Myeong Dong, Insadong, and Chasing Old Ladies up a Mountain!

Another friend I was lucky enough to hang out with in Seoul is the lovely Ms. Grace Kwon. She was back visiting family and luckily our dates coincided, so I was lucky enough to have her show me around Seoul as well.

I met up with Grace at Myeong Dong, which is a cool night market area (really reminded me of HK and Taiwan). We wandered a bit soaking in the atmosphere as well as looking for dinner. There were so many choices to eat, both in restaurants and on the street, but we finally settled on a restaurant that specialized in chicken. We ordered a dish that was kind of like a spicy chicken stir fry, which was cooked at our table. Once we were finished with half of the stir fry, our waitress mixed in some rice, turning it into a spicy chicken fried rice - pretty tasty stuff!

Hanging out in Myeong Dong.

Korean-style chicken fried rice.

Before I saw Grace next, I took a visit to an area called Insadong known for their street market and art scene. I had a great time walking up and down the street market, seeing vendors selling trinkets and food (one amazing sight was a vendor selling honey candy, which they stretched and pulled a thousand times until it became thin strands of white, as thin as hair). For lunch, I stopped by a place that sold soup dumplings, which was really delicious and the broth had a clean, light taste. (As another aside, one thing I really like about restaurants in Korea is that each one specializes in one or two things and only sells those items, which means whatever they cook is generally really tasty).

Street art in Insadong.

Soup dumplings - one of four menu items.

The next day, Grace and I decided we had enough of walking on comfortable, flat ground, so we decided to take a hike up Mt. Bukhansan. The hike was only about five miles total, but was pretty tough since it was so vertical. But the trek was worth it because the views were so gorgeous and it was nice just to sit and soak in Korea from 800 meters up. (On a side note, one thing Grace and I noticed was that there were so many middle and old aged hikers! It was definitely not an easy hike, but all of these older folks (many who were smokers, by the way) looked really comfortable doing it. Pretty amazing considering Grace and I could barely walk the day after.)

The trek begins! Notice she's still smiling...

Now, maybe more of a sweaty grimace.

Gorgeous views and we're not even to the top.

The top!

After our hike (and not eating for a long time since we weren't smart enough to pack snacks), we found a delicious little place at the base of the mountain that served smoked duck and pork. But hold on, there's more! They brought out the smoked meat, and proceeded to grill it for us to get additional crispy texture. Really, really tasty meal, that ofcourse came with a million side dishes, salad, soup, and Korean pancake. It was a great pick me up to a day where I was beat up and down a mountain by little, old ladies...and it was also really nice hanging out with Grace :).

Our well deserved meal.

Exploring Seoul with Ed and Eugene

One thing I learned about Seoul is that it's HUGE! There are so many unique and interesting areas to see that it's an impossible mission without some help. Luckily for me, I was able to connect with Ed and Eugene, two of my cousin Gloria's friends who were kind enough to show me around the city.

Eugene and Ed are in Seoul teaching english for the year and were kind enough to take a day to show me around a few popular spots in Seoul. We started off in Itaewon which is a popular area for a lot of foreigners since there's a lot of shopping and a wide variety of food. Just my luck, the day I went was one of the rainiest days of the past five years, so I spent most of the afternoon in a cafe blogging and watching Louis CK on youtube. When the rain let up slightly, I wandered out to meet Ed and Eugene and they took me to eat at an amazing gyro (sorry no pictures, I was too hungry to stop stuffing my face). These were slightly different than the Gyrocery variety in that had a much thinner type of pita (almost like a soft taco) and a few different ingredients.

 The rainy view from a cafe in Itaewon.

After getting a quick bite, we proceeded to the City Hall area to meet up with a couple of their friends, Aamer and Prasad, who were taking a break from grad school to travel. We wanted to at least pretend to learn something on our trip so went to a museum dedicated to the Korean General Yi Sun-shin.

I at least learned how to write my name.

After drying off learning a lot, we decided to get some really authentic Korean food...pizza! We went to a place popular place in Korea called Mister Pizza and in order to still get that Korean feel, we ordered the bulgogi pizza which wasn't half bad.

After dinner, we decided to head to Sinsa, which is known for some pretty cool bars and late night eats. We started off with some Japanese food and sake, then headed to a really intresting place that serves only fish cake on skewers. You sit at a rectangular table with fish cake skewers sitting in hot broth in the middle of the table. You just take as you like and add up the skewers at the end to determine what you owe. Definitely a new and fun experience.

Japanese thin sliced beef. 

Eugene, Aamer, and Ed.

The fish cake skewer place in Sinsa.

We ended that night, like I end most of my nights...dancing at a techno club. Those that know me know that this isn't really my scene. But those that really know me know that the dance floor is my second home. I learned so much in the afternoon at the museum that I decided to do some teaching on the dance floor. And by teaching, I mean gyrating awkwardly for a few hours while lasers and confetti hearts filled the air. Mission accomplished.

Meeting the Family...and the Waffle King!

One of the main reasons I came out to Korea was to meet some members of my family (on my mom's side) for the first time. I've spent the last few years traveling to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore to visit family, and Korea was the last destination on my list. I don't speak any Korean (other than food), and most of my family doesn't speak English, so was interested to see how my interactions would be. Luckily for me, my Uncle Terry speaks very fluent English, so he was able to translate (as well as ask me if I'm getting married anytime soon, naturally :)).

Along with my Uncle Terry, I met his wife and two kids, as well as his brother, sister, and mother (my great aunt in law). Even though my trip was relatively short notice and I didn't get to spend a lot of time with everyone, they welcomed me very warmly and with open arms. (On a side note, my family's honesty is second to none. One of the first things my great aunt told me was that my brother was more handsome than I was :P).

BBQing with the family.

Mini-reunion at my aunt's house.

I love traveling by myself and exploring new places, but the great thing about having family take me around is that I get to eat amazing local dishes, that I'd never even know to order. Here is a smattering of the dishes I've eaten with my family:

BBQ duck on a spit! Amazing.

The crispy end result.

Spicy duck soup.

Grilled mackerel and kim-chi soup.

Now to answer the 20 million dollar question: who's the Waffle King? When my Uncle Terry picked me up from the airport, he said he wanted to take me to his office to see what he did. He mentioned that he started a franchising business of coffee shops with (wait for it...) waffles! The coffee shops are called Waffle Kings, and since my uncle started this company, that would make him the Waffle King...King. He took me to a one of the local Waffle Kings and let me sample some of the delicious waffles and I was not disappointed.

The inner workings of a Waffle King.

Mmmmmmm..

Even though this was the first time meeting my family, and it was only for a short time, my family (like the rest of the family I've met over the past few years) was so generous with their time in taking me around and feeding me - something I'm more grateful for than a blog can express. If there's anything I've learned over the past few years, it's that I'm enormously blessed to have the loving family that I have - both at home and abroad.

Now off to find a wife so my family can start asking me new questions!

Kim's Guest House: My Home Away from Home

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm staying at a guest house in Hapjeong called Kim's Guest House. My friend Tina recommended it and I'm really glad she did because it's been an amazing experience. I sleep in a room with four bunk beds totaling eight people - cozy to say the least. The first night took some getting used to as people come in and out of the room at all hours, but have since gotten used to it and now I sleep like a baby.

One half of my eight person room. Top Bunk!

The lounge/computer room.

The kitchen. Free toast!

The great thing about staying at Kim's is the people I've gotten to meet. My first night I met a guy from Seattle...from my high school! He graduated a few years after I did, so I didn't know him, but what a small world. I've also met very cool people from Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, France, and Switzerland - some of which I hope to see again as I continue backpacking. My house mates are here for reasons that span from grad school research to vacation to writing rock & roll music, so it's been really fun hearing everyone's stories.

Lastly, and bestly, what makes Kim's Guest House so awesome is the appropriately named Sunny, who, along with her brother, runs the guest house. She's so friendly and full of energy and makes us all feel at home. She's run the guest house for 10 years now and it has become so well known for being a great haven for backpackers that it's featured in Seoul's Lonely Planet. She's originally from Seoul, but has learned English and Japanese by conversing with backpackers throughout the years (she refers to it as the "Kim's Guest House Language School"). She's definitely helped me start my three month trip with a smile.

At dinner with Game and Sunny. Eating BBQ chicken, or as they call it in Korea, BBQ chicken (Sunny gets it).

I'm not a big Yelp reviewer type, but if you're ever looking for a great (and cheap!) place to stay in Seoul and want to meet cool people from around the world, I definitely recommend Kim's Guest House!

Hongdae and Gangnam, Seoul: April 29th, 2011

Got into Korea on Thursday and into my 8 person/room guest house (more on this later, but it's pretty awesome - no joke)! My uncle picked me up from the airport and took to me to a nice meal (spicy pork bulgogi, pig's blood soup, and kimchi miso soup) before heading back to the guest house to sleep after 17 hours of traveling.

The next day, I met up with Tina and her cousin Yujin in Hongdae. Hongdae is a trendy/artsy area right next to Hongik University. A lot of cool museums, cafes and bars in the area to check out. I thought I'd miss Seattle, but the v-necks and skinny jeans made me feel right at home.

Tina and Yujin took me to lunch and even though they said it was really simple Korean food, it was probably some of the best Korean food I've ever had. We also went to a Hello Kitty cafe...

We ended the day in Gangnam which is the downtown/financial area with a lot of shopping, food, nightlife...and karaoke!

Off to explore the rest of Seoul!