Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Seoul Part 3
While I was in Seoul, Soojeong started her new job as an intern at the Korean Travel Organization and had to go to work one afternoon, so we made plans for me to meet up with our good friend Sukyung for a day of exploring the city and shopping. It was great getting to see her again and hear about her life since being back in Korea. We reminisced about all of our fun times and Matsumoto as we went here and there trying new foods and enjoying the day. When we were still in Japan, she had promised that she would treat us to samgyeopsal (Korean grilled meat) when I went to Seoul, and when we finally met she kept her promise and treated Soojeong and I to dinner. It was delicious! I really enjoyed getting to see her again, and I am fortunate enough that I will be able to meet her again in Japan when she comes next week.
The other pictures that I have posted are of a park I found before I met Sukyung for our days adventures. This area was close to Soojeong's building, and it was full of interesting murals depicting the history of different events in Korea. There weren't many people there at all, and the purple flowers were in full bloom. It was very peaceful. The delicious looking cake picture was taken at a very cute and romantic cafe that Soojeong and I went to my last night in Seoul. The inside had a European feel to it, and the lighting and furniture made it a great place to just relax and talk with one another about life and everything that we had done. Being able to visit Soojeong in Seoul and experience her culture was something that I will never forget.
The other pictures that I have posted are of a park I found before I met Sukyung for our days adventures. This area was close to Soojeong's building, and it was full of interesting murals depicting the history of different events in Korea. There weren't many people there at all, and the purple flowers were in full bloom. It was very peaceful. The delicious looking cake picture was taken at a very cute and romantic cafe that Soojeong and I went to my last night in Seoul. The inside had a European feel to it, and the lighting and furniture made it a great place to just relax and talk with one another about life and everything that we had done. Being able to visit Soojeong in Seoul and experience her culture was something that I will never forget.
Seoul Part 2
These pictures are mostly from the day we went to Seoul tower. The view of the city was taken on the stairs that lead up to the view. The sky was kind of overcast, but the city looked very beautiful from there. I went to Seoul at the beginning of June, so there were still many varieties of flowers in bloom, making the city very colorful everywhere you went. There were even cherry blossom's near Seoul tower. We didn't go up the tower that time, but we went in and looked around the gift-shop, and also at the locket fence. This fence is where lovers take a lock that they buy, write a note on it, or an attached piece of paper, and wish for continued blessings in their relationship. It was interesting to see messages written in many different languages. I think that it was a fun and romantic day date.
The picture of the food posted was taken at a food stall we stopped at before going to the tower. After watching the travel channel, and especially Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, I had always wanted to eat a food stall in Korea. Soojeong treated me to a delicious meal of pork leg and jijimi (almost a pancake like dish with different vegetables and meats in it) and it truly was a dream come true. It's funny, but out of all of my travels within the US, Japan, and Korea, I have found that my favorite restaurants aren't the ones that cost most, but the ones where people take pride and care in cooking whatever they serve. To this day, my favorite place to eat in Matsumoto is the mom and pop like restaurant just down the street from my house.
The picture of the food posted was taken at a food stall we stopped at before going to the tower. After watching the travel channel, and especially Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, I had always wanted to eat a food stall in Korea. Soojeong treated me to a delicious meal of pork leg and jijimi (almost a pancake like dish with different vegetables and meats in it) and it truly was a dream come true. It's funny, but out of all of my travels within the US, Japan, and Korea, I have found that my favorite restaurants aren't the ones that cost most, but the ones where people take pride and care in cooking whatever they serve. To this day, my favorite place to eat in Matsumoto is the mom and pop like restaurant just down the street from my house.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Seoul Part 1
During the Golden Week holiday break, I took a 6 day trip to Seoul, South Korea to visit Soojeong. I flew out of Osaka and landed in Gimpo airport. Soojeong came to meet me at the airport, and stepping out of the gate and seeing my girlfriend for the first time in person since she had returned home, was something that is hard to put into words. Before going to Korea, I knew that it was beautiful, but now I can honestly say now that I have been to Heaven. What a beautiful country! Seoul itself is a modern megalopolis like Tokyo, but there are cultural monuments that you kind find on almost every street, wonderful food, friendly people, romantic and cute neighborhoods with almost Paris looking cafe's.. I can't wait to move there.
To write everything we did would take a lot of time; we went to 3 different castles (palaces), saw the presidential "Blue House", went shopping and out on dates a cute little restaurants all over the city, and just spent time doing the things we love. For me it was so interesting getting to see Soojeong's home country and city. Every street offered new sights, smells, and experiences. Learning about the history of Korea was very interesting and there were a lot of great museums we visited that had everything from the creation of Hangeul (the Korean language), past kings and wars, old weapons, pottery, and information on the festivals and traditions of the country. Korea has a different feel to it than Japan..to put it in words is kind of difficult, but I guess it is has a more homely feel. I am a nature lover, and being able to see the mountains from almost everywhere in the city was so wonderful. This is the hostel that Soojeong found for me to stay at: http://bangranghostel.com/room_rate.html
. It was beautiful and cost around $15 USD a night.
Another thing that I really enjoyed about the trip, was getting to meet Soojeong's friend Goeun and her older sister Sumi and boyfriend Joe. Soojeong and I met Gouen for a dinner of fried chicken, beer, and talking. It was a lot of fun to meet her and since she is able to speak Japanese as well, we were able to communicate about many different things. After we finished our dinner, we went to a cute little cafe in the area and drank delicious drinks as we joked. On a different day, Soojeong and I met up Sumi and Joe for dinner, and then a drink at a bar. It was nice to meet them and I was very surprised to be treated to dinner. Sumi is fluent in English, so so it was very easy to talk to her. It is interesting that at one table Korean, English, and Japanese were all being spoken. Everyone was so kind. I can't wait to apply to work in Seoul next year. Moving from a town the size of Stillwater to a major city like Seoul will be a different experience, but it is one that I am looking forward to more than anything.
To write everything we did would take a lot of time; we went to 3 different castles (palaces), saw the presidential "Blue House", went shopping and out on dates a cute little restaurants all over the city, and just spent time doing the things we love. For me it was so interesting getting to see Soojeong's home country and city. Every street offered new sights, smells, and experiences. Learning about the history of Korea was very interesting and there were a lot of great museums we visited that had everything from the creation of Hangeul (the Korean language), past kings and wars, old weapons, pottery, and information on the festivals and traditions of the country. Korea has a different feel to it than Japan..to put it in words is kind of difficult, but I guess it is has a more homely feel. I am a nature lover, and being able to see the mountains from almost everywhere in the city was so wonderful. This is the hostel that Soojeong found for me to stay at: http://bangranghostel.com/room_rate.html
. It was beautiful and cost around $15 USD a night.
Another thing that I really enjoyed about the trip, was getting to meet Soojeong's friend Goeun and her older sister Sumi and boyfriend Joe. Soojeong and I met Gouen for a dinner of fried chicken, beer, and talking. It was a lot of fun to meet her and since she is able to speak Japanese as well, we were able to communicate about many different things. After we finished our dinner, we went to a cute little cafe in the area and drank delicious drinks as we joked. On a different day, Soojeong and I met up Sumi and Joe for dinner, and then a drink at a bar. It was nice to meet them and I was very surprised to be treated to dinner. Sumi is fluent in English, so so it was very easy to talk to her. It is interesting that at one table Korean, English, and Japanese were all being spoken. Everyone was so kind. I can't wait to apply to work in Seoul next year. Moving from a town the size of Stillwater to a major city like Seoul will be a different experience, but it is one that I am looking forward to more than anything.
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