kankoku no ryoko

update...
a group of random south koreans we met at gyeongbokgung who were thrilled to try and chat with us. they asked their friend to photograph us all.
they guy next to me later emailed me this picture.

carrie snapped this shot from a park bench of the whole thing transpiring .

how cool the difference in perspective is.

korea, part two:
5/3/05
i forgot to mention the martial arts theatre production we attended, "JUMP!". although it was not what i expected, it was entertaining. instead of being some sort of martial arts diplay, as the posters hinted at, it could have passed for an hour-long sitcom on korean tv. the story revolved around a family of martial arts experts, each with their quirks, and told the story of their training, social lives and their house being robbed. we were able to pick up on quite a bit through body language and the slapstick, visual humor.
5/4/05
on recommendation from a rockin’ guy we met at our hostel, we headed to jongmyo, a UNESCO world heritage site. it’s a royal ancestral shrine where the spirit tablets of important kings and queens are kept.
we weren’t able to ascertain exactly what a ‘spirit tablet’ is but we did figure out there are no bodies buried here. there was a map outside the gated entrance that detailed where each particular person's spirit was kept.

i was surprised by the plain, austere architecture of this revered structure although it did in some ways add to the solemn and important feeling of the place. there were some parts with more detailed architecture and more colors.
the complex is huge, comprised of many buildings and gardens surrounding the main shrine.




there is also a park that was truly surreal as it was crowded with hundreds of old men. some were in circles dancing to traditional music, others danced to modern tunes, and they were eager for us to join in with them. some grandpas lined the walkways standing and smoking, some were picnicking, drinking at 2 in the afternoon. they were all friendly and funny.

we stopped for lunch at a tiny mom and pop place on the second floor with no windows. we were struggling to describe the grill your own meat with rice, bean paste and lettuce wraps that we'd eaten earlier when a young asian man approached us. in perfect conversational english he asked if we needed some help. he translated into korean for us and even checked up on our meal later to make sure we were alright. we questioned his ethnicity to which he replied german. huh? i'm increasingly jealous of people who are multilingual.
from there we headed to one of the city's most famous markets, namdaemum, which is busy day and night. i was unimpressed with their wares...

mainly grandma clothes and orthopaedic shoes which explains why we didn't splurge on too much.

there were also alley ways which criss-crossed the area selling all sorts of food.

they are really into the realistic wax models of meals just like the japanese.

some of the stalls were carts parked next to quick assembly plastic tables and chairs. strangely enough, many of these carts appeared to be hawking the same exact foods, meats and seafood to grill fresh. in the bottom, right-side corner is the famous, or should i say infamous, korean liquor sojou.

we sat down and drank some beers...

and before too long we were chatting, if that's what you wanna call it, perhaps playing a game of charades more accurately describes it, with a table of men near us.

they passed us tray after tray of food to try and bought a bottle of sojou for us to taste. after a while they were heading somewhere else for drinks and asked us to go. we ended up in a denny's-like restaurant where they ordered plate after plate of food, everything from bizarre nachos to fried rice. it did turn out to be a little more lively than the average 24 hour breakfast restuarant back home. it was amazing all we were able to talk about with them, from their work as jewelry makers to what restaurant serves the best dog. an english-speaking korean man was seated at a table near us and later confessed how stunned and impressed he was that we were able to sit in their company for hours without being able to speak via a common language. it definitely helps that we've been practicing this non-verbal socializing for months now in japan because there are some tricks and methods that work better than others.
5/5/05
the next afternoon we had reserved seats at "nanta" which is a fixture on the seoul theatre scene and has even appeared on broadway. imagine something along the lines of stomp! crossed by a live performance of emeril from the food network. there is a story line that unfolds completely in the kitchen of a classy restaurant. they chop and fry and clean and taste and goof all the while giving a decent percussion performance. this picture came from a recent review.

afterwards, we headed dowtown to the hi seoul festival and wandered through art markets and exhibits.

we stopped to have kimchee pancakes, dumplings and other stall food for lunch with a hite prime, our beer of choice in korea. a 50-something couple wandered up and the man began chatting us up about all sorts of things. turns out he is the dean of a private high school and he studied in california at stanford, where his son is now enrolled. they pulled up stools and invited themselves to join us. he strolled off briefly and returned with more food and sojou liquor for us to sample. as we chatted, he picked up my beer can, which had a few sips left, and poured the liquid onto the sidewalk. he proceeded to fill it up with the korean liquor and use it as his glass. i was slightly dumbfounded but chose not to say anything as he had just presented us with food and alcohol. this is just one example of how comfortable koreans are interpersonally. often people we met would hug us goodbye which was a refreshing change from japan where mothers and daughters rarely embrace. on another occasion, a women used a communal spoon to stir the stew she'd concocted at our table, then tasted from it and continued to serve us with it. after a while i thought nothing of men at foodstalls feeding us with their chopsticks or people drinking from our cups. back to the couple who had joined us for a chat at the festival... we traded contact info with him, dr. moe, and he eagerly urged us to come work for him in seoul.
as we readied ourselves at the hostel for a night out, one of the housemates, jared, returned eager to hit the town. the 4 of us headed out for drinks and dancing. i know we look awfully friendly, but nothing happened. really.

5/6/05
the next day we slept in and hung out with some of the other interesting people in kim's guesthouse. we perused the local grocery store and cooked for ourselves in the kitchen that all the residents share. then we walked to a nearby by onsen, or public bath, and lounged in the relaxing , steaming pools. jared, the fellow from the night before, has spent quite a bit of time in korea and has several local friends, one of which he wanted to introduce me to. we all arranged to do dinner that night together. we headed into the hongik university area and ate a great meal at a restaurant with an interesting concept, dump it all in a pot with a delicious broth. you chose which ingredients you want to add; we opted for everything from sausages to seafood, rice cakes to fish cakes, cabbage to mushrooms. the soup was a meaty stock spiced with red peppers. delicious with cold beer. afterwards we headed to another dance spot in the main club district.

carrie and i...

our new friend ji and i... he was incredibly smart and really interesting. when we met he was reading 'to kill a mockingbird' in english so i questioned him about where he'd learned. um, self-taught. he has a degree in german, is probably fluent, and plans to move there as soon as his mandatory military service has ended. i was amazed at how comfortable he was speaking english in a very colloquial way. he lives in an international housing complex where he gets lots of practice, but still his grasp of the language was unreal considering he has yet to leave korea.

it was quite a wild night, so much so we didn't end up making it back to the hostel until, well actually, the following night. that explains why i'm wearing the same outfit when we're out and about on saturday...
5/7/05
ji agreed to take us to a restaurant which serves dog for lunch so we all met up at a station near korea university. we wandered around the campus for a bit, amazed at all the activity [which is not evident in this picture].

when we arrived at the restaurant, other customers told us the proprietors had run to the store but would return shortly. we only waited about 10 minutes during which time one of ji's friends joined us. soon after we ordered, they brought a cauldron to the table. they poured in the broth and soon it was simmering. there were tons of vegetables, chunks of meat, some cooked on the bone with pieces of pimpled skin hanging from them, sesame leaves, peppers, garlic.

ji served me a spoonful and i realized i had been lucky enough to get a dog rib. gulp. i dredged the chunk in the sauce we'd each made from pepper and seasoning paste and vinegar and took a bite. it was truly tasty. tender and a bit stringy with a flavor not unlike beef, although a bit more gamey.

afterwards, our friend took us to a bookstore with a huge english language section where i could have browsed for days. the girls split off and headed back downtown for a bit of shopping. in the subway station i noticed the most creative anti-smoking ads...


we treated ourselves to a fancy grill everything at your own table restaurant, bul go gi in korean.

i'm really amazed we don't have anything like this back home. it's such a social way of eating which requires minimal kitchen prep. i'm sure it would go over well...liz and i are currently discussing our plans to open a shop of this sort if/when we return home.
we finally returned to the hostel to clean up after nearly 2 whole days on the town. what nasty hoes. melanie was exhausted and opted to stay in and catch up on sleep. carrie and i headed back out to club hooper.
5/8/05
luckily we were smart enough to pack our bags the night before as dragging out of bed at 7:30 am to head to the airport was hell. i couldn't resist having a whopper at the airport for breakfast. [don't make fun of me. i haven't seen a burger king in japan so technically this should qualify as exotic food.]
i was so glad i was able to convince the girls to join me in south korea. we were all pleasantly surprised to find rich culture, warm people and great food.
they have achieved a level of comfort in south korea; comfort with themselves, their neighbors, their place in the world, with visitors, with friends. this is not to say they don’t have a grasp on their social hierarchy as well, it is simply approached with fewer pretenses and more understanding. often the japanese strictly adhere to formality even when it is one of those ‘i know that you know that we know’ who is really in charge here situations and there is no actual need for the pomp and circumstance. south korea and its people seemed more relaxed and inviting, which was a welcome change from the condition of our everyday lives here in japan.