at least for that evening. We enjoyed the makkoli with pajeon, Korean-style pancakes, which became one of my favorite dishes while in Korea. And yes, during my time in Seoul I also had soju, a drink also containing rice. But for me it looked more like straight vodka and you consume it as such, doing shots. I brought back to Sweden the original kind and the most recent flavor on the market, pineapple. 

So did I do more than eat and drink in while Korea? Yes, but judging from my credit card statement, food was without a doubt the biggest expense I had while there. As it should be. Being with Dohee awarded me with many unique experiences and for that I am forever grateful. I was invited to attend a wedding along with her family. It was a beautiful ceremony with music (both in English and Korean), and the couple were dressed in Western wedding clothes. It was a very happy occasion and the groom walked down the aisle accompanied by enthusiastic clapping from the audience. Interesting fact is that the music in the background while he was walking was the graduation song we play in the US.  I did not know much to say so I bowed a lot and smiled, all to be respectful to Dohee’s relatives, many who were older. 

 

Dohee and I also took a drive out to the countryside (well Dohee said it’s more of suburb of Seoul) with two of her friends. It was absolutely beautiful to see the autumn colors and we had such a nice time hanging out. We walked around a park, and it was so nice to see Seoulians (residents of Seoul must be called this) escaping the city and enjoying the day. Dohee, her friends and I discussed many topics concerning similarities and differences between Koreans, Swedes and Americans. And speaking of Americans, seeing young American men with shaved heads at the bars makes you realize that there is definitely an American military presence in Korea. Or the young lads could just be English teachers, also in abundance in the capital.

Bukchon Hanok Village

Dohee took me to an old fashion village within the city walls, Bukchon Hanok Village. Here the visitors could see houses built in a traditional style. It was so nice to just stroll around the area and there were many art galleries present. When looking for a point to take photos of the surroundings from we found ourselves above a rooftop bar/café. The mission at hand immediately became to find how we could get to that very place. We located the place rather easily and then chilled there for hours. This is exactly what I like to do – do some tourist stuff, explore and then sit with a nice beverage (mine was an iced matcha green tea) and just BE. 

My favorite part of the city was probably the area called Hongdae. Many young people, restaurants and bars were there. If I would settled in Seoul, Hongdae would probably be the place I would live. Most foreigners stay in Itaewon, also pretty cool, but did not feel very Korean and I was there to experience Korea, right? However, when I was in Itaewon, it was one of the few times I was not the only Western looking person in the crowd. Every day I was the only one riding the bus or subway etc. I felt Koreans did

Hongdae

not look at me as intensely (or at all) as in some other Asian nations I have been to. Except when I went to the public spas. That generated quite a few stares. We went to a public bath place in Jeju island (a side trip wish will be covered in another blog post) and I also went with Dohee’s family my last night in Korea. The one in Seoul had various saunas with different temperature and atmospheres (some were designed to look like you sat inside a beehive and some had small pink rocks and sheets where you could lay down). 

My last weekend was spent doing the touristic things such as visiting the impressive Gyeongbokgung Palace and Seoul Tower. I am an idiot when it comes to public transport, but Seoul subway rocks and with Dohee’s explanations it was easy to get around on my own.  I made sure to get to the Palace when the changing of the guards took place. It was a fantastic show with bright colors, flags and men with impressive facial hair. I also went up the Seoul Tower. Dohee and I went to the

Gyeongbokgung Palace

tower my second day in Seoul, but it was very foggy (or smoggy) that day. But we did see that people put locks on the fences here, just like on the bridge in Paris. When I came the second time the sky was bright

blue and I paid to get to the top. I think this was the moment when it finally hit me: Seoul is a MEGA city! Skyscrapers sprawling out for miles and miles (or kilometers and kilometers for you non-American). But as I have hinted at before, I like to do some tourist stuff and then just BE. I took the bus back to the Palace and spend the next hour so watching a Taekwondo show that just happened to take place. And here we are…ending on not a tourist’s thing, but an event I kind of fell into. And that’s how I like to roll. Plan a few things, but I am happiest, as I said, when I get to hang with locals, walking the aisles of the local supermarkets and eating lots and lots of local food. 

Massive THANK YOU to my Dohee who graciously hosted me. Also thank you to her family and friends who made me feel so very welcomed. The highlight of the trip was obviously being able to spend time with my best friend. 

The next two blog posts will cover the side trip Dohee and I took to Jeju Island and also the trip I made up to the infamous DMZ - Demilitarized Zone, and the border to North Korea.