Ohayo. Ohayo. New Jersey.

This is who I stood next to in the security line at the Incheon International Airport on my home: 

 http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=7OzabifGLT4

Son Dam Bi.  This song was playing EVERYWHERE.  Kinda catchy…

Yes, this is a full post just on food.  One of the main reasons I went to Korea was for the food.  Korean food has a character that is completely its own and very different from the better known Chinese and Japanese cuisines.  The main characteristics that stand out to me are the use of grilling, sesame oil, vinegar, and the sweet, full-bodied heat of Korean red pepper.  Japan has little to no traditional spicy food and their taste for heat is practically non-existent, so it was great to indulge in some food that cleared the nasal passages and made me sweat.

First, the street food.  You could find little stands all over the city and people would crowd around to get their fill of thobukgi (rice cakes in a thick red spicy (!) sauce), manduk (gyoza-like dumplings), oden (skewered fish cake), hottuk (grilled sweet bread with brown sugar filling), and clotted blood sausages.  This was a welcome contrast to the street food, rather the lack thereof, I’ve seen in Japan.  The food was perfect for the cold weather and could easily replace a full meal.  It was great to see girls in their crazy Seoul fashion munching on fried chicken feet and blood sausages.  I enjoyed the thobukgi the most, but man, would it set my mouth on fire!  With each order you also get a cup of broth taken from the vat that the oden is simmering in, but that would only exacerbate the burning feeling.  Luckily, vending machines were plentiful, and cool beverages were available to stave that delightful burning sensation. 

Oh, and speaking of fried chicken feet…I didn’t have any, BUT I did have fried chicken while in Korea.  Their fried chicken makes Kingfish’s (a great soul food restaurant in my old Seattle neighborhood) look like KFC.  I know it’s not the first place you think of when you hear fried chicken, but there’s something about the fried chicken here.

To contrast the fried goodness with some vegetarian delights, Soo took me to Sanchon in Insadong.  Sanchon’s menu is built around the guidelines specified in Korean Buddhist monks’ diets.  This basically means food that is prepared without using animal products and eaten out of zeldova wood bowls using wooden chopsticks.  I was told that the food was not exactly vegan, but I couldn’t figure out where the animal products came in to play here.  It was quite the feast too!  Our table was covered in small dishes, each with a different vegetable or tofu delight.  Just to think, ten years ago I wouldn’t have even touched these dishes as I had an “aversion” to vegetables.  My how far I’ve come.  The restaurant was pretty neat too and would hold daily performances while you eat.  I noticed there were a ton of foreigners there and was a bit surprised because the restaurant seemed so off the beaten Insadong path.  I later discovered that it was a featured restaurant in Lonely Planet (which, by the way, I do NOT recommend.  I just wish the guys at Rough Guides had one on Korea…).

And then there was the traditional Korean food!  Kimchi galore.  Daeji kalbi barbecues.  Grilled fish picked to the bone.  Sumptuous jiggae (stews).  Bibimbap.  And of course, my favorite, bibimnangmyun (cold buckwheat noodles with a spicy sesame chili sauce).  I was lucky as my “aunt” made me a Korean breakfast every morning, usually consisting of fried tofu, rice, kimchi, and this delicious soup made from a Korean bean sprout.  I was in food heaven.  It was pretty funny as my family kept asking me if I could handle spicy foods or whether I knew what this or that was…as if they seemed to forget that I have a Korean mother and I visited them three years ago.  OH and just like in Japan, I was complimented several times on my skillful chopstick use (although, Korean chopsticks are very different as they are flat and made of metal, which can be tricky sometimes).

Lastly, the foreign-ish food.  Ja jang myun is the reason I say foreign-ish.  It’s a dish that was developed in Incheon’s Chinatown so I’m not sure whether to call it Korean or Chinese.  The best ones tend to come from Chinese restaurants with Korean owners.  It uses noodles similar to those found in yakisoba but is covered in a black bean (not the Mexican type) sauce and loaded with seafood and veggies.  My first night in Incheon, Ji-Young took me to her favorite Chinese restaurant and we indulged in some amazing ja jang myun.  One meal that I was particularly excited about was a burger I got at a restaurant called Cook n’ Heim.  Not only was it big and loaded with real pickles and big lettuce and tomatoes, but it had REAL bacon!  I’ve yet to have real bacon since leaving the States, and man alive!, it was fabulous.  I also got to indulge in some decent Tex-Mex, Starbucks (of course), wine that doesn’t give me a headache, and a gigantic waffle sundae.    

It’s a good thing I don’t do New Year’s resolutions.

When I got to Korea, I was met by Ji-Young, my second cousin, once removed.  That’s kind of how my family in Korea goes…it’s all second cousins, their children, and great-uncles and aunts.  I think I do have some closer family there, but I don’t know them all that well and I don’t think the channels of communication are very open with my family back in America.  I split my time in Korea between my extended family in Incheon and a friend from college in Seoul.  Incheon, the city west of Seoul with the international airport, is developing into quite a city of its own—separate from the shadow of Seoul.  They developed a whole new part of the city, Songdo, on what I believe to be reclaimed land, and it’s got huge apartment buildings and has plans for a gigantic tower, a la Dubai.  I found the Incheon Museum of Korean Emigration terribly interesting as I didn’t know much on the subject prior to my visit.  Who knew that there was a sizeable Korean population in Paraguay?  While in Incheon, I spent a good deal of time with my new little “niece” (actually another second cousin, once removed) Seoyun.  She’s just 13 months old and has a thing for attractive guys.  I think that’s why we got along so well. 

For a couple days, Ji-Young took me around to some of the major sights in Seoul including Myeong-dong, Insadong, and Seoul Tower.  Seoul has a great subway system and it’s extremely cheap and easy to use.  For me to get into Seoul from Incheon (around 40km) it only costs around 1600 won, which is about $1.60.  In Tokyo, it cost me 200 yen, or $2.00, just to go about 4 stops down on one subway line.  Myeong-dong reminded me of Shinjuku in Tokyo.  The streets were stacked with stores and restaurants, while people packed the roads.  Definitely a good area to drop your weight in cash!  We walked on over to the famous Insadong area and, true to form, it was loaded with tourists and knick knack-y shops.  There was a neat boutique mall, Ssamziegil, which was built so you can walk up three floors without using any stairs.  Insadong also has the only Starbucks in Seoul that has the word “Starbucks” written in Hangul (Korean).  Along with my great-uncle, Ji-Young and I went to Namsan to go up Seoul Tower, the highest point in the city.  Just before going up, we stopped by a park at the base of Namsan that had a time capsule commemorating Seoul’s recent 600 year birthday…and geez, it doesn’t look a day over 250 (you know how Asians are…).  A couple hundred meters up on Seoul Tower, the weather was cold, but clear, and the view was fantastic.  You can get a good idea of just how big the city is…it’s huge!  The biggest contrast to Tokyo is the abundance of apartment buildings.  They’re everywhere in Korea and contribute to Seoul having one of the highest population densities in the world.  At the base of the tower, the first thing you notice is the thousands of small locks on the fences around the tower.  All have names and messages written on them.  Couples place these locks here at the tower as a testament to their unbreakable love.  It sounds like something out of a Korean soap opera…and probably is.  In an interesting cosmic intersection, I ran into my aunt and uncle from California while in Seoul.  I just happened to be there the same time as them and they were in contact with some of the family that I was staying with so we had a brief rendezvous.  It was great to see more family half way around the world.

While in Seoul, I stayed with Soo, a good friend from college, in Sinchon—known as the Manhattan of Seoul, which is interesting because Soo went to grad school in Manhattan.  It was quite the bustling neighborhood and was at an intersection of three major universities so it was full of young folks and hip stores.  Soo took me all around Seoul to some great neighborhoods and restaurants.  I also got to indulge in some shopping (think of what rhymes with Susan Lucci) and take advantage of the favorable exchange rate.  We also got in touch with another friend from college, Becca, who happens to be teaching English, like me!, in Seoul.  We were all School of Music grads, so it was great to talk music again and have our mini-reunion.  We rang in the New Year together and celebrated Soo’s birthday a couple days later with some good wine.  It was absolutely fabulous to reconnect with these old friends, and the foreign setting made it even more memorable.  Ah, the joys of being cosmopolitan!  I wrapped up my visit with Soo at what is now my favorite place in Seoul…although I can never remember the name.  It had awesome stores, kick-ass restaurants and cafes, and a Europe meets Asia atmosphere.  There were ordinances placed so that all the new stores and restaurants had to use the existing structures but could renovate to a certain extent.  The layout was all old, cramped Korea, but the insides of many of these buildings had a cozy yet sheik modern style.  Definitely a place to revisit. 

On my last day in Korea, my “aunt” took Ji-Young and me to Panmunjeom on the border with North Korea.  It’s closest you can get to the North without an authorized tour.  The day was clear so you could see right on into the North.  All along the river that divides the two nations there are watchtowers and razor wire fences.  Panmunjeom has a rail line that used to run into the north but nothing runs on it now.  You can see where the old rail bridges used to stand over the river before they were bombed during the war.  It was sobering to think about how divided the country is and how families are still split between the two nations.  It held special resonance with me because my grandfather was originally from an area in what is now North Korea before he relocated to Cheonan, just south of Seoul.  Even amidst all the seriousness of the area, I found it amusing that there was a small amusement park and kitschy souvenir shop right at the border.  I guess it doesn’t pay to be too serious about things like this.

Panmunjeom

Seoul is a fantastic city to visit and I think that it is still a bit of an underdog as far as tourism in Asia goes.  The same goes for Korea as a whole.  It has an intriguing and somewhat mysterious history and culture, and the food (oh the food!) is amazing.  I was out here several years ago with my mom, visiting the same relatives, just after graduating college.  Then we visited more extended family outside of Seoul and made a trip to one of the old capitals.  I said then that I would have to come out again and explore places to a greater extent, and maybe with a little less family time.  This time around, I certainly did the exploring part for Seoul, but the family was still there.  That’ll be inevitable…but I’m kind of glad I have it.

After a rather unremarkable Christmas, except in the fact that it was the first where I didn’t really do anything, I embarked on an arduous journey to Seoul, Korea.  While it was only lightly snowing in Kitami when I left, it was full force blizzard conditions further west on the island.  My overnight bus got into Sapporo on time, amazingly, but the entire city had been covered with blustery snow.  I bunkered down in an internet café for several hours as my flight was scheduled for later in the day.  I hopped the jam-packed express train to the airport to get from downtown Sapporo to Chitose Int’l Airport.  Well, it’s not a good sign when a 40 minute train ride turns into a two hour stop and go…and yes, it’s still all blizzardy out (and yes, I wasn’t brilliant enough to check my flight status at the internet café.  I blame the old man on the bus who reclined into my lap and made funny noises that prohibited me from sleeping.).  While on the train, I found out via a text from a friend that my flight, and practically all others, was cancelled.  So the good news is that I can’t be late for a cancelled flight, bad news is that I was still on the train.  Once I got to the airport I was able to figure out that they were shunting everyone over to the next flight out the next day.  As I tried to notify my family in Korea that I will not be arriving as expected, I quickly discover that I can’t make international calls from my cell phone.  Lovely.  Fortunately, some gals at an information desk were able to help me with a calling card and helped me book a hotel in Sapporo for the night.  I made the return trip to Sapporo, which just so happened to take the usual 40 minutes, but was glad to get out of the negative aura sinkhole that was the airport.  BUT, turns out that the hotel I booked wasn’t the one I thought it was so I spent some time hiking around the knee-deep snow with my luggage trying to find it.  In spite of the craziness of the day, I ended it quietly with a free curry dinner and a cozy bed.  The next day, I was able to get to the airport without a hitch and was finally on my way to Korea.