Return to Seoul!

Following a six hour flight we arrived at Incheon Airport Thursday afternoon, just in time to enjoy the weekend in Seoul.  Rather than go the traditional hotel route Andrew and I had booked an apartment on Airbnb.  I'd singed up with the site a few years back but never actually got around to using it; we used Airbnb to book two places in Seoul, an apartment in Osaka, as well as one in Tokyo.

Incheon International Airport, which serves Seoul, is consistently
ranked as one of the best airports in the world.

The airport even has an ice rink!  Of all the ways to pass
the time during a layover!

Our first place in Seoul was near Wangsimni subway station in the city's northeast.  From a tourist's perspective there wasn't much of interest near our apartment, although Seoul, like most cities in East Asia, is so compact that we could easily walk to many restaurants, shops, and convenient stores.  Wangsimni station is on Line #2, which forms circle around Seoul; it's also only eight stops from Jamsil, my old neighborhood.

Andrew had last been to Seoul for a semester study abroad back in 2009.  In less than six years the city had noticeably changed; even in the two years since I'd visited there were differences.  Things just seem to move more quickly in this part of the world.  Take Andrew's experience during his study abroad.  There was a take-out restaurant on the corner next to the subway station where Andrew lived, a place where he occasionally grabbed a bite on the go.  One day on his way to the subway he noticed the signage outside had changed and the restaurant was gone.  Inside construction workers were busy clearing out the old decorations to make way for another shop.  Just two days later Andrew returned to find the space had already been converted to a jewelry store; he could find no traces of the restaurant!

The changes I noticed were not as drastic; a few new stores on my old street, progress on construction of the behemoth Lotte Tower, and a continued up-scaling of the once grimy expat area known as Itaeown (what was once a hole-in the wall US military hangout is now full of fancy restaurants and designer stores frequented by young Koreans).  As Seoul has modernized and become a developed, more mature city, the pace of change has slowed, but it's still light years faster than the West.  It makes the city feel alive and exciting, but in the rush much of traditional Seoul has disappeared.

Lotte Tower, which when completed in 2016 will be the
 fourth tallest building in the world.

Pedestrian street in Itaewon, Seoul

Andrew and I spent nearly two weeks in Seoul, half that time in Wangsimni and the second half in another Airbnb place near Gangnam.  Yes, that Gangnam from Psy's hit single "Gangnam Style."  Gangnam is a trendy, upscale neighborhood with high-rise offices, luxury condos, shopping malls, and ample nightlife options.  Andrew and I, being lowly backpackers, were a ways from the action in central Gangnam.

Over those twelve days in Seoul Andrew and I didn't do many touristy things; we'd both spent extensive time there before and had other priorities.  Back at Miami of Ohio, where Andrew went to college, he became friends with several Korean-American students who were now living in Seoul.  Andrew had a few buddies from his study abroad whom he also kept in touch with, and although many of my teaching friends had since left I wanted to catch up with my university students.  Aside from friends Andrew wanted to meet his family members who were still living in the city, including three great Aunts, an Uncle, and his great grandmother.

Clowning with Andrew's Miami of Ohio friends; can you spot me? haha
Alex, who grew up in Columbus, is behind me, and across from him is Rieu.

Andrew with his uncle, who owns a restaurant

It was nice to have local friends to meet, and we spent our evenings and weekends socializing.  We ended up spending a lot of time with Andrew's Miami friends, partying in Itaewon, playing pick-up basketball, and relying on their valuable food recommendations.  One evening I met up with Chaz, an American teacher I'd met in Korean language class, who was going on seven years in Korea.  I also visited two of my university students who were now working full time, and one evening Andrew introduced me to his great Aunts (they treated us to a delicious buffet, insisting we stuff ourselves to the point of exploding).

We played pick-up basketball with Alex and Rieu.  Andrew bought the
shirt in Bangkok but forgot just how small sizes run in SE Asia!

Chaz (left) dressed up in traditional Korean clothes.  He's been
teaching in Korea for nearly seven years!

Lunch in Myeongdong; dumplings and noodles with kimchi, of course

Andrew and I both had flashbacks while we were in Seoul - he visited the university where he studied abroad, and I went to my old school.  When we visited Korea University, the school where Andrew had a semester exchange program, it brought back memories from the good old college days.  We walked past his apartment and played a game at the pool hall where he spent his free-time practicing four ball billiards (a popular game in Korea played on a pool table with no pockets and only four balls).  The owner recognized Andrew and invited us to drink makkoli; we had a few swigs and almost were late for our dinner with his Aunts!

My trip down memory lane wasn't as meaningful.  Although I'd worked at YBM for a full year and had lots of memories of the kids and the school, since my leaving in 2012 they relocated to another building.  It was a few miles from the old school but in an area I didn't know well.  I still took a tour of the classrooms and met the staff, but most of the kids and teachers I had known were already gone.  The academic director, Ashley, had been my co-teacher, so at least I knew her!  I did see three of my former students, although they have so many teachers come and go that the kids barely remembered me!

Ashley with kids from Yale class back in 2012

Aside from our focus on friends and food, we really didn't accomplish much else; Andrew and I were pretty lazy in Seoul.  We got in the habit of staying up late and sleeping in until lunchtime.  Like I said, we'd already done a lot of the touristy things before, and I do admit it was a nice break from the on-the-go traveling in Taiwan and Hong Kong.  I am typically of the opinion that the best kind of travel is slow - stay in one place for a week or more and get a feel for the area before rushing to the next sight.  Of course many people don't have the luxury of time, but as long as Andrew and I did we might as well enjoy ourselves!

On the afternoon of May 5th, our last day in Seoul, we met Andrew's friend Rieu for Sulbing (a Korean dessert).  I'm convinced that had Andrew moved to Seoul he'd be addicted to the stuff.  I can just imagine traveling to Seoul to meet Andrew to discover he'd ballooned to 300 pounds on a strict diet of unlimited Korean BBQ and Sulbing.  After our snack Rieu gave us a lift to the bus terminal and we said our goodbyes, ready for our trip to Busan.

Out for Sulbing, which means "snow ice" in Korean.  It's a dessert
with shaved ice, frozen milk, and a variety of toppings including
strawberry, chocolate, mango, and red beans, among others.

Korean BBQ's not that bad either!

The trip didn't exactly get off to a great start.  As it turns out there are two major bus terminals in the south of Seoul, and we'd gone to the wrong one.  By the time we hopped on the subway to the correct place we had missed our bus (by less than 10 minutes).  Fortunately we were able to switch our tickets; the bad news was the next available bus wasn't leaving until 10 pm.  We'd already booked a hotel for Busan so we stuck with the plan and took the night bus.  We didn't arrive until close to 3 am but at least we weren't stranded at the station in Seoul!