South Korea photo album - click here
Busan
I boarded the 10:30 AM JR Beetle ferry from Fukuoka to Busan Harbor. This was a surprisingly smooth trip...it only took about two and a half hours to get from Japan to South Korea, and I was able to sleep for almost the whole trip. While on the Beetle, I met a couple fellow backpackers from America. They were doing a 3-month Asia tour...sort of makes my 3-week tour seem tame by comparison.
After arriving in Busan, I learned my first hard lesson about South Korea - getting around is extremely difficult if you can't speak or read Korean. I knew I had to board the 5-1 bus, and then get dropped off after 14 stops at a bus stop with a name spelled out in Korean characters. THAT was my plan to get to the hotel. Of course this plan failed miserably and I ended up hailing a cab to take me the rest of the way to my hotel. But even that was almost a failure - he drove me around for 15 minutes and could not figure out where my hotel was. Finally I found the Korean characters for my hotel name (the address wasn't good enough) and he was able to find it.
(According to Frommer's: Korean addresses are based on the year when a building was constructed, not based on its geographic location. So even if you have an address printed out, a taxi driver may be helpless to get you there)
Busan was a great time. My hotel was in a big shopping area called Seomyeon...this was a really happening part of town. After the sun went down, this place looked like the Las Vegas strip. Neon lights flashing everywhere, with bars and restaurants on every corner. On Friday night, there just happened to be a hip-hop concert in the street, which drew a crowd of at least a couple thousand people. I checked it out for awhile and soaked in some Korean style hip-hop music.
The next day I walked around Chinatown in Busan. Just my luck - there was a China Culture Festival taking place when I showed up, complete with marching bands and traditional Chinese dancers. While walking around, I saw a white guy strumming on a banjo. He yelled to me "Where ya from?" so I walked over to him. His name was Alan (a native Brit) and he's homeless...he said he's been living that way for decades while traveling the world. Apparently he's managed to travel the globe and live in almost every country in the world, just from living on charitable donations he collects in the street. He recommended that I read Psalm 23 and Psalm 91, which I did later that night. Here's Alan and his banjo:
I also visited the Haeundae Beach in Busan, which was awesome. It was packed full of people, even late at night. Street performers were playing & singing music, people were setting off fireworks, and the weather was beautiful.
Seoul
Boarding the KTX Korail train to Seoul was one of the only easy things I've done while travelling around here in South Korea. The trip took about 3 hours, and interestingly enough, nobody even bothered to check my ticket on the entire trip. The ride was comfortable and smooth.
After pulling into Seoul Station, I couldn't help but feel like I was in an American train station. The restaurants I saw include: KFC, Burger King, Bennigans, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Coldstone, Starbucks, Baskin Robbins and more. I slowly began to realize just how "Americanized" this culture really is.
I had yet another logistical nightmare trying to find my hotel. With the help of a random nice Korean guy, I boarded the correct subway line and got off at the right station near my hotel. Beyond that, my plan was to simply walk around and look for a Marriott sign. After stepping outside I saw a big Marriott sign in the distance...I figured I would try to walk it. It was 80+ degrees outside and sunny. I'm also wearing my full backpack (my "ruck" in military terms). While walking I try hailing several cabs, but the drivers just say "no, sorry" even after seeing my printed out hotel address. After walking for over an hour, I get to the Marriott building...and it's the wrong Marriott. [Curse word removed] They were nice enough to call a cab for me and tell the driver (in Korean) where to take me.
There is a big shopping mall called Times Square connected to my hotel. I walked around the mall and got another taste of how consumer-obsessed Korean culture is. The mall was full of international clothing stores and restaurant chains, and it was packed beyond belief with shoppers. Another thing I've noticed - Koreans are incredibly fashionable people. Everyone I see is dressed super sharp with very nice clothes...it makes me feel like a bum half the time. In an attempt to fit in, I bought a Korean-style short-sleeved dress shirt - you will see a picture of this later : )
Today I went to Gyeongbokgung Palace...it was actually the only major tourist attraction that is open on Mondays. It was beautiful, and I even got to see a ceremonial march taking place:
While here, I learned just how war-torn South Korea is. It's been invaded so many times throughout its history (by the Chinese and Japanese) that there aren't many original historic buildings even left. All of their ancient temples and palaces have been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over the past 1000 years. Gyeongbokgung was most recently rebuilt in the 20th century, after the Japanese destroyed it during their occupation of South Korea in the early 1900's. Sadly, only 10% of the original structures remain.
It's really hard to condense everything I've seen...this post ran on for longer than I wanted it to. More to come later.
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