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.

Muay Thai With Kru Suphan/ End of summer 2012

Okay, so I sort of lied about updating this thing throughout summer. I have 1 more week before I go back to Wuhan.  It also happens that I'm in Seoul right now and it's raining hard, so I guess I have time to update this thing.

This summer has proved to be both one of the best and worst.  I'll fill in the details in later posts, but I'll just summarize right now.  Travelling to Ottawa, Boston, Seattle and Seoul has squashed the travel bug in me...at least for now.  Getting to see my brother Rob after two years was definitely a big deal.  The only thing that prevents it from being the best thing during summer was the fact that he finally managed to beat my Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat. I'll get you for that, Rob.

In Vancouver, I got to hang out with my awesome friends and do really cool activities. Some highlights include yachting (thanks Jeremy and Fei), firing lead down range (thanks Jer and Mark), eating delicious white food (thanks Kristy) and drinking bubble tea (thanks Henry), figuring out how to finally navigate Richmond (thanks Hedy), and having quality manversations with various guy friends.

The two biggest highlights were about Cathy and Honey. One was good and one not so good.  Cathy visited Vancouver with a bunch of Maple Leaf students, and I had the privilege of "kidnapping" her for a couple of hours here and there to be with her in my native BC.  She managed to see my friends Anthony, Henry, and Puja, as well as Mom, Dad and my Aunt Peggy.  That was the good thing.  The not so good thing was the death of my pet dog and best friend Honey.  Again, I'll fill in details in later posts.

Okay.  Since I failed to put out a large post on my Muay Thai lessons in Bangkok, I'll just post a video.  In short, my time with Kru Suphan and his assistant Mami was so fun and educational that I'm going back for 1 more week at the end of my 5 week holiday next year.

Stealing the Seoul of South Korea! Part 9

Day 9

Last full day in Seoul.

Started off the day with a standard American breakfast.  I almost cried tears of joy once I got my hands on the hotel's crisp smoked bacon (which was really good) and sausages.  Let's just say bacon and Western-style sausages in China are disappointing, and I had a good time eating what will probably be my last American breakfast for the next half a year.

I spoke to some friends via Skype before heading to my next destination: the War Memorial Museum of Korea.  It was pretty cold outside (later, I was told it was the coldest February 2nd in Seoul in years). I walked around the front part of the building which featured military vehicles, aircraft and monuments of the Korean War.

The Statue of Brothers: A South Korean officer meets his North Korean brother on the battlefield.  Hopes of reunification run high around this area of town...

The War Memorial Museum of Korea

Going inside, I started with the most obvious section of the displays.  The Korean War section was well laid out in a clean environment filled with English.  SK patriotism was unmissable. The museum focused on NK aggression and "Red" Chinese intervention. It mentioned the American war effort in Korea, although mainly focused on South Korean on North Korean/Chinese fighting.

Exhibit on the Intervention of the PRC during the Korean War

"Stand or Die."

Taken from the 38th Parallel

Aside from the Korean War area, there was an extensive ancient war history section.  Interestingly enough, Korea has been divided before, but they managed to get it together to create some long lasting dynasties...


That evening I had one last visit with Sue.  Whenever one of us is about to leave a place, we have the tendency of eating delicious food, followed by going up some sort of tower.  Last time we did this, we had good ol' Chinese American food in NYC's Chinatown followed by a view from the Rockefeller Center. This time, we had pizza at a Korean chain store followed with going up the N'Seoul Tower. 

Sue and I had a four-flavored pizza for dinner.

After dinner, we scaled the N'Seoul Tower.

There are so many relationship locks around N'Seoul,
they make trees out of them.

Seoul has become my favorite city in all Asia.

Writing to family on N'Seoul (notice new jacket from Lotte)

T minus 17 weeks...

Sue and I sharing our common interest of staring at cityscape at night.

Thanks Sue for being such an awesome friend!  When are you and Kwangseok coming to China!?

That pretty much concludes the second leg of my 2012 long holiday.  Seoul is such a great city to explore.  Practicing Korean martial arts, relaxing in coffee shops, and sitting in jjimjibang...my kind of place.  The only drawback I see is that it can sometimes become very lonely for single travelers, since the most interesting things in Seoul are done with groups of friends.  But Sue and Kwangseok were great friends and company...I just hope they feel the same way about me as I do them. 

I can see myself living in Seoul for a few years...maybe sometime in the far future?  Also, I should probably come back to explore the rest of South Korea.  I've merely scratched the surface of this interesting country.


Seoul, South Korea, 사랑해. I'll be back for sure.


Up Next...Thailand with Cathy!!!

Stealing the Seoul of South Korea! Part 8

My home stay "Mama" and me

 Today was my last day at Mama's home stay.  Needless to say, it was a sad moment.  I grew so accustomed to life around Myeong Dong, I told her that I would return one day for sure...hopefully with my girlfriend if possible.

After breakfast, I packed up and was ready to go, but Mama gave me and the other home stay guests coupons for the local jjimjibang downstairs.  I figured why not?  I went down before checking out of Mama's. I had a few hours before my new hotel, the Grand Ambassador, would allow me to check in anyways.

The place was split into two parts: a segregated hot tub area and a co-ed sauna. Like in a Japanese onsen, I had to go naked.  There were cold, a medium and a hot temperature pools.  I went in in that order.  After that, I went into the co-ed saunas.  There were 19, 40 and 80 degree Celsius rooms. The 40 degree room was covered in heated pebbles.  I found a spot, buried my  feet, laid down, and fell asleep for who knows how long.  I ended with another dip into the hot tubs.  I went in there after breakfast, but by the time I came out it was about 2 or 3 PM.

Jjimjibang are made for 1 thing only: relaxation. Apparently, I could have stayed for as long as I wanted.  People even sleep, eat, or drink on mats in the coed common area.  Jjimjibang are great. I totally should have gone to more of them while in Seoul.

Before leaving Mama's, she gave me something interesting: packaged chocolate cakes.  I was confused.  Maybe she thought I couldn't get such things in China (where there is a plethora of this sort of food).  But then I remembered something Sue told me about those cakes while walking around a supermarket at the World Cup stadium.  Parents usually give their sons chocolate cakes before they depart for mandatory military service.  I was honored.  I suppose Mama and her family saw me as a son-type figure.

Choco-cakes. Apparently, I was like family.

The Ambassador Hotel was pretty expensive...I'm not gonna lie.  One of my solo traveling "traditions" is to splurge on a nice hotel before I leave a country.  However, they upgraded me to a bigger bed for free (which is typical of off-season), gave me breakfast for 2 days at their expensive-ass restaurant, and 2 drink tickets at the bar.  Maybe they were desperate for guests.  I went up to my hotel room and melted in the soft pillows.

My awesome hotel room. As you can see from the sheets, I was quite
tired after relaxing in a jjimjibang. I fell asleep in broad daylight.

A few hours later, I decided to go get some Thai baht for my upcoming leg to Thailand.  After that, I chose the Namdaemun Market to explore (unfortunately, I have no pictures, but let's just say I got some "drinks" to bring back to China).  I also made my way back to Insadong, where I picked up some cheap things for my students and no so cheap things for my apartment.

In the evening, I went back down to Gangnam to go visit with Sue and Kwangseok.  Kwangseok works to the south just past Seoul. Unfortunately, the city is not accessible to him on weekdays, but he made the bus ride out nonetheless.  Having dinner with them again was great.  But thinking about this moment in retrospect makes me more determined to find travel partners for Cathy and myself...so we all can go hang out in cool places around Asia and eat out at delicious restaurants like the one in the pics below.  You reading this, Sue?

Funny-looking appetizer crisps

A popular SK dine-out: garlic fried chicken with beer

My awesome friends from Seoul: Sue and Kwangseok

Alas, I as a privileged Westerner, who gets ridiculous amounts of time off work (especially as an expat teacher), will probably have to do most of my traveling from now on either solo or with other foreigners. Cathy has expressed that she doesn't have the time or money to come with me on my epic journeys.  Likewise, my friend Joyce in Japan claimed the Japanese work long and hard with few vacations.  Sue told me Koreans just don't have the time to travel that much.  Must be an Asian thing.

After eating, we went back to the subway where we all parted ways: Sue going north, Kwangseok going south, and me going into the downtown core. That would be the last time I saw Kwangseok on my trip to Seoul. But I will see him again for sure.

Once back to the Ambassador, I headed to the bar where I fulfilled yet another one of my "traveling traditions" - a nice pint of Guinness. Well, okay, I fulfilled it twice.

A night view from my hotel room, overlooking N'Seoul Tower.