WARNING - Some pictures may be NSFW. I'll say so in the section heading to let you know if such pictures are going to come up.
CONTENTS
- The Beginning
- Wednesday Morning in Seoul
- Han River Ferry Tour
- In-Between Places
- Landmarks & Tourist Attractions
- On Our Own in Seoul
- Random Stuff
 |
 |
| We left LAX 12:00am PST Tuesday May 6 (so, late Monday night) and arrived at Seoul Incheon Int'l Airport at around 5:30am KST Wednesday May 7. The flight was about 11 hours but with the time change (Korea is 16 hours ahead of California), we effectively lost a day. Although, we did travel back in time when we returned stateside - we left Seoul at 4:30pm Tuesday the 20th, and arrived in Los Angeles at 11:00am Tuesday the 20th. I got to relive Tuesday morning/early afternoon. I felt like Bill Murray in "Groundhog's Day." ONE FUN TIDBIT - We stood next to will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas in the customs/immigration line at the airport in Seoul. What he was doing in Korea is beyond me, and I wasn't able to get my camera out in time for any clandestine pictures while we were in baggage claim (damn slow-ass digital camera start up times!!!), but there you have it. Anyway, as soon as we got to Seoul, we literally hit the ground running. We were quickly ushered onto our tour buses and then dragged into town to our first stop. |
|
 |
|
Ms. Won. If it wasn't for her and her witty humor (and a healthy repertoire of dirty jokes), the entire trip would've been unbearable. Although, the older folk seemed to get more of a kick out of all of her dirty jokes than my brother or I did. Actually, the two of us didn't really know how to react to them, what with Mom sitting right next to us and all (although, she seemed to be guffawing with all the rest of them). |
|
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Even though a good portion of present-day Koreans are Christian (there are churches nearly every other block, it seems), the history of Buddhism in Korea goes back centuries. Someone was telling me that Buddha's birthday wasn't celebrated to this extent previously, but in recent moves to reclaim old Korean traditions and culture (nationalism/patriotism runs high among Koreans), it's now a government holiday. |
|
 |
 |
This is not the same city I visited when I was 12. I can only imagine how mind-boggling all of this was for my mom, who hadn't been back in nearly 30 years. Most of South Korea is lined now with high rise apartment buildings. Since the population is rising, and they don't exactly have land to expand upon, everything's being built upwards. Everywhere we went, there were 15+ story buildings (the average seemed to be at about 18 floors), plus more on the way. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
If I were to describe South Korea in one phrase, it would be "Old and new, with a smattering of cuteness." Even though present-day South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world (leaps and bounds ahead of the U.S. - it's the home of Samsung, LG, and Hyundai), its history, culture, and traditions go back millenia. As such, even in the middle of a large metropolitan area like Seoul, there are still landmarks dating back to the times of Korea's old kingdoms from centuries past. ... The "cuteness" part, I'll get to later. |
Translated as "The Blue House," it can be considered the "White House" of South Korea. It holds the offices and official residence of the South Korean president. |
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
 |
From here on out, anyone you see in my pictures wearing those yellow vests are people from the tour. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
You'll notice in my pictures here that a lot of greenery (trees, etc.) still exists in the city. |
|
| BACK TO TOP | |
I'm always a fan of in-between places, even here in the U.S. It's always interesting to me when I visit and spend time in places that many people don't even bother to stop at. |
|
 |
 |
Almost everywhere you go, there are street-side vendors. They sell anything from souvenirs to hot food to alcohol to fresh produce. Open air markets are also popular. |
|
 |
 |
Yes, there are still neighborhoods not yet affected by all the development (though they are few and far between, and mostly in the more rural areas of the country). In fact, the government is trying to preserve some of these older neighborhoods for cultural preservation. |
Korea is still big on agriculture. Being a fairly closed society for so many centuries, Korea had to be pretty self-sufficient in order for it to survive and flourish as it has. In any case, when I was here last, most of this land was rice paddies. Unfortunately, after the financial crisis in the 1990s and various free trade agreements forcing South Korea to import rice from the U.S., most of them have since been converted to ginseng fields. The fields in this picture still seem to be rice paddies, though. |
 |
 |
Korea is known for its scenic mountains and hills. Every once in a while, you'll see some of these hills dotted with small mounds - graves. Some are centuries old, some are recent. If you're not used to it, it's kind of weird to see at first - imagine going on a long roadtrip (like on I-5 in the middle of California) and seeing a bunch of random graves scattered along the side. Anyway, even though they're graves, the land they exist on aren't exactly cemeteries. In fact, these graves are family graves that exist on land owned by the respective families. In more agricultural areas of the country, some graves will sit in the middle of the farm land, surrounded by various crops. Nowadays, because of the shortage of land, increasingly more people are choosing to be cremated upon death (the ashes are either scattered or interred in public mausolea). |
|
 |
 |
If only the rest stops in the U.S. were like this... Gas stations, clean bathrooms, convenience stores, tasty food, all in one convenient spot. The ones I ever encounter stateside are either desolate with nasty public bathrooms (reminiscent of the bathrooms in public parks and beaches) or have all of these conveniences (gas stations, restaurants, etc.), but you have to get back in your car and drive to each of them separately. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Asians may not have invented many of the things we enjoy in today's world (e.g. TVs, light bulbs, telephones, fast food), but they sure do a great job at perfecting them! The one on the right is a corn dog encased in a layer of french fries... YUM!!! |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Everywhere you look in South Korea, there will be at least one "노래방" (pronounced "no rae bang", i.e. karaoke room) that'll be in your line of sight. Unlike American karaoke bars, these places consist of private party rooms, many of which have restaurant service with the food and drinks delivered directly to each room by the servers. It's a national sensation! |
|
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Many people not familiar with Asian cultures mistake that mark as a Nazi swastika and get offended. (This reminds me of a small fluff piece I saw in the local TV news when I lived in Northern California. Apparently, this kid was watching "Pokémon" and saw the symbol on one of the buildings in the background. Since the cartoon is Japanese, it was a non-issue for its creators (they were just drawing various buildings, one of which was a Buddhist temple). This didn't translate properly to this American kid, who saw the symbol way in the background, mistook it for a Nazi swastika (although the two look different), and became offended. Unfortunately, this didn't translate properly to the American adults involved either (including the reporters), who actually ended up praising the kid for noticing it and bringing the issue to light. Come to think of it, I don't know if the piece was ever retracted...) Anyway, it's actually a Chinese character (although, it originated from Sanskrit) meaning "eternity," or something. If you ever encounter that symbol on any local maps in Asian countries, don't get scared - they're just there to show you where the Buddhist temples are. |
|
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
|
 |
 |
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
 |
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| BACK TO TOP | |
(Some pictures NSFW.) |
|
 |
 |
While we were in Pohang, the group (all 250 of us) stayed in various motels about town. Most of these motels were what Koreans call "love hotels." We came face to face with this beauty as soon as we got off the elevator to get to our room. My mom, brother, and I stayed in a fairly decent room (just a regular room with mats to sleep on the ground). Some of the people in the group lucked out and got rooms with interestingly shaped beds. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
No matter where you're from, when you're learning a foreign language, you somehow always seem to learn the cuss words first... |
|
 |
 |
Apparently, they were designed so that if the hands are put together, the fingers will line up and lock perfectly. Whether or not that's true, we'll never know... |
|
| BACK TO TOP | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Haenyo are divers who make a living by catching seafood, such as abalone. Although these women are a part of Jeju's tradition, with increasingly more women of younger generations choosing to work in tourism or move to larger cities on the mainland, their numbers are starting to decline. |
|
| BACK TO TOP | |
An old, rural village that has become a tourist spot, complete with museum. Many of the traditional structures here have been preserved. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| BACK TO TOP | |
At this point, I sort of got sick of carrying my camera around, so I don't have as many pictures during this time as I do from earlier in the trip. |
|
 |
 |
We took the cable car up Namsan (literally translated, "South Mountain"), and then took the elevator up to the top of the tower (both the cable car ride and admission to the tower's observation deck were 7000 won (about $7 USD) each). It was 9pm on a Thursday when we got on the cable car to head up the mountain, and the thing was packed! The people of Seoul really don't sleep. Even when my family and I decided to call it a day, there were still droves of people moving about the city, many of whom were hitting up the next bar or karaoke place. |
|
 |
 |
One of my hobbies when I travel is figuring out the local subway system. As crazy as its subway system is, Seoul was no exception. My next goal when riding the subways in Seoul is to get a smart card so that I can ride like all the locals. The people in Seoul use either transportation cards, credit cards with smart chips, or chips in their cell phones that allow them to gain admission onto mass transit (i.e. buses and subway trains). Buses and subway stations have little receivers that read the chips in these cards remotely and charge the fare to your account (bank, credit card, cell phone, etc.) accordingly. In the subway stations, the receivers are in the turnstiles, while the receivers on the buses are where you'd normally deposit your money (right next to the driver). Next time I ride the subways in Seoul, I want to be able to just wave my wallet and hear the turnstile beep and let me through. |
|
 |
 |
These walls are to prevent people from falling onto the tracks. Not all subway stations have this wall. I think they only exist where there's a lot of traffic. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Earlier in the day, I met up with my old friend from USC, Hyunmi, in Insadong, an area of town with lots of boutiques and antiques shops (the only places that come to mind when trying to come up with an L.A. counterpart is Silverlake or Echo Park... or maybe even Venice Beach). After Hyunmi and I parted ways, my mom decided she wanted to take a look around Myungdong. Myungdong is a major shopping area that's like a cross between Melrose and Rodeo Drive. It's populated with the hip, young crowd. The music's loud, but the people are louder. Not for the timid. |
Literally translated, Nam Dae Mun means "Big South Door" (although, I think people prefer the translation "Great South Gate"). Without getting into the history of the city gates, this marketplace is one of the oldest in town. If there's something Koreans love to do other than eating or singing, it's shopping. A lot of Americans think Asian people get pushy when they shop. It's true, but not because it's some innate quality. Many "pushy Asians" come from large metropolitan areas, such as this, where the shopping areas are crowded all the time. As such, people from these areas have only one belief when it comes to shopping - "You snooze, you lose." |
 |
 |
| BACK TO TOP | |
Just some random stuff I found that I thought would be interesting to share... |
|
 |
 |
Even their toilets are technologically advanced!!! In addition to electronic bidets, I also encountered toilets that automatically switched out the toilet seat covers for you. Wow! ... Actually, Koreans seem to be getting big on electronic bidet systems. At least 2 of the hotel rooms I stayed in during my trip had them. A couple of public restrooms I encountered also had them. I never did get a hang of the blow drying settings, though. |
These are ye olde toilets of Korea that I remember from my childhood visits (all 2 of them). Not too many of them exist anymore, but you may encounter them when you go to more rural areas of the country. You can't use these unless you know how to squat (you know, the "Asian squat"), but I find that they do have some positive qualities, such as no toilet seat to come in contact with. Although, there are definitely things you need to watch out for when using these toilets, such as aim and making sure things (such as your pants) don't get in the way of your aim... |
 |
 |
I don't know why people think using foreign (or pseudo-foreign) words will make their products any fancier (Häagen-Dazs, anyone?). Korea is no exception. Crunky - I know hip-hop and breakdancing are big in Korea right now (they boast some of the best breakdancers in the world currently), but... Although, it is a good bar of chocolate (better than Nestlé Crunch, in my opinion). I don't know what Newyork Ivyle ague Institute is trying to get at, though. Other than the name, there's nothing in that store that screams "Newyork" or "Ivyle ague." |
|
 |
 |
Although American and other foreign restaurant chains have made it to Korea, they don't have the exact same menu as their original, native land counterparts. The food doesn't exactly taste the same either, but that's only natural. I mean, it is a completely different geo-agricultural environment... Did I just make up a word? Oh well. You know what I mean - different part of the world, different climate, different types of crops, etc. I have to say, though, I think I prefer the Korean versions of these restaurants. I definitely prefer their Pizza Hut and Baskin Robbins (ICE CREAM FONDUE?!?!!!!!!!!!). |
But it's not. This is actually Seoul's Itaewon district, home to most of Seoul's foreigners. I saw more non-Koreans during that one hour I was here than I did during my entire trip in Korea (actually, during all of my trips to Korea combined! ... Scratch that - there was that one time I visited that U.S. military base...). Anyway, I thought I was back at home for a second! People and food from all over the world - Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America... Unfortunately, my family and I made the mistake of visiting in the middle of the day. Like many places in Seoul, Itaewon really only comes to life at night. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
Cute characters like this are EVERYWHERE in Korea, from advertising to instructional media to official government notices. This is a sign warning you of construction ahead. I'm not qualified enough to discuss the psychology behind Asia's obsession with cuteness. The only thing that comes to mind for me is the desire to create a friendly and approachable environment. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
The mode of transportation of choice for delivery people in Korea. I remember a classmate telling me a few years ago that he saw a delivery guy in Korea on the road with a refrigerator tied to his scooter. Before I left, I saw a guy delivering a queen-sized mattress on one of these (again, stupid digital cameras and their slow-ass startup times!). |
Well, I don't know if I'm over-generalizing. But the culture does involve a lot of sitting and sleeping on the ground. They even have it hooked up so that their floors are heated! Many traditional restaurants in Korea, such as this place, involve sitting on the ground. Hope you have good circulation in your legs! |
| BACK TO TOP | |
Well, that's it for my pictures. Thanks for taking the time to take a look! If you ever find yourself with a desire to travel in Korea but don't know where to begin, check out this website. They have several suggestions for your visit.
This work by Jean Kim is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
© Jean Kim. All photos on this website (unless stated otherwise) by Jean Kim. All rights reserved.