A Very Pleasant Surprise: South Korea

“Where there are no tigers, a wild cat is very self-important.” – Korean Proverb

I tried to do advance research on each place we are visiting.  However, I ran out of time, and so never did much reading on South Korea. So, I’d have to figure it out as we went along. All three stops turned out to be delightful surprises.

One of the things I hadn’t realized about Korea is how pervasive are the cherry trees.  I knew to expect them in Japan, but not here.  I’m used to the springtime cherry blossoms in DC, but they are all concentrated in a particular area of the city.  In the places in Korea we visited, they were everywhere—city and country—and we had the good fortune to be there when they were at their peak, and when other blooms, such as forsythia, tulips, and azaleas, were starting their springtime show.

First, we docked in Incheon, an industrial port city.  However, I ignored Incheon and took the 90-minute bus ride into South Korea’s capital, Seoul.  It’s a lovely, modern city with a pace that is brisk but not intense.  It just seemed like a very liveable city.

South Korea’s National Museum is a stunning edifice in Seoul, and maintains all manner of collections: natural history, human history, art, etc.  There was no way to see the whole thing in a day, so with the help of our guide, we spent a couple of hours viewing what have been designated as national treasures. In many ways, the building that housed them was one such treasure, but the Buddhas, ancient porcelain (I particularly loved the celadon), and historic artifacts were fascinating.

We then proceeded to the television tower, to go to the top for a view of the sprawling (and blooming) city. 

This was followed by a delicious lunch of Korean dishes.  I’d had the pleasure of living above a good Korean restaurant in DC, but got a different take on those familiar flavors here.  I was particularly taken with the kimchi here, particularly the radish kimchi, which had a more nuanced flavor that what I had known before.

Afterward, we took a walk through a neighborhood of older, traditional homes in the heart of Seoul.  These modest homes sell for around the equivalent of $700,000, even though the residents are plagued with sightseers—so much so that the homeowners hang out signs imploring visitors to be quiet.  The weather was perfect that day, so the streets were filled with other sightseers, both local and foreign.  The neighborhood also boasts a number of nice shops and restaurants, so appears to be a favorite haunt for many.

Our next stop in South Korea was Jeju Island, a resort island off the coast of Korea.  At first it was perplexing as to why it is such a popular resort, as is it seemed to be just another large-ish city and is prone to temperature extremes and just about every kind of natural disaster known to humankind.  Then we got out into the countryside and saw what beauty lies outside the city.  For densely populated countries like Korea and Japan, the rural aura must be a true retreat. Plus, it is the one location in South Korea where Chinese citizens can visit without a visa.  Finally, particularly as compared with some nearby countries, prices are relatively low.

On Jeju, we enjoyed a stroll through a traditional village.  Only about 600 people live here now, in the old-fashioned thatched huts and simple designs, and most of the residents are getting up in age.  But the huts now have the modern conveniences, though a cluster are preserved in their original form for tourism purposes.

Perhaps the most interesting in the original-form houses were the “toilets”  a seat made of rocks that opens into a small pen, where they used to keep pigs.  The idea was that the pigs ate the waste, thus creating a natural means of disposing of human waste.  But let’s not think about eating that pork.

We also visited a volcano park, and took a pleasant stroll around the crater’s rim (with the crater bearing an odd resemblance to Dorton Arena at UNC) and explored the area, with breathtaking views at every turn. 

Our next stop in Korea was Busan (also, for  reasons unknown, called Pusan).  This was the pleasantest surprise of all.  A city both modern and old-fashioned, it had so many diverse elements it is hard to enumerate them all.  Its fish market is mind-boggling in its size and offerings.  Stand after stand of seafood in tanks, and people negotiating for their fish.  Outside were more stands, some still selling fresh fish, others selling dried fish, and still others selling accompaniments.  

In Busan, you could shop to your heart’s content in the world’s largest department store, or in the many shops on or under the street—there was an extensive network of underground shopping.

Catch the hop-on-hop-off bus, and see the center city, the numerous parks, the beaches, and the daily life of a city with both skyscrapers and lovely flora.

We saw a lot of tourists here, but very few westerners, so were ourselves a bit of a curiosity to some.  But children, their parents, school girls, and young women taking selfies all seemed open, engaging and friendly.  South Korea was truly a great place to visit.  I only wish we’d had more time.

Next up:  Japan