Farewell

I must say goodbye now, both to my country and to this blog. I had some key goals for this trip: to get insight into my parents' lives, to enjoy meandering with my camera, and to meet my favorite Korean girl group 소녀시대. Even though I didn't get to fully accomplish my last goal, I must say this trip was fantastical. 


I think what really made the trip great was blogging about it. Being a New Kid on the Blog, I didn't quite know what to say or how to say it. Photos helped a lot, though! And I think what's best about blogging is sharing the experience with my friends :)


It was weird not driving for a full month! Instead, I visited this friendly machine (subway ticketing) nearly every day:

Though I didn't get to actually meet my favorite girl group, I did get close:

Very:

Very:

Close:

(shrug)


goodbye everyone ^^

To Whom It May Koncern

On the eve before my flight back to California, I'd like to ask some questions to the country of Korea. 


To Whom It May Koncern,


1. Who exactly started this trend of matching couple's clothes? And why does this public display of awfulness continue?

2. Why, when I ask where’s the bathroom, do you answer “Is it for #1? It’s in the back,” only to mean there’s a brick wall to pee on with an adjacent wall for coverage?


3. Why do you make your dress shirts so transparent that you can see the white tanktops underneath loud and clear?


4. Why do you give out free bottles of this liquid death as an expression of thanks for a large Chinese food order? (It's 112 proof and it tastes like it)

5. How do you make shopping for fake brands so fun? I saw Toms knock-offs, similar in every way, excellent for the name: Tome. I also saw a hoodie with "New York" in bold letters, with an American flag underneath, and then right below that, "Massachusetts." But what makes it really great is that what was supposed to be Massachusetts (which doesn't make sense either) was actually Massachubatts.


6. Why did you sell out Bulgogi to make something so McNasty?

7. Linda, what exactly do you mean? Please help me understand.

8. Why are your bathrooms always such a delight to me? I mean, what young boy, or studly man, wouldn’t want to urinate in this? It was a shame that it only came up to my knees.

9. And, lastly, why?

Sincerely,


Your son

National Museum

Spent one day at Kyobo Bookstore at Gwanghwa Moon. I believe it's the largest bookstore in the country. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was really great to see so many young and old people reading, browsing, and having fun with books. I do wonder, though, if e-books will eventually make this bookstore experience obsolete :( 

Museums, however, will not go obsolete. The National Museum of Korea is massive! 

The day I went, it seemed like it was national student field trip day. There were so many students, all in their school uniforms. Some were there just to play, but others were really inspired by the art and soaking it all in.

This was one of my favorite exhibits. It's an ancient stone tablet with HanMoon inscription, Chinese characters that Koreans absorbed into their language. I just loved the precision and the look of the tablet, though I have no idea what it says!

The museum cafe was a nice pitstop for toasted bagel, cream cheese, and guava juice. And of course, wetnaps. I wonder if there is any other country that gives out more wetnaps than Korea. I especially like the piping hot wet-towels they give on Korean Air flights. Apply that sucker to my face, and ahhhh. I always feel bad though about giving back those dirty towels back to the pretty flight attendants ...

As I was leaving the museum, I caught a sight of a young couple, playing with their 2 small kids on the top of the tall, grand stairs. I had to take a snapshot, and I'm glad I did. I took a lot of photos on this trip, and I think I like this the best. I regret not thinking of asking them if they'd like a copy, though ...

The Haircut

My trip to Korea would not be complete without a haircut from a Korean salon. My hair was getting shaggy and weighty by my standards, and hair laying flat on my forehead only brings trouble (acne), so I seized the day. Little did I know that this simple errand would result in a very memorable encounter!


I went to a salon I found on the web, and was greeted by a very friendly staff. My stylist was a tall, slender man, also very friendly. The service at this salon was very similar to the Korean salons I've been to in L.A., except for 2 things. Similar were the hairwash before and after the cut, but here, the guy washing my hair gave me the deathly hallows scalp massage. I thought the plates of my skull would break. He probably played piano. But hellish as it was, I liked it. 


What was also different was my stylist at one point applied a disposable clear adhesive visor on my forehead to keep the hair from getting in my eyes and nose. Brilliant! AND, I temporarily joined Visor Nation!


The highlight of the haircut though was the talk I had with the stylist. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him I'm a therapist. He said, "Really? I think I really need some therapy." As we talked, he pretty much poured out his heart, as I (and eavesdropping staff) listened. I won't get into details about what he shared, but all I could do was empathize, and sincerely so. I got the feeling that empathy is something he's not used to getting in his life. He also said that Korea does not have many therapists, but wished there were more. 


As he finished my hair, I asked him if he could tell me the way to my next destination. He not only told me, he walked me out to the street and showed me haha! He gave a deep bow and said he hoped we would one day meet again. I hope so, too. 


Before:

After:

By the way, I really like it when one keeps it real. Drinks no exception.

Kangwondo part 2

We took a short hike on this walking trail that led to a popular camping site. See the sign in the forefront? People like to put up large photos when they've been featured on tv shows, as a way to promote their business. Customers are such suckers. Like me! Oh, and look at the built-in wooden platforms for the tents!

On the walking trail, I encountered some awesome signs:

Allow me to translate for you. "Firsth, Thirdth, and go left if you want to receive your pension."

"Tooth climbing"

Misread this as Herb Nard. But it’s actually Herb Nara(land/country). I like Herb Nard better.

Herbnara is an interesting place, full of ... well, herbs. Herbs, trees, flowers galore. It smells great and it's just really well done. What I liked most is that there were small kids exploring, smelling, touching, and couples/families just getting away from it all, having quality time, taking photos (so many people here have high end dslr's!) By the way, how do Korean adults know every species of flower, tree, and root??

I will miss Kangwondo. I will miss the country and the simpler living:

Catching dragonflies

Catching corn

And chestnuts roasting on an open cauldron with fiery hot black swirling rocks. Nat King Cole had it all wrong.

Kangwondo part 1

My aunt has a timeshare condo in a province about 50 miles east of Seoul. The area is beautiful! It’s full of farmlands, rice fields, trees, valleys, mountains. The air was always scented with pine or good ole earth, while the roads were often lined with cosmos flowers, both landscaped and wild. 

Kangwondo is a major shift from the bustle and compactness of Seoul. It’s easier to just “be” than “do” out in the country ^^

The condo is part of a ski lodge/golf resort (see the ski lift on the course?), but we just went out there to relax and to grub. 

No it's not me. I'm a photographer, not a playa.

Speaking of grub, I ate what was easily the best beef of my life. It’s domestic Korean beef, raised locally and organically. You select the cut yourself, and grill it without marinade. You then wrap it in lettuce, daikon, roasted garlic clove, salt and sesame seed and shove it in your mouth. I nearly wept. Even the best ribeye steak could not compare with this experience. Sorry K-Town Pride, the motherland wins.

Wouldn't be Korean bbq without the scissors and the vacu-suck vent (it's been upgraded here by the way, it's now moveable!)

Oh, and this is my favorite visor sighting, bar nun:

Busan, part 2

Busan has a large memorial cemetery for all international UN troops who died fighting in the Korean War. One of the honored was 17 years old… I felt so grateful and so small.

Went up to a tower observatory, and lo and behold, more lovers locks!  They’re starting to get creative.

At the bottom of the observatory, I saw these goodfellas and goodfeathers. The poor guy on the left, I wonder if he either got punished by the gang, or wants to squeeze himself in...

Hae-woondo, a city adjacent to Busan, recently built these 80 story apartment buildings. Holy moly. I've heard of 80 story office buildings, but apartment?

A few more Busan sights:

Dudes fishing at port, and of course, squatting

D-5. Hit. You sunk my battleship…

At the beach in Haewoondo

Bye bye Busan :(