Rob From Canada: September 2008

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Dog Soup For the Seoul, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea
September 22 to 25th, 2008

Well, perhaps in one of the Korean bookstores there is Chicken Soup for the Soul, however, on the streets you are more likely to find Dog Soup in Seoul... and I'm not referring to a book. There are definitely some questionably edible oddities that my brain just wouldn't allow to enter my mouth including the dog soup, deep fried miscellaneous insects, whole squid, and live squirming octopus that was freshly chopped into writhing bits of tentacles. I did manage to eat spinal cord soup for one dinner, where two massive cow(?) vertebrae in the middle of the soup waited for me to pick the meat off the bones...

Within my gastronomical comfort zone, however, I found the Korean food absolutely fantastic. Most meals were served with dozens of side dishes of assorted textures, colours, and interesting flavours. The Korean BBQ is exceptional and involves cutting kimchi, garlic, and meat with scissors and then cooking on the grill at your own table to be wrapped in a small green leaf before popping into your mouth. Operating the scissors, BBQ, and chopsticks become more and more dangerous with every bottle of soju delivered to the table. Another popular meal seems to be galbi, an inexpensive meal of rice and chicken dish cooked at your table, where the smoke and smell can accumulate sufficiently to require dousing yourself in a digestif of Fabreeze before walking out the door.

In the past, Korea has been punished and destroyed by the Japanese, politically pressured by the Chinese, and also divided by their own internal struggles with communism. Perhaps these pressures have helped build up a general suspicion and aversion to foreigners, although mostly among the older generation. As I was recounting many experiences that confirmed my thinking, I had three experiences that blurred my generalization. After 3 weeks of riding the subway, an elderly man approached me and started a conversation in very broken english... at well over 60 years old and with no particular need, the fact that this man was still learning things that the majority of his generation wouldn't care about really left an impact. Also, while hiking in the hills around Seoul, 2 more incidents occurred. An elderly couple approached me for general conversation and left me with roasted chestnuts and crackers, and another family who asked me to take a photograph left me with a tangerine as a gift of thanks. Even though there was a language barrier, the intent of friendship and acceptance was very apparent.

The younger generation in South Korea seems eager to embrace an interest in learning the English language, and I think this will help their already established technological and manufacturing presence in the world. However, Koreans generally study and work very very long hours, and there is significant pressure to 'succeed' and show a good face. There seems to be a lack of time to enjoy the more subtle aspects of life such as humanities and the arts, and it is apparent that this is not an important part of the Korean culture. Pressures to succeed in such a left-brained world undoubtedly contributes to the excess pleasures of soju and entertainment parlours as a release. I believe it is unhealthy and possibly dangerous for people and cultures to be so heavily obsessed with science and technology without a balance and appreciation for the artistic and softer sides of life. Of course, technology has more tangible value than arts and is therefore more sought after and appreciated from a world driven by the requirement for accelerating growth (although by definition this is unsustainable) and the definition of gross domestic product.

For my GoogleMap of locations in South Korea, check out this link.

South Korea. Some of the more visually appealing edibles in the food markets. Stalls on either side were quite likely stacked with piles of dried squid or other dried fish remnants.

Busan, South Korea. These are advertising girls for a women's make-up store. Incidentally, this is also how gas stations 'advertise for customers'... put girls in short skirts out on the road, and they even fill your tank for you. Now that's full service! Imagine that... and our government thinks talking on a cellphone is a distraction!

Seoul, South Korea. Basement bar in the infamous Itaewon district. I thought this view was kinda kool!

Seoul, South Korea. This very expensive but also very cool artificial river flows through the downtown core of the city. All hours of the day and night, this feature attracts both tourists and locals. Further on, the artificial river incorporates reeds and other natural grasses.

Seoul, South Korea. A popular and stylish karaoke house with little rooms that look out onto the street.

Seoul, South Korea. An artsy building for artistic offices!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Lob From Canada... South Korea

South Korea. Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Gyeongju, Damyang

August 26 - September 21, 2008

Yes, you read that correctly... Lob From Canada. In Korea, here's generally how it goes when I meet someone on the street:
"What is your name?"

"Rob," I attempt to say clearly and slowly.
"Lob?" they repeat.
I try a different version that seemed to work for Spanish people... "No, Robert." "Lob Lobert?", they say, excited that they understand me completely the first time.
"Yes, that's it... Lob," I concede. At least its a closer version than the stir-fry version I make trying to repeat their Korean names.

Landing in South Korea, I was overwhelmed by the massive rows of cloned apartment complexes that merged with a skyline otherwise dominated by large green hills (or mountains as the locals prefer to call them). Beneath, the neon cities are an epileptic's nightmare of flashing advertising for restaurants, DVD viewing rooms, karaoke clubs, and many other dubious 'entertainment' establishments that fill many floors of the commercial buildings. Luckily, my friend Minja, whom I'd met in Bosnia last summer, was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and ease my transition into South Korea.

In Korea there are many foreigners, but I am sure I was one of the only tourists. All the rest were teaching English, and it seems like a pretty good gig... From what I gather, the tax-free pay is very competitive with my salary as an engineer back in Canada... plus, the rent is included and the work hours are way less! A strange phenomenon among the westerners was the proliferation of extremely awkward North American guys who end up in South Korea. From casual observation and some well-placed eavesdropping, I am certain that these guys would be hard pressed to extract a phone number from a girl holding a telephone directory, yet in Korea, they are walking hand-in-hand with beautiful bombshell girlfriends! It seems this is the place I belonged in my early 20's!

As a cultural generalization, the Koreans seem like very strict law-abiding, organized, and very conservative citizens, yet there were some notable contradictions that I could not resolve. 1) Traffic... while it is not acceptable to J-walk on an obviously empty street, it seems perfectly acceptable (buses included) to run or ignore red lights. 2) The Elderly... given respect simply for being older, many elders have evolved into extremely rude and pushy individuals without respect for anyone else not sporting the ubiquitous white gloves and massive face-visors. Even on a jam-packed subway train, the seats reserved for the elderly and handicapped remain vacant. It doesn't even seem acceptable to sit in one of these seats and then willingly relinquish it when someone eligible comes along. Even more strange, these elderly and disabled seats are always at the end of the trains immediately next to the emergency buttons and fire extinguishers. Call me crazy, but my first choice of someone to weild the emergency axe or fire extinguisher wouldn't be old grandma with a walker and cataracts. 3) Sex... while it seems that Koreans are relatively sexually reserved as a culture, there are loads of neon drive-in love motels, fully equipped with private parking lots, free pornography, bigscreen TVs, moodlighting and mirrors, kingsize beds, energy drinks, hourly rates, and a no-identification-required check-in. These love hotels came in extremely handy for me since they were the only affordable accommodations in this non-touristy country...

While I spent most of my time in and around the bustling port city of Busan, I also managed to visit some outlying places of interest, including the temples of Gyeongju, the streets and malls of Daegu, the Biennale Art Festival in Gwangju, the bamboo forests of Damyang, and the traditional folk village near Andong. I have to apologize in advance for the misspellings, mistakes, and omissions in the text below, but I don't have my notes with me and am working from memory...