Korea Blog 23rd of July 1996

Seoul – an intriguing city (wide roads). A place where if you look lost enough people will ask you in English if they can help. The women here are simply gorgeous. Hardly any ugly young women. They have the most kissable looking lips. Perfect lipstick. Lovely eyebrows. High cheekbones. Hardly any women smoke. Their hair is absolutely stunning.

We slept in today. Didn’t hear my alarm and there are no windows in our room. Woke up at nearly 11:30. Tapkol (Pagoda) Park was our first stop. Old people everywhere. Then lunch. Had difficulty finding a place and a girl asked if she could help us. She did. Wouldn’t take up our offer to buy her lunch though. Noodles. Hot side dish of kim chee. Had a look at Poshin gak – a bell pavilion. Statue of Admiral Yi Sun Shin to admire. Bookstore in Kyobo Building was huge. Wayne was looking for a particular guide book in the Japanese section and so spoke to a girl reading a Japanese book. She looked very guilty and admitted that she didn’t speak Japanese. A guy did, but poorly, and then he surprised us by speaking English. Went to Kyeongbokkung Palace but it was closed on Tuesdays. Got a little bit lost then took a photo of Chung Jung Gong Min Young Hwan statue. He held four ministries in government, was mayor of Seoul and a leader of the Korean Independence Movement.

Chang Deokkung Palace was large and we had to pay for a tour. It was in English. On the tour were some Russian, French and German speakers. Lots of photos and postcards. Changgyeonggung Palace was also closed. Walked past Kwangjang and Tongdaemun markets until we reached Tongdaemun – East Gate. Fairly impressive. The map also mentioned Tongmyo – Royal Shrine. Had much difficulty locating it. Lovely woodwork. Some guy walked up and asked if he could help us. He was very surprised when we told him what we were looking for. “How did you find out about that? Not many people know about it.”
“It was on the map,” came our reply. We arrived just before closing time – 6:30pm. Had tea, bulgogi (beef) and Mr Chong (English name Johannes), who sat next to us, was very nice and talkative. Showed us how to eat our traditional meal and then ordered a second course for us. He paid for it. Turns out that he is head civil engineer. His English was marginally better than our Korean. Nice bloke though! I thought that he may have been a taxi driver because he wore white gloves. Turns out that he picked up a gas bomb and it burnt him rather badly that he spent four months in hospital. Walked back to the yeogwan.

There are police and army guys everywhere. The police even control the major intersections. Good idea too. We were sitting down contemplating a move and some bloke walking past with a fan said, “Hot?” and fanned us. A couple of guys waling past waved and smiled at us. These Koreans really crack me up. Driving is very chaotic. Walking along a street you will see four or five shops selling the same items and there will be only six or seven different types of shops in the street. How do these people make money? There are more motorbikes but less bicycles on the footpaths than in Japan. Korean women seem to be a fraction taller and have an ounce more meat on them than Japanese women. There is a strange-looking habit of girls holding hands and also guys bit it seems to be more for protection (or companionship) than homosexuality. Public displays of affection also seem to be a no-no, same as Japan. Bought a t-shirt “Korea – World Cup 2002” – made in China. Hard to believe that it was only 2000 Won. Bought a hat this morning. When asking the old man how much was it, he wrote it down but it was difficult to read. Another guy said, “Five dollars”. In $US yes, but I’m not American.

When I bought my postcards to day the girl thought that Wayne and I were French. Her Korean (of course), Japanese and English were really good. Why French? I thought that I was very polite.

There are almost no American cars here. Everything is Korean. Japan has Volvos, Saabs, BMWs, Cadillacs etc.

Pics - National Museum Entrance, Tonhwamun, Coronation Hall Chang Deokkung, Piwon - secret garden, Inside Piwon.

- posted by Hammy @ 8:32 am