Seoul Day Tripping; Odusan Observatory and Heyri Art Valley

My life revolves around the weekend.

Working 50 hours a week in one of the most demanding and tiring jobs I've had so far is taking it's toll emotionally and mentally, and I tell myself to not let it get to me. Don't let it affect you, don't let it ruin your experience, leave work at work and free yourself once you walk out that door. It's not the teaching that gets to me, it's dealing with the work environment for all those hours. Every week keeps feeling longer, tougher, and Friday never seems to come soon enough. But the beauty of it is that it eventually comes.

Since I do work hard, I feel like I have to play hard to create some balance. I have been doing good so far: got a plan for every weekend and the list of places to see keeps getting longer and longer.

This past weekend we decided to take a day trip outside of Seoul. So we got on the subway for about an hour and half, and then a bus for another 20 minutes or so to the Gyeonggi Province, which in part, borders North Korea. 

DUM DUM DUUUUUUM

It has been really interesting to hear what the locals have had to say about North Korea. They almost deal with it as the annoying little cousin that you know will always be there, and although there's really not much you can do about him, you just let him be, throw his tantrums and ignore him completely. They really don't seem insanely bothered by it, which is a relief but also a bit confusing. I mean, back in the west, it is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world. 

Fun fact though: A student of mine once brought a little piece of paper to school to show it to everybody. It had bold Korean written all over it and I didn't really paid that much attention. Later, my students explained me that sometimes North Korean helicopters spread anti-west propaganda, mainly through the elementary and junior public schools. The kids have been told that if they happen to find one of these North Korean flyers, to take them to the police and they will give them a little gift in exchange: a pencil case, a cool pen, maybe some candy. When I asked one of my co-teachers to translate she told me not to worry about it, that it was all rubbish. But that seems to be the genuine and honest opinion of every person I have come across: it's there and it means nothing.

Now, I've never had much interest regarding North Korea. We had thought about going to go check the DMZ, more than anything for the story and for the fact that it's the most talked about border in the world, possibly the most dangerous. However, we came across a cheaper option of getting to see this famous border, and that's where we found ourselves last weekend.


Odusan Unification Observatory

This was about one hour and a half to two hours trip by bus and subway from Seoul. We got there on an unfortunately cloudy and smoggy day, but it was quiet and less than two dollars to get it. The observatory is about five stories high, with one room with a theater showing a movie about the North and South Korean history, another room showing possibly the same movie (it was in Korean, so honestly I've no idea) and a timeline with some English in it. On the fifth floor there was a model of the Korean border and another empty theater room. The observatory itself wasn't stellar, and I had read previously to getting there that it included a shop where you could by North Korean goodies, such as soju. This shop was nowhere to be found but we met a nice vending lady who offered us some good old South Korean Soju.

The Observatory had three different viewing points from which you could use the binoculars to get a clear view of North Korea, just 2,100 meters across the river. I had also read that you had to pay a small - insignificant, really - fee to use the binoculars, but on this day (unsure if it was because of the weather) it was free. So, we sat for a couple of minutes looking into that land, that famous land of danger and mystery.

It was really unfortunate about the weather conditions, but we were able to see a watch tower on the Hermit Kingdom, as well as some movement. We could make out some buildings here and there, and a faint illusion of mountains at the back. Without really blaming it on the weather, the place looks desolate, empty, absolutely empty of anything. All of the buildings looked the same, square, white blocks with the black little windows. It was an eerie moment: it's just land, but with everything that we have been told, the idea that this land is so close can be a little bit jarring at times.

We spent about an hour, maybe a little more, looking through the binoculars and walking through the observatory before we headed back down into something that sounded more cheery, more lighthearted.

Heyri Art Valley

I had also done some additional research about this place before going there. It's a place for artists to go and get inspired, or vendors to go and sell their hand-made goodies, a place with good (and expensive) restaurants, museums and galleries. The valley itself is quite pretty, filled with shops and restaurants and some pretty green areas and a little pond. I bet the museums would have been interesting, but on this particular day, most seemed to be closed, or they were too expensive to pay (by this point you should be gathering that I'm very careful with my money).

This place reminded me a little bit of the 798 art district back in Beijing, although maybe a bit smaller and with less to see. It had it's fair share of weird little statues and whatnot, but not as impressive as the ones back in Beijing.

 The best part about this excursion was simply walking around the valley and enjoying the day outside of the big city. It was rather quiet. I had read about a couple of must-go-to restaurants to try, since such and such drama had been filmed there. There was this particular restaurant/book store that was covered with books - literally, wall to wall and walls behind walls covered with books. Most of them seemed to be Korean, but it definitely added to the atmosphere. There were also a bunch of ducks bathing by one of the ponds! And a couple of artist playing in the open spaces around the park!

Overall, it was a well deserved trip, a good escape. I can't wait to get more of those.

Weekend Traditions, Pt 1

It's been almost 3 months since my move to Seoul: three months of work, loud but adorable children, delicious and challenging food, addiction to seaweed and soju and living for the weekends. 

The amount of things there are to do still surprise me. Seoul is home to a huge party scene, with plenty of dance clubs and spas and alleys filled with drinks and drunks. While I've wandered through some of these alleys, I still have yet to go to any clubs or the famed beauty jimjilbangs (which from what I gather, are bathhouses). I've never been much for clubbing, although the itch does come every once in a while, and the idea of a Korean bathhouse is enticing and interesting but not enough to make me run to one just yet. 

There are still a lot of things to cross off the Korean list, but there is no rush.

What most of my weekends have encompassed so far has been exploring the parks and mountains and streets of Korea. In part because of the cheapness of it, but in other because I really do find peace and enjoy time outdoors. One of the many things that I've fallen in love with here in Seoul, has been the parks. I have to say and my hat off to you, Korea, you do parks right. Here I'll try to list some of my favorite parks I've seen so far and try to explain why I don't really think that weekend at the park is a waste of a weekend at all.

Olympic Park

I have gone to the Olympic Park twice so far because I just couldn't really think that once is enough, and I plan to go a third and a fourth and countless times more. This is where the 1988 Summer Olympics were held and the massive park includes at least 6 (that I counted) stadiums for indoor sports plus a pool. It also homes some sculptures scattered randomly throughout the park. There is also a museum there, which I haven't been, and a beautiful display of all the flags of the participating countries in the Olympics. This park is massive and you could wander all over it in one day and not really get bored with any of the sights. Also, there are wild rabbits! 

The first time we went there, we were stopped by a very friendly Korean man asking us where we were from. He then offered to take our picture, and continued to tell us why he thinks the Olympic Park is the best park in Seoul. "There is so many fantastic memories here. So much history. I have taken my wedding photos with my wife here. This is the best backyard I could have asked for" and to me, that just made the place even more magical; the thought of how locals view this park as their backyard, how at home they feel, yet not really taking it for granted. 

You get some amazing views from the park to. Some pretty cool shots of sunsets and the 6th tallest tower in the world in the distance. 

Seoul Forest

I have to admit that I was a little bit annoyed when I first realized that the Seoul Forest was a park and not really a forest. It only took a few steps in to make this realization but I immediately got over it when I started studying the map and realizing how much there was to do there. There was a greenhouse where you could pay to go in and walk among all the butterflies; there was this small area where you could go, see and feed some deer; some small outdoor theaters; a massive picnic area; a swamp looking thing and what they called a mirror lake (which was dry when we went). 

It's another one of those parks perfect for a whole day shmeal; you can go play in the sculptures, pack a picnic, enjoy the quietness and the green and the shade, and watch people amusing themselves with paper plane flying contests. 

Ogeum Park

This park is the smallest of the ones I've seen so far, but there is something really unique about it. Like all of the parks I've been, they're kinda in the middle of it all - surrounded or adjacent to busy streets and apartment complexes, and for some reason it just really surprises me how one moment you feel like you are exactly where you are supposed to be: in the middle of the second biggest city in the world, around all of these people and city noises, and the next, literally one step away, you are able to tune it all out and if you were to forget what is past the trees you feel like you traveled hours away from the city in order to get to a place like this. 

This little park had it's own kind of personality though. It had one of the tomb mounds within it, a cluster of unique and interesting bird houses, and a trail of stones. A trail of stones... we didn't really think much of it when we came across it, until we saw how people would take off their shoes to walk among the stones through the entire trail. I've heard about how therapeutic feet massages can be and decided to give it a go. It really wasn't a long trail, but it felt long... it hurt. It hurt so much, but as soon as the shoes came back on and you started walking on normal ground again, boy did it feel good! 

 Guri Park


Actually, we came across this park by mistake. We had set off to find a specific place and got totally lost trying to find it. We went through what I believe could have or could have not been private property of harvesting fields; wondered how we could have gotten so lost until we found a little trial and thought we might be on to something. We weren't onto the thing we were supposed to be on, but we found the trail to the Guri Park. 

Guri is where I live. I have been told by coworkers about how pretty this park is and how I just needed to find the library in order to find it, I just hadn't made it a priority. But it definitely made itself a priority to me. What I liked the most about this park were these little signs throughout the park with English questions and answers. At first I thought 'Oh how cool, to practice their English!' but then I thought the questions were getting really specific and weird. Like "Is Annie bringing us coffee? She just went out to get some" or "Why is the copy machine not working? It is out of toner" or "Did you not see that stop sign? Yes, I did." or "Why is Annie not here? She is not feeling well today." And all I could think of was, who is this Annie who seems to be a terrible driver and an incompetent secretary? Poor Annie. 

My favorite bits of this little park were definitely a magical bridge covered in leaves and the 'Secret Garden' which was just a rose garden, but lovely just the same. 

This is a very short list, but I'm excited to see more! Honestly, parks here man... a whole new meaning!

Seoul through the Beijing scope and an apology letter to China

I have been significantly better at keeping in touch with friends and family as the years go by. I have never been the type to fear losing strength in relationships because of distance. We all have our lives, and even though some weeks, maybe even months pass by without hearing from one another, I don't necessarily feel any less love for those people who have settled themselves in my heart (the corniness, forgive).
I just recently spent a couple of days catching up with said friends and family. And while talking to them about my last two months here in Seoul, I realized that most of them kept making the same comment:

"It sounds so much better than China! You seem happier."

And it got me thinking about my time in Beijing last year, and realized that I had given the impression that I hated it. Which is something that is 100% untrue. There was so much good in China - and I allowed a job to ruin it for me. To this date - 8 months later - I still have a lot to say about the company that I worked for. Which is absolutely unhealthy, because that is done and over with. But I have to admit that I do kick myself on a daily basis for having allowed myself to dwell and suffocate myself on that job. There was so much more I could have done in China, so much to see -  country is huge - and I hate the fact that I just... didn't. And I am insanely sorry to have given off the impression that China is terrible. It isn't. It's massive, it's different, it's got insanely gorgeous places, it's exciting, it's frustrating, it's delicious - it's everything travelers look for in an adventure.

China - I will always regret that year because of how much more I could have done. I will always regret the fact that I let a bad job win - because I am sure I haven't seen the last of bad jobs (more on that later). And I am so sorry for that. 

There are so many things I actually miss about Beijing. It's only been a little over two months of me living in Seoul, and I feel like a lot of my thoughts about this city might be a little premature - but I can't help those little thoughts of how things used to be in Beijing in comparison to here creeping up. And I told myself I wouldn't do this because it's counter productive.

But it gives me something to write about that has been looming in my brain for a while. And what best way to make peace with it than to write about it.

So...

Subway

I'm just going to drop this here so you can get a clear idea 

Without having to really get into too much detail - the Seoul subways is ridiculous. I really picture people planning it like "Oh, there should be a line going here, let's start it... OH WAIT, there's a mountain there ... let's go around, and then let's go back to where we want to go... BUT WAIT! there is also this other very convenient location to drop a transfer... but no... OH WAIT, more mountains!" - I try not to get too frustrated with it, but it just feels like... what kind of planning went into this? In comparison to the Beijing map which is definitively easier to navigate, every time I have to go somewhere through the subway in Seoul I can't help but to really miss Beijing. Also the fact that transfers take forever here as opposed to the 3 - 5 minutes wait in back in Beijing.

Beijing wins this one. 

Pollution

One of the things that I was happy to leave behind in Beijing was the pollution. I can not begin to stress how bad it could get back there. Without going into too much detail, check this short video about what a man did in order to clean up the city. It really is scary... and that in itself makes Beijing a difficult place to settle in, in my own personal opinion. I though that pollution wasn't going to be a problem in Seoul - pero resulta que Seoul no canta malas rancheras. 

Now, it's definitely not nearly as bad as it is in Beijing. In fact, every time I've made comments with my coworkers or my students about the pollution in Seoul they call it 'the yellow dust that comes from China'. Which I find shocking, because it can still get really bad and thick and if what I'm hearing is true then the pollution I'm getting in Seoul has traveled and quite a bit... which is just a reminder of how bad it can get back in China.

I find Seoul to be a very clean city, and I haven't really seen any factories around the same way there were in Beijing. So even though the pollution that is here is not theirs, it doesn't change the fact that it is here and you have to live with it.

Honestly, the pollution can't match Beijing's although it's still very much present here in Seoul - but I have to say that the pollution is not something I miss from Beijing. 

Food

You are welcomed to check my previous post about Korean food in this blog. I love it.
But with that being said, food is probably the thing I miss the most about Beijing. All of it. And I would go back any day for that food. Any day. Absolutely.

So this is a tie. 

Foreign Friendly
I have often come across people who get frustrated while living in a foreign country. I am guilty of this too - "Why do they do this? There is no logic to this!". It's part of the culture shock process and there are days when everything and everyone is bizarre, confusing and sometimes even irritating. This is when I have to remind myself that I'm the foreign one here - I'm the outsider. I don't have to understand or even agree with some of the quirks of a foreign country, but not understanding doesn't equate to being wrong, it just means it's different. And that is one of the reasons why I travel; that is something I'll always be addicted to - finding those differences and being challenged to open my mind and my view of the world. 

However, it is nice to find certain comforts that remind us a bit of home while living abroad - whether it be a movie theater playing English movies or a restaurant that sells damn good hamburgers and fries. Missing home, in whatever way it can - family, food, language, etc - it will kick in, specially when traveling for long periods of time. 

I find that both Seoul and Beijing were foreign friendly in their own way, and incredibly unfriendly in other ways. One of the things I miss about Beijing is the picture menus: every single restaurant I went to in Beijing had pictures on their menus, so that even with the limited Chinese I had I was able to order exactly what I wanted or what I thought I wanted. It has been a struggle to find that here in Seoul, but I do find that people are usually more welcoming and open to help you try to figure things out here. I went to a restaurant a couple of weeks ago (no pictures) and I just decided to point at something and give it a go - the waitress looked at me, shook her head and started fanning her mouth "Spicy, spicy, spicy!". And I gave her the thumbs up and said "YEAAAA" and she kept shaking her head and refused to serve me this mysterious spicy dish that obviously is too hardcore for foreign tongues. And although I wish she would have just believed in me (I CAN CONQUER YOUR FOOD!) I thought it was a really considerate gesture on her part. 


There are plenty of other ways that these two massive, beautiful cities differ, but I would like to explore more of Seoul before making any more premature assumptions. 

There is something very important I'd like to stress on, though... China is cool. China was beautiful and I am very grateful for having spent the time I did there. I am sorry for having given anyone a different idea of the place. 

EF, still not a fan though.