I got Seoul but I'm not a Soldier
Trip dates: November 10, 2016 - November 17, 2016
After spending two weeks in Japan, we made our way to South Korea on Asiana. When we were checking in, they asked if we were ok with first class. Uhh... yeah! Did they even need to ask?? :p The plane that we were on was pretty old, but the food was quite good! Eric and I both did the Korean menu of bibimbap, which came with some banchan (small sides) and soup.
We spent about a week in South Korea, with most of our days in Seoul. Prior to arriving here, we weren't sure if there was enough to see and do, but there are so many neighborhoods in Seoul, all with different characteristics, so we had more than plenty to explore and occupy our time.
Having just come from Japan, it was really hard for us to not compare everything. In general, Japan and South Korea seemed very similar, although the pace was definitely slower in Seoul. In Tokyo, especially at the subway stations, everyone is rushing past and walking quickly. In Seoul, the subways were much more crowded (we think because they are less frequent) but coming in and out of the stations, people tended to stroll a bit more.
It also seemed to us that Koreans generally seemed friendlier toward tourists than in Tokyo. Eric and I both thought that it would be an easier transition to move to Seoul rather than Tokyo - not that we're thinking about it, just hypothetically speaking. There was generally less English signage available than in Japan though. Most of the restaurants had a limited picture menu whereas picture menus were a lot more prominent in Japan. Luckily for us, a friend told me that I could learn to read Korean in 15 minutes and she was right! It's pretty easy to learn the Korean alphabet so we were able to (verrrrry slowly) sound out items on the menu and figure out what we wanted to order. It was also handy for figuring out station destinations. Here's what we used, if you want to try it out yourself!
http://www.ryanestrada.com/learntoreadkoreanin15minutes/
Some pictures from the various sights in Seoul, including Gyeonbokgung Palace (the complex was huge and nice to walk around, although there wasn't too much to see inside of the buildings); Bukchon Village (an area with traditional Korean houses called Hanoks, some of which served tea and dessert); and the War Memorial of Korea (I'm not a huge memorial person usually but we ended up spending a whole afternoon here, this place was super immersive and interesting and intense. The exhibits and commentary were all very nationalistic, which kinda just shows how history is always presented with a presenter's bias and not completely impartial).
Our friends Gloria and John also were in Seoul at the same time we were; funnily enough, we ended up booking Airbnb's in the same complex! We ended up going to a jjimjilbang, a first for me, Eric and John! A jjimjilbang is a Korean spa where individuals or groups of friends would go and hang out. I had no idea what to expect and it was a really interesting experience! We went to the Dragon Hill spa, where they will give you a locker for your shoes upon entering. You're then shown to the gender-separated locker rooms, where you change into the PJs that are provided. It seemed like you're supposed to wear just the PJs they provided...? I kept my underwear on though and that was fine; just bring another spare to change into afterwards!
So now you're in the spa, what's available? There are hot tubs available that are separated by gender. I didn't go into one but these are like the Japanese style onsens where you have a bucket to rinse off (or a shower) and then you enter with just a towel. There are also scrubs and massages that you can get, as well as some facial masks and other beauty products that you can purchase. John did a body scrub and the takeaway from his experience was that both him and the guy giving him the scrub were both completely naked :D
Outside the gender-specific areas, there was an arcade, various dining options and cafes where you can get drinks, different colored eggs and other snacks, and several types of saunas. There's a large open area where people would just lay around and hang out, watch some Korean dramas, whatever strikes your fancy. Distributed around the room were various saunas with different heat temperatures. There were also some "specialty" rooms like the Jade rooms (good for your mental balance or stimulation or something) and salt room. There was also an ice room so that you can cool off afterwards!
You don't need to worry about carrying cash around with you as you're given a bracelet that you use to charge everything. I had read that you could easily rack up hundreds on your bracelet and after going, it's very true! Outside of the PJs and pillows, you have to pay for everything else, including water. If you spend several hours there and play the arcade and eat, it can all add up pretty quickly. Oh, and you can pay extra to spend the night if you want!
All in all, it was nice to check out a jjimjilbang. It seems like a nice wholesome way to kill time; it kind of reminded me of being in a casino but without the gambling part and much more relaxing. The biggest negative to my experience was how unsanitary it seemed. You're barefoot the whole time, along with all the other strangers that had just gotten all sweaty in the saunas... but the biggest drawback was how there were no slippers available for using the restroom! Gross! Gloria had been to a jjimjilbang in LA before and it seemed like this may not be the norm. I'd be open to going to another Korean spa, but next time, I'm bringing socks!
The other big highlight of our time in Seoul was our day trip to the DMZ! The DMZ is the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea. We did a tour that covered one of the infiltration tunnels, unused train station that was supposed to go through North Korea, viewing the propaganda villages on both sides of the DMZ, and finally going to the Joint Security Area manned by UN forces (represented by US and Republic of Korea forces).
The infiltration tunnels, of which 4 have been found, were dug by North Korean forces to try to reach Seoul after the armistice was signed in 1953. South Koreans found these, then built interception tunnels to breach and nullify their usage. We got to take a little tram down 200m into the ground and walk along a small part of the tunnel. While they claim the tunnel is 2m high, Eric banged his head multiple times (though he is also just clumsy).
Following that, we saw an unused train station that is meant to connect South Korea with the rest of Asia and even Europe, but needs to go through North Korea. It was a bit propaganda-y here, but they had really clean bathrooms so that was nice.
The big part of the tour was when we went to the JSA (Joint Security Area) where meetings take place between the two countries. This is also where you can "enter" North Korea, i.e. be on the North Korean side of the room. There are lots of rules to follow around what you should wear, how you should gesture, etc so as not to give fuel for North Korean propaganda, since they may be videotaping the tour groups. Eric almost broke protocol by pointing at some soldiers when asking a question! Tsk tsk! They gave us a fair amount of time at the JSA gift shop, which ended up being a good opportunity to ask the US soldiers questions and get more first-end perspective of what it's like to be stationed there.
While at the JSA, I also found out that someone I knew from work was on the tour. Imagine seeing a friendly face while "in" North Korea, what are the odds? Seeing Shailesh was a nice reminder of how big the world is and how small it can actually be sometimes. Don't burn any bridges friends, you never know where or when you'll run into someone from your past!
The DMZ tour took the majority of a day and it was really interesting to hear about the armistice and the war that is still going on. It was also interesting how the commentary from the tour guide often talked about the North Korean propaganda, but some of the information presented was extremely nationalistic, so there was some South Korean propaganda there too. The tour was very rushed, which was a shame, but I guess we did have a lot to cover! And they also stressed several times how the war isn't really over, there's just an armistice but no peace, so not exactly a place to be dilly dallying about. I didn't really know much about the history of the Korean War but between the DMZ tour and the War Memorial, I learned a lot, at least from the South Korean perspective.
