Tuesday September 17th was a
long day for me seeing as I was in class from 10 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
But there was no resting after my last class let out, because I had
just about an hour to finish packing a suitcase and then find the bus
that would take dozens of Handong students to Seoul for the Chuseok
holiday.
Chuseok is the Korean equivalent to
Thanksgiving where family members gather together to eat and
celebrate the harvest. Well, for me Chuseok meant a five day vacation
from school. The university was almost completely shut down during
this time so it was the most convenient opportunity to go to the
capital of South Korea—the concrete jungle of Seoul.
At 6:30 the buses were rolling out of
Handong and I settled down for the five hour trip. There is not much
to be said about the journey because the darkness of night hid the
scenery. We arrived in Seoul fairly late in the evening, but the trip
was not yet over. There were about eighteen of us internationals who
were all going to be staying in the same guest house. So with the
help of two Korean friends we navigated the subway system. It was
tiring having to transfer trains several times and haul luggage up
and down long flights of stairs, but eventually we made it to our
guest house in the area of Seoul known as Hongdae.
It was past midnight when we arrived at
“Mr. Kim's Friends” guest house. I discovered that I would be
staying in the basement portion of the establishment and sharing a
room with seven other people. Also, our room was painted neon green.
 |
| Entrance to our temporary abode. Kind of cave-like |
To our consternation, we discovered that the price that
had been agreed upon before we came was now higher. Well, I knew I
could not pay the higher price and the rest of us were in the same
boat. One of the members of our group who happens to be Korean
American ended up having a conversation with the guest house owner in
which he managed to talk the price down. I was very grateful. It
ended up being a very late night, and I had to shower without hot
water, but I did sleep deeply when at last my head hit the pillow.
Wednesday, September 18th
9 a.m. rolled around and found me
reluctant to climb out of bed, but we had a full day ahead of us to
get started on. Our group of eighteen split into two groups during
the day, and my group was heading out to meet up with a Korean friend
from school. It was time to see Seoul!
We set out for the subway station and
with the help of a couple maps we made it onto all of the right
subways. At 11a.m. we joined our Korean friend who led us into the
insanity that is known as Myeong-dong. Myeong-dong is a famous
shopping district of Seoul. With all of the department stores
towering above me and the massive crowds pushing in on all sides, I
was reminded a bit of Tokyo. There were more stores, restaurants and
cafes than I could comprehend. I couldn't help but wonder how one
could possibly need that much shopping, but by the sheer number of
people engaged in that activity I concluded that other people
probably think differently.
After pushing our way through the
overflowing streets of Myeong-dong for awhile we found a nice, out of
the way Korean place to have lunch at. It was a good meal and welcome
quiet.
Once our stomachs were full we decided
to split up and rejoin at an appointed time. Our small group decided
to do a bit of sight-seeing instead of shopping, which was perfectly
fine with me. We stopped to buy a Korean sugar cookie from a street
vendor. This is what it looks like:
If you manage to punch out the shape of
the little man without breaking the rest of the cookie, you get
another cookie for free. We broke ours, so no free cookie. It was
tasty though.
We made our way to Sungnyemun Gate, a
traditional Korean structure that sits proudly amongst the
skyscrapers of modern Seoul.
It was a sunny day, so after seeing the
gate we stopped to get a drink. I discovered coffee soda, and had to
try it. It was actually very good—just like root beer, but with
coffee.
Next we got to take a look at the
outside of Deoksugung Palace. It cost money to venture inside so we
contended ourselves with watching a parade and taking pictures beside
the unmoving, statue-like guards.
On our way back to meet up with the
others we encountered something I found a bit strange, but
fun—trampolines set up on the lawn in front of Myeong-dong city
hall that were open for anyone to use. Little children and
businessmen alike were enjoying some bouncing.
By the time we made it back to the main
shopping street of Myeong-dong to reconvene, I was feeling the
effects of the stifling heat. To combat the discomfort, I tried some
delicious green tea ice cream. Our group reformed itself and we
headed to the bus station for our next destination—Namsun Tower,
otherwise known as Seoul Tower.
One crowded bus trip and a steep uphill
walk later, we arrived. The view of Seoul was breathtaking from such
a height, and it was refreshing to be amongst trees and in view of
mountains again.
I was educated on one of the traditions
of the tower—lock and key. Apparently it is tradition for couples
to buy a lock and key, attach it to somewhere on the observation
area, and then throw away the key. There must have been thousands of
locks all piled on top of each other!
We decided to ascend the tower at night
so that we could see the neon glow of Seoul. After waiting awhile and
then eating dinner, we bought our tickets and took the elevator to
the top. It was a worthwhile view. From so far away Seoul looked
beautiful, like a million fireflies all trapped in a sea of velvet.
Much more peaceful than being down in the streets!
After we got our fill of the view, we
headed back to our guest house. It was late by the time we made it
back, and we were all very tired. But it had been a productive day,
and a good introduction to Seoul. I did no shopping, but was fine
with getting to see the sights and take pictures of it all. Although
the city can be overwhelming to this small town girl, I had fun
experiencing something new. Namsun tower was my favorite part of our first day.
This concludes day one of my Chuseok
holiday blog series. Look out for the next one soon! And if you want
more of the pictures I will have them all up on Facebook in an album
specifically for the Chuseok holiday.
Thank you for reading!
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