And now I'm getting into Seoul proper! Sort of. Barely. Then again, I've only been in the country for a week, so it's not like I can't take my time. One down, fifty one to go, I guess?
In any case, March 1st is a big holiday in Korea- it's to honor the independence movement that sprung up during the Japanese occupation. And as a result, no school that day! Bonus.
So, having the day off, I took the subway into Seoul, at which point I met up with my cousin and her friend. Once we made our rendezvous, we all headed over to Seodaemun Prison. This prison was built early on during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and was used to hold political prisoners.
The prison itself is a blocky, utilitarian set of buildings- which is what one would expect. It's since been turned into a museum, which is interesting. It was rather sobering, as there were lots of exhibits devoted to the various cruelties and tortures the Japanese inflicted on their prisoners. They didn't have anything TOO gruesome, thankfully, but it's still a bit chilling to think of such cruelty all these years later.
Of course, the museum also had a heaping amount of nationalism to it. Terms like 'patriots' and 'martyrs' were used quite liberally in the exhibits- or at least in the English language parts. They also gloss over the fact that the prison was used by the Koreans from 1945-1987. On the one hand, I can understand honoring those killed during a terrible time in the country. On the other, there's also the matter of academic objectivity in museums. Heavy stuff, either way.
They also had a rally there, which made sense. I, speaking no Korean, had no idea what they were saying. Of course, my cousin's friend, who CAN speak some Korean, couldn't understand them either, due to the PA system that they had. Whatever they were saying, there were lots of flags.
Big flags.
Once we finished the tour, we headed down to the train station- at which point a couple of young Koreans with a big camera came up to us asking "Interview?" My cousin's friend did what little talking there was, but I can't help but wonder if the three of us wound up on some local news station's broadcast, as we were the only non-Koreans I saw when we were there.
My cousin had a very interesting way of looking at our schedule for the day. She called it a carrot & stick sort of thing. She's been in the country since December, and she's taken on a approach where she'll go see something Korean and cultural in the morning...and then go to bars and party afterwards. It's not a bad plan.
So we loaded up on a bus and wound our way to Itaewon, which is the foreigner part of Seoul. America-town, if you will (even if there's a bunch of other nationalities present- lots of middle eastern sorts). It's a bit touristy, but I'm glad I went.
We hit up some little galbi resturant, which was quite tasty. As I've mentioned before, when you eat at a Korean place, you get a LOT of food. For the most part, you order what kind of meat you'd like, and then all the sides are thrown in automatically. We had some sort of marinated pork, which was quite tasty, and washed it down with some Korean beer, which was...wet. Good with a meal, at least.
This done, we poked around a little more. They showed me an English language bookstore, which has me all kinds of excited. They even deal in used books, so I should be able to turn around some of my stuff once I read it. It was funny, too, as I noted some of the books in the used section: a bunch of Warhammer 40k novels, and what looked like a complete set of the Vampire: The Masquerade clan novels- I'm obviously not the first nerd to come through Seoul.
We also stopped at the foreign grocery stores in Itaewon, where I got to goggle at some prices on foreign food. Almost 15 dollars for a 2lb box of Cheerios! Thankfully, I haven't been here long enough to start craving American food very badly. And if I do, maybe I can convince one of you lovely readers into sending me something, right?
I at least picked up a package of Tim Tams- they're some sort of chocolatey cookie thing from Austrailia. My cousin's friend told me they were pretty much the best thing ever, and can be combined with coffee for something called a Tim Tam Slam. I shall keep you posted.
And after a little more roaming through Itaewon, we went to a foreigner bar called the 3 Alley Pub, whereupon we drank a bunch of Cass and ate a bunch of cheap chicken wings.
I called it an early night, however, as I didn't really want to navigate an unfamiliar subway system under the influence. Rest assured, however, I didn't have any trouble making my way home! Still, it was a bit of a trip, so one of my goals is going to be to find closer places to hang out- at least for during the week. And, of course, cool people to hang out with.
I'll keep you posted on both of these as they develop. Talk to you soon!
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