Highlights of South Korea
Over the last decade I’ve been going to South Korea almost as often as I go to Thailand. When I told my father I was going to teach English in South Korea my father sat me down and showed me a stack of black and white pictures of Seoul in rubble during the Korean War. When I arrived at Kimpo Airport the rubble had been wiped clear and Seoul had been resurrected into a metropolitan capitol. From a war torn wasteland South Korea morphed into hungry economic bull posturing the country with its eyes, mind and horns focused on the future. I ended up teaching conversational English and editing corporate correspondence in Seoul for three years in the mid nineties to vice presidents of Samsung and Hyundai. I started out teaching at different universities where I was learning as much about the history of both North and South Korea as I was teaching English.
I have returned to Seoul a few times using Incheon as a stop over for a few weeks on my way to China or Thailand and even to the Mentawai Islands off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. South Korea is full of interesting history and culture that the Koreans have been able to maintain even through the harshest of human conditions.
I can still remember the first night I ever spent in Seoul. Teargas filled the air with smoke and thousands of people marched in the streets lighting fires and pulling up stones and bricks from the sidewalks and hurling them at riot police. As I walked down an alley I noticed two types of riot police, those wearing black that stood closely together in the street with their shields touching like dragon scales and those riot police in the alleys wearing light gray and set to catch escaping demonstrators. Busloads of riot police sat on neighboring streets waiting for the worst.
Today the riots have stopped and the country is at relative peace, besides their northern neighbor’s threats and test missile launches. Over time Seoul city has grown up around historic statues, monuments, parks, and palace walls. The Koreans seem to have a fascination with neon lights and the nights and streets are aglow.
In the evenings, people bring out their carts of food, trinkets, and art to sell to passers by. The sidewalks become packed after work with commuters. Ten million people live in Seoul and ten million people commute in every week. Weekends and holidays seem to be the quietest.
Granite peaks like Bugaksan in Samcheong Park to the north and Namsan Mountain to the south, are well within the ancient city walls and the new city has grown well beyond the fortress gates. Hikers and rock climbers have easy access to nature without venturing out of the city.
Other areas of interest and historic value are spread out all over South Korea. Incheon is the new international airport with a nearby Best Western Hotel, the KGB bar and the airport has an easy bus system at ground level. Pusan is to the south and known for its shipbuilding and also its casinos. The express train can take you from Seoul to Pusan in a matter of hours. Jejudo Island to the south is loaded with beaches surrounding a mountain for everything from swimming and playing on the beach to hiking the trails to the peak.
Korean food is wonderfully different. Of course many of their delicacies are out of war torn history but not all of them. Pulgolgi (barbequed beef) wrapped in a lettuce leaf with side garnishes of onion, garlic, chili paste, mushrooms, cucumber and more. Many restaurants bring the barbeque to the table and you do it yourself. In Korea, Kimchi is a staple, fermented cabbage with chili paste. There are hundreds of varieties of Kimchi and is served with almost every meal. Kimchi is made by putting cabbage, water, chili paste and spices in a ceramic vase and often buried in the ground for months to ferment. There are some places that serve dog and it’s a particular type of dog and it is good. I’m not in the habit of eating dog but it’s served in Indonesia, Vietnam and Korea, among others. Not all Koreans eat dog nor care to.
I’ll be heading back to South Korea in the near future for a business venture if I pull the ripcord on an Amsterdam project. I can’t make that decision until I head south to San Luis Obispo, California. Right now it’s one day at a time and beautiful in Alaska. The Amsterdam Project is going to be awesome if it comes to fruition. The idea is basically a filmed documentary about an art barge/boat with rotating artists on board and travel on the Seine, Rhine, Rhone, and Danube Rivers stopping in towns and selling the art created on board or written by me in the form of books. Hopefully I have my third ready for the trip.
