Kingsley and I ate incredibly well in Korea. Several trips to Korea later, and I have developed a deep abiding appreciation for Korean cuisine.

One evening we experienced a VERY fresh seafood sashimi dinner.  In fact it was so fresh I was a little startled to discover that the sea cucumber I had put on my plate was still squirming a bit.  Evidently Kingsley is no stranger to the "still twitching adventures" placed in front of him on his many travels but it was certainly a first (and second) for me.  Even with the slight twitch as our dinner slid town our throats, we couldn't help but go back to the same restaurant a few nights later because the quality of the seafood was so incredible!



Another evening involved a traditional Korean BBQ dinner where one is supposed to grill the beef at the table.  It was immediately apparent that Kingsley and I didn't have the slightest idea what we were doing so the "cooking" task was taken over by several of the servers who kept stopping by every few minutes with excuses of delivering a new dish, or refilling our soju cups, but it was evident that the main focus was to make sure Kingsley and I didn't get in the way of cooking our beef perfectly.  And WOW was the beef amazing when we were finally given permission to eat it!

We knew we were in for an amazing meal when we first sat down and noticed that the guy at the table next to us had loosened his belt and undone his pants in order to...better accommodate...the amazing Korean BBQ dinner.  That in itself was sight to behold (and sadly not appropriet to photograph) but our Korean beef dinner was truly a spectacular meal.

I also unknowingly impressed the wait staff by requesting a refill on their homemade kimchi (which was amazing!).  I doubt they had ever seen a blond girl eat so much kimchi in one sitting and they clucked like proud mother hens every time I went for another additional helping.

I spent an afternoon wandering up and down the lanes of Bukchon a neighborhood which contain several clusters of traditional “hanoks” in the midst of the modern skyline of Seoul.

My starting point was the Bukchon Traditional Culture Center on Gyedong-gil alleyway where I picked up a beautiful map of the area illustrating all of the cultural sites and each individual hanok.  There are somewhere around 900 hanok's in the Bukchon area.

We spent last week in Seoul which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Asia to visit.  One of the best parts of visiting Korea is the amazing food. It took a little time to figure out what to order while in Korea but since then I have quickly become a huge fan of Korean cuisine. One of my favorite dishes being Kimchi.  Naturally, when I learned Kimchi classes were available in Seoul, I had to sign up!  I spent a pungent but lovely afternoon at Kimchi World in Insadong where I learned how to make Bossam Kimchi as well as several other traditional Korean dishes.

The cost of the course was 28,000 won - about $30USD for that price you also get to dress up in a ridiculous looking traditional Korean costume.  Such a great deal!


Kimchi is loaded with vitamins A, B, and C, but its biggest benefit is its “healthy bacteria” called lactobacilli, found in fermented foods. Studies have shown that Kimchi helps lower cholesterol, blood pressure and that it also has disease fighting antioxidants and well as digestion aiding probiotic bacteria. 

While in Seoul I had the chance to tour one of the most dangerous and militarized regions on the planet — the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. The DMZ is the most tensely guarded border in the world, with over a million soldiers from three nations keeping watch on the 250 kilometer no man’s land.


The North continues to deny that they are the ones who invaded the South prompting the Korean War, and they also deny that they have made several other attempts since the the DMZ was created to infiltrate South Korean soil. Of these attempts they’ve dug four tunnels (that have been discovered), and our first stop on the tour allowed us to enter into the third tunnel discovered in 1978.

After putting on the required hard hats we descended a 300 meter (984 ft.) ramp that led us into a long dark this granite passage. Pictures were not allowed in the tunnel but more info with pictures can be found at http://www.f-106deltadart.com/Korea-DMZ/tunnels.htm





From on top of this mountain, we could see for miles into North Korea with the aid of powerful binoculars. Just over the border we could easily see Kijongdon, the propaganda village that the North built to project economic wealth and prosperity to anyone watching and possibly desiring to defect from the South.  There are no residents in the village, except for soldiers. Evidently some lights do come on at night but they are always the same buildings, at the same time. From a distance, it looks like the buildings have windows but there is not even glass in the buildings.


Ironically, the world's tallest flag tower is in Kijong-dong at 160m tall. It is in the Guinness World Book of Records as well. It was not originally the tallest - the tallest was on the south side in Daeseong-dong. When Daeseong-dong flag pole was extended, the north responded by extending theirs taller, sometimes touted as the "flagpole war".

While in Seoul Kingsley and I stayed in Gangnam a district of Seoul which is very up market and fashion focused. This music video went viral the week we were staying in Gangnam so it was the topic of many conversations. It has since become a worldwide phenomenon making it on the top 10 Google search list last month and has had more than 350 million views.


 

In a last ditch effort Kingsley suggested I call the American Express concierge line to see if they might be able to help us find some flight off the island.  I have to say I have never been so impressed with a credit card company in my life.  Within about 15 minutes they had miraculously found seats on a 4:50pm flight off Jeju island to Ulsan Korea a small southern coastal town but at least on the mainland.  From there they booked us on another flight that would get us into Seoul in time for Kingsley's work event.  We were thrilled but also a little anxious as the Typhoon was scheduled to hit Jeju at 6pm and our flight off the island was just an hour before that deadline.

We spent the next few hours waiting for our flight, watching the weather turn from a light drizzle to a major storm and constantly checking the reader boards hoping that they would not cancel our flight.


Our luck (if you can call it lucky to end up on an island with a Typhoon heading your way) held out and we boarded the very last flight out of Jeju island for the next two days.  All flights scheduled after ours on the reader board were cancelled.

It was quite an eventful 45 min flight - very turbulent.  There was no doubt that Typhoon Sanba was hot on our tail. It took the pilot 4 (last minute aborted) attempts before finally landing at Ulsan airport.  Kingsley who survived the process of getting his private pilots license seemed unfazed by this but I have never been so thankful to get my feet on the ground.

Of course we arrived to a deserted airport with all flights canceled including the one that was to take us to Seoul. One very kind airport attendant informed us that there was an overnight train that traveled from Ulsan to Seoul so we rushed off to the train station along with nearly everyone else from our flight in hopes of getting on the train.

We were able to get tickets on the train.  There were only first class seats still available so I wasnt complaining. However, after a day full of unexpected surprises I kept waiting for the train to break down or stop due to weather forcing Kingsley and I to ride bikes or hitchhike our way to the Park Hyatt in Seoul.  Thankfully this didnt happen and we made it to Seoul exhausted but in one piece.


I was so hungry I devoured a cucumber, ham, pickle, kimchee, mustard sandwhich on wonder bread. It was amazing!

The women of Jeju have a reputation for strength. The island is famous for its haenyeo, female divers who gather abalone and other seafood for up to five hours a day in the cold sea — without scuba gear.

With so many massive skyscrappers being built all over Asia it was a shock to see how few tall buildings there were in the Seoul skyline.


Our only non-Korean meal on the trip was a fantastic little Japanese restaurant. We ordered whatever the chefs recommended and the food (all seven courses) was amazing.



I really know so little about the Korean War but I was impressed to learn that 67 Countries supported South Korea during the 1950 -1953 war.  This is evidently a World Record and is something South Korea is very proud of.  This monument with photos from the war and the flags of every nation who gave their support is proudly displayed right outside the city hall in the heart of Seoul.



One of the tiny shopping streets.  One could spend A LOT of time exploring all the little alleyways but best to bring a compass (AKA google maps) with you - it's so easy to get turned around!


Although I did get lost in the city (no wifi access in those crazy alleys) I was able to find my way home by catching a taxi and showing him my hotel card with the address written in Korean (BTW that is a VERY important travel tip and has saved me many many times).