Yeoido and Some Fun

I seem to have formed a pattern of going into Seoul on the weekends. It’s not that Jeongja is boring, it’s just that Seoul is so much more exciting, and the subway doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it used to. When I was living in Suwon I had to ride for an hour on the oldest, most crowded, and most uncomfortable subway in the city, almost never getting a seat. Now I ride the newest line, almost always getting a seat. Transfers are quick and easy, and even when the trains are crowded, the rides are shorter. Also, I’m just generally less stressed for many, many reasons, so I can enjoy even the long rides.

Even the crowds excite me now. The masses of humanity only found in the world’s biggest cities used to bother the hell out of me, so I would search out the quiet places, only to be disappointed at their absence. Now, I find the endless people endlessly entertaining. There’s always someone or something interesting to see or hear. It’s like television, except real. Who would have thought?

On the weekends my whole world of responsibility dissipates. Every once in a while there’s laundry to do, dishes to wash, or trash to take out, but other than that I am beholden to nothing and no one. With this freedom I can move at the pace of the world, at the pace of Seoul, and enjoy whatever is thrown my way. Long line for the subway? Who cares, I have nowhere to be. The museum is closed? Oh well, there’s so much else to do, and if I need to, I have an awesome smartphone that can help me find something cool. Temperatures are nearing -12 degrees Celcius (10 F) and after an hour of walking around I just now notice the pool of snot gathering in my mustache because I can’t feel my face? Oh look, I’m standing in front of one of Seoul’s 903489575893740948 coffee shops. I think I’ll hang out in there, get some warmth and some napkins. Sometimes, if you keep your eyes open, the world with throw you something you’ve never seen before.

Which came first, the showroom or the coffee shop?

This weekend I went to Yeoido, a small island in the Han River, in the center of the city. Yeoido is known as the Manhattan of Seoul. It’s home to the 63 Building, the tallest building in Seoul and formerly the tallest building in Asia.

63 Building

Yeoido has a real Upper East Side feel. The streets and sidewalks are quieter and more spacious. The people seem to stroll, contented, rather than rush impatiently, even when its freaking freezing. Oh, and everything is ritzy and more expensive. Yeoido is also home to one of the more expansive sections of the Hangang Park system. “Gang” means river, so the Hangang Park system is a system of parks along the Han that is growing all the time. The city of Seoul, as part of it’s effort to become cleaner, greener, and more people friendly, recently began re-appropriating the land on the banks of the Han river into a system of parks that, now, runs almost the length of the river on both sides. This was not easy to accomplish, as highways also run along the banks of the river. Some of the parks lay beneath the elevated highways, and others, like in Yeoido, are beautiful and spacious, offering spectacular views of the river and the city beyond.

Hangang Park, Yeoido

And beautiful views of me! (though out of focus, thanks random ajjushi)

Me!

The parks are even beautiful at night.

Night in Hangang Park, Yeoido

Living in Korea has reawakened my long dormant love of photography, perhaps to my detriment. On this particularly cold night, I stayed outside for hours, snapping photo after photo. Every once in a while I would notice how I couldn’t feel my fingers and think I’d better get inside for a bit only to find something else to photograph, causing me to forget all about my frozen extremities. But I got some great images, and my fingers can always grow back.

When I finally got cold enough and decided to head for a coffee shop, I found this on the street:

Sidewalk Restaurant

These little guys are all over Seoul. Believe it or not, they are restaurants. Inside is a portable heating fan, an ajjuma (middle aged Korean mother), a makeshift kitchen, and some plastic patio furniture. Open the door (or flap) and you’ll find her cooking away, hovering over huge pans of Dokboki (penne-shapped, gooey rice cakes simmering in spicy red sauce), and sausage, chicken, or fish kebabs. Some of the fancier (yes, I said fancier) ones have a wider selection of meats and vegetables made to order. I have never been to one of these places, but I plan to at some point.

After taking this picture, warming up in that coffee shop/Hyundai showroom, and taking pictures of that coffee shop/Hyundai showroom, I headed to Itaewon (the main foreigner neighborhood in Seoul) for some live bluegrass music with a friend. Upon arriving in Itaewon, I realized just how long I had been away from Korea, and just how fast this place is changing. The main drag in Itaewon used to be as seedy as it gets in Seoul. When I was here last it was dirty and poor, with as high a concentration of unseemly folk as you will find in Seoul (which, comparing to American cities, isn’t much). Now, it’s bright and shiny, with high end coffee shops and boutiques lining the avenue. There’s even a Taco Bell there (the only one in Seoul that isn’t on an army base). Two things haven’t changed, though: the amazing international foods, and the view of Seoul Tower.

Seoul Tower

The next day I headed to Seoul to meet my friend Seunghyun for some Korean-Chinese food in Sinchon. There I was treated to the best Jjajangmyeon I’ve ever had (a noodle dish from China that has been adopted by Korea), some delicious chicken and pork, and some paint thinner. I’ve never had 50% alcohol with lunch before, but, despite the taste and the ridiculously disgusted facial expressions that followed, it really hit the spot.

Korean-Chinese Food

And, as you can imagine, the alcohol resulted in more picture taking and funny face making.

After lunch, we went to a PS3-bang, or Playstation 3 room, to get our NBA Live and UFC on, and sober up a bit. Then we went to Mok-dong, Seunghyun’s neighborhood, and looked around a few bookstores for a Korean grammar book. Seunghyun works in the linguistics department of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (the same university that runs my school). HUFS publishes a Korean grammar book that I am going to use to start learning the language (again). After bookstoring, we went to an arcade.

Arcade!

I hadn’t been to an arcade in ages. It was so much fun! We played arcade basketball (I think I’m better at the real thing) and one of those shooting games with the plastic gun where you aim at the screen (like the girl in the picture). Good times. Then we made the long trek to the subway station through some serious snow. Good thing we both enjoy walking in the snow.

I find myself making the most of my weekends here; something I didn’t do before. In Suwon I spent my weekends at home, marathoning The Wire or The West Wing and being homesick. Not this time! I’m going out, I’m having fun, and I’m doing all of the things I didn’t do three years ago.

Seollal (the Lunar New Year) is this weekend, so we get Monday off. I wonder what Seoul has in store for me. Stay tuned.

For more photos of Yeoido, check out my photography blog!

(See, Seunghyun, you’re a star!)