An Alien in Korea - Day 1

(Though I do suffer from Shortness)

Well my time's running short, and I'm approaching my last two months in Japan. So I figured that while I was here, I'd might as well visit South Korea as well, given the proximity and the relatively cheap flights. Granted, it's a little hard to get time off work, so the best I was able to pull was two consecutive days, but as it turns out, that's plenty of time to get a good idea of what the Korean capital of Seoul is like.
 My timing kind of strangely lined up with the whole MERS commotion (that's the Middle Earth Respiratory Syndrome, for those of you who don't follow the headlines.) So tourism in South Korea wasn't exactly bustling at the time. But I've never really been one to worry about that kind of thing, so hey! Plus, rumor has it the Korean government was willing to compensate any tourist who caught MERS with 3000 USD. On the one had, MERS is a pretty awful virus, but on the other hand...mm, 3000 bucks...
 So it was that I ended up in Seoul! A city I knew nothing about in a country I knew nothing about, and I can't speak a word of Hangul. Things promised to get interesting, but I'm all about learning, so go figure, eh?

Seoul in a Nutshell

The Seoul Metropolitan area is actually the most populated on Earth, after Tokyo's! The city's quite scenic; it's bordered by mountains that stand freely along the city's edges and are quite visible if you stand in an open enough space. On top of that, the city's split in a Northern and Southern half by the Han river, which all adds up to being really panoramic.

 Despite the two metropolises being the first and second densest in the world, Tokyo people and Seoul people are worlds apart in terms of culture, with the latter being said to be more intense when it comes to just about everything. Seoul's food is hell of spicy, desserts are hell of sweet, women have hell of surgery and street vendors are hell of pushy. It's a welcome change from the very-reserved feel you get from the Japanese, but it's no wonder the two countries can't see eye to eye on most things. That being said, here are some of the things and places I had a chance to experience during my short stay in Korea!

Myeong-dong

 Myeong-dong is one of the most bustling areas of Seoul, with a reputation for being a highly fashionable shopping district. Walking down the central streets of Myeong-dong, it's impossible to look up without seeing billboards of glamorous girls with crimson lipstick. Shops in Myeong-dong are full of products promising to be the best for skincare, while vendors outside the shops shout out to passerby's in whatever way they can to get their attention. The first time someone shouted to me in Japanese took me completely off-guard, as I'd found it surprising someone would pin me for Japanese upon looking at me. I then realized that they shouted to people in Mandarin too, and I pretty much got the drift.

 Myeong-dong's also full of eateries, with a seemingly disproportional amount of them offering very generously servings of desserts. If anything, I found out in Myeong-dong that the dessert culture in Korea has Japan's beaten by a fair mile, as I sampled some shredded ice cut so thinly that the flakes felt like the softest of powder snows, topped with a strawberry syrup so deliciously sweet, I probably won't see the likes of it again. Street vendors also line the central streets of Myeong-dong, with many and most of them offering the standard fair street food with a spicy Korean twist.
 In spite of all that, after having eaten, I found that Myeong-dong didn't have all that much to offer me, seeing as I hadn't really come to shop in the first place, so it wasn't too long until I moved on.

Namsangol Hanok Village

 At walking distance from Myeong-dong is the Namsangol Hanok Village, a very well-preserved gathering of traditional Korean houses situated within the confines of a park. Great care was taken to furnish the interiors of the houses, which can be seen through open doors.  The village is admission free, which is a great bonus to an otherwise very worthwhile visit. I personally thought that the best thing about the village, though, was the nearly complete lack of traffic during the hours just before closing, and I was lucky to catch the sunset in this particular part of town. The tranquility of the Namsangol Hanok Village on top of its authentic vibe made it feel as though I had really gone back a few centuries, and it helped that the walls surrounding the traditional houses of the village were just high enough to block out the sight of the skyscrapers of the nearby district. The icing on the cake (asides from the free admission) were the red and blue lanterns lined up on strings.

Nakji Bokkeum

After the traditional village, I cabbed my way across the Han river. This dish as well as the restaurant I ate it in came recommended to me, though I ended up eating it at the wrong restaurant. To be completely honest, I had no clue what the name of the dish was at the time I ordered it, but nakji bokkeum was basically the culinary highlight of my trip to Seoul. The gist of it is that it's octopus marinated with vegetables and extremely spicy gochujang red pepper paste.

The twist? Well, you can choose to have the octopus served live. Woo! Actually, octopus in Korea can be served live in a variety of different dishes, some of which even have the octopus squirming as it's in your mouth. Well, nakji bokkeum is not quite that, but it was still kind of shocking to pull the lid off the pan and see my food trying to make one last break for its life! Sadly enough for the octopus, it wasn't long until the waitress came around the corner with scissors and cut it up into pieces so that it could be eaten, reminding me once again that it's a cruel life for our marine friends in Asia. But on the bright side, nakji bokkeum is delicious in spite of being devilishly spicy. I thought I had a good tolerance to spice until I looked around me and realized I was the only fool panting like a dog.

I cabbed back to my hotel after a little bit of walking around. It had been a good first day despite my leisurely pace. My bed was stiff as all hell but I slept like a log. Korea, woohoo!