Gangnam Style!

On the way back to Wuhan for this current school year, I stopped through my favorite city in all Asia: Seoul.  I haven't been to Taipei yet (which is my new course heading come January 2013), but I'm going to call it now: Seoul is better, even during rainy season.  To my friend who disagrees (you know who you are), sorry, but Seoul is much cooler than whatever Asian city you think is cooler.  If you want to know why I love Seoul so much, perhaps you and your boyfriend can meet me and Cathy there one day?  Just a thought.

My last meal in North America. Fitting that it 
included some Boston Lager.

This time around, my friend Sue had a cleared up schedule, so her and I hung out quite a bit.  Seoul is such an awesome city, and what better than to have an old friend show you the sights?  I also rented an iPhone 4S just for shits and giggles, yet it proved to be invaluable.  I came to love the iPhone quite a bit, but just the other day (it's now Halloween 2012) I became a traitor and purchased a Samsung Galaxy SIII.  I have to say, I love them both.  However, Cathy got a Galaxy SIII.  My colleagues Clara and Meighan put pressure on me to get one.  Sue swears by it.  Heck, her fiancee Kwangseok works for Samsung!

Checking out the urban art near Naksan Park

Upon arrival, awesome times ensued.   I went to check out the urban artwork around Naksan Park, hang out in jjimjibang, and visited the eerie Seodaemun Prison. I also had my fill of coffee and donuts during the days I got rained out since China is devoid of good donut shops.  Unfortunately for me, there were quite a few of those days since Seoul experienced a ridiculous amount of rainfall while I was there.

In no particular order, let's start with my walk around Naksan Park.  Quaint little area, filled with urban artwork that's either really pretty or worn and neglected.  Cathy was curious about that neighborhood  and since she couldn't meet me in Seoul, I went to check it out for her.  It proved to be a very photogenic area!  I was stuck at the top of Naksan Park due to heavy rain, but had a broken conversation with a Chinese tourist.

Artwork around the Naksan Park area.

The outside of Seodaemun Prison

I went to Seodaemun Prison on my last full day in Seoul.  I tried to visit it before, but it was closed during my first visit.  This time, I got in, and holy s**t was it worth my time.  I seemed to have forgotten that the Japanese didn't just mistreat Chinese during Imperial Japan, but they committed atrocities to everyone else they invaded as well.  Korea was no exception.

Seodaemun Prison was built as a prison for political prisoners during the Japanese occupation.  Needless to say, a lot of atrocities and deaths occurred at this prison.  It was well used by the Japanese as well as the military government immediately after WWII and the Korean War.  Many patriots of Korea met their deaths here, often in brutal and agonizing ways.

The interrogation room.  Many Korean patriots spent their
last few hours of life being psychologically tortured
by Japanese agents.

Some of the models and artifacts in the prison were pretty graphic.  There was one that had a Japanese torturer drowning a bloodied up Korean prisoner hanging upside down.  Another display had torturing devices - everything from torturing racks to small closets that the Japanese put Koreans into for days. You might not think that one so bad, but these closets were specifically designed so that the occupant could not properly stand, sit, or lie down.  The occupant would be in an awkward position for days.

The one thing that really got to me was that some prison guards would simply beat people to death if they felt like it.  Seriously, I'd rather get shot.  It's a lot quicker and cleaner.  Why the hell would someone beat another person to death with a club when they're already arrested?  In such cases, an attacker has to continue hitting a victim who is not resisting to actually kill him or her.  Knowing that happened in Seodaemun prison made me sick. Other torturing methods included burning and sticking things up private parts, hammering nails between fingernails, and putting prisoners onto a spiked "dog house."

A torturing device used by the Japanese.

Some prisoners of Seodaemun Prison.

It's easy to forget that South Korea has been burdened with atrocity and war in its recent history.  I wanted to go to this prison so I would not forget that ugly part of history.  It proved to be the right thing to do.

Mugunghwa, South Korea's national flower.

I did other things in Seoul too.  Aside from going to jjimjibang, I took a trip to the Trickeye museum, which proved to be really entertaining.  I hung out with a new friend who I met in Boston the month prior to returning to Asia. She happened to be going to Seoul around the same time I was going, so we hung out at Lotte World and around Garosugil in Gangnam.  After my little episode in Vancouver with a .357 Magnum, I really wanted to go shooting again.  Apparently there was a shooting range in Lotte World Mall, and both of were pretty excited about the prospect of firing lead downrange, but it was closed down.  We went ice skating instead.  My traveling tradition of drinking Guinness was fulfilled after we had burgers.

The Trickeye Museum

At a burger joint with a my new friend Jiso.

After burgers, we washed 'em down with rounds of  Guinness on
Garosugil  in  Gangnam.  Silliness ensued.

My home stay.  The sweet old lady that ran the place reminded me a lot of Sue. 
She was well-traveled, spoke English, and smiled a lot.

The view from my homestay.  I stayed near Korea University.

Some members from one of Cathy's favorite bands, TVXQ.

Hanging out with Sue on Sejongno.  Before that, I sat in a
jjimjibang for about 3 hours.  Totally worth going, even in
the middle of summer.

Apart from the really great shopping around Seoul, I also enjoyed having conversations with my new home stay host.  My last home stay in Seoul was unavailable, so I chose another location near Korea University.  It was really nice, and the mother was such an awesome cook.  She fed me huge homemade breakfasts!  Half the time I didn't have to eat lunch because breakfast was so filling.  I guess she was used to cooking that way because she raised two sons.  She also spoke English and was well-traveled across North America, much like my friend Sue.

Like I said earlier, Sue had her schedule all cleared up by the time I arrived, so we hung out a lot.  I showed her around Vancouver twice, so she showed me around Seoul twice.  Fair deal.  Visits with Sue usually circle around food.  The first choice was easy: Korean barbecue with her fiancee Kwangseok.  Unfortunately, Kwangseok's schedule at Samsung is so busy, he couldn't join us on adventure during weekdays.    And so it was up to Sue and I to go on a crusade across Seoul to eat delicious food.

Korean BBQ at its best - dining with Kwangseok and Sue!

Samgyetang. It resembles Cantonese juk 
and Filipino arroz caldo, but with  ginseng.

Sue making me try some radish kimchi at the Samgyetang
restaurant. 

Nomnomnom!! Tteokbokki!  Definitely one of my favorites.

After a hard day of duty free shopping, Sue and I relaxed 
in a ye olde Korean bakery.

A neat place in Insadong. You can write messages and post
them anywhere you want.

My "lunchbox" dinner was a typical lunch for a Korean school kid
from back in the day.  Kimchi and rice was standard.  Cuts of 
meat meant I would be from a rich family.

Makegeolli. Thanks to Sue, it's become one of my favorites drinks.

We had our final dinner at an underground eatery.
Kwangseok managed to join us!

Some sort of tofu.

Fried appies

One of the places that we went to was a coffee shop in the hills around Jongro-gu.  There was no subway nearby, so we had to bus into the neighborhood and then walk up a mountain.  The coffee shop used to be a set for various Korean soap operas.  One series called Coffee Prince was particularly famous, and thus made the coffee shop very famous too.  Sue and I stopped there to have a coffee and look at the gallery.

The cast of Coffee Prince.  Cathy loved this show and
suggested we go to the film location made coffee shop.

Sue figuring out where we're going.

The Coffee Prince filming place proved to be a bit elusive,
but Sue found our bearings.

Unlike other coffee shops in Seoul, it wasn't too busy. It was in a secluded
neighborhood surrounded by lots of mountains and trees, more or
less made for rich people.

Taking pictures around the gallery.

Berry cheesecake and a hot cappuccino.  Perfect for
...um....a summer day?

Near the end of my time in Seoul, Sue and I went to an area called Samcheongdong (삼청동).  We reenacted "the good ol' days" with a glass of wine and a nice long conversation late into the night. The last time we shared some wine together was in Vancouver back in 2009.  It's always a pleasure talking to Sue over a bottle of red.  In a way, she kind of acts as my personal psychologist.  Too bad it takes me going to Seoul just to have a session! Thanks Sue for being a good ear and an even better friend.

Sue and I in Vancouver back in 2009 drinking wine out of a
water glass and a coffee mug.

At 삼청동 (Samcheongdong), years later.

Unfortunately, it rained hard for a couple of days.  The ground was wet and we couldn't have a beer and fried chicken picnic on the bank of the Han River.  According to Sue, hanging out with beer and chicken next to the river is a favorite among Seoulites.  I believe it, and to be honest it was one of the things I was looking forward to doing in Seoul when I left Vancouver.  Since we didn't do  it up on the Han River, I decided that my last meal before heading back into China would be beer and chicken.  @Sue: Next time I'm in Seoul during summer (or when you and Kwangseok visit me in Vancouver), we'll eat beer and chicken. We'll eat so much that we won't want to have chicken for weeks!

Beer and fried chicken at Incheon International Airport.

During my five week holiday, Sue and Kwangseok are getting married.  I'm so happy for both of them, for they make a hell of a couple.  It was too bad Kwangseok had to work so much while I was there. I wished he could have come with us on our foodie tour of Seoul. Alas, it's Korea.  They work long and hard hours there, much like what Chinese workers have to suffer through in China, Cathy being no exception.  As for Cathy, I hope one day she can come with me and enjoy my favorite city in all of Asia, and finally meet my awesome friend Sue.

Seoul, I'll see you in February.