A weekend of Seoul

On Friday night, Unje and Mr. Han kindly gave me a lift to their airport. I thanked them with dinner and they escorted me to my gate. We all started to cry (fake tears) at my departure, before hugging with laughter. (We share many laughs together, as I’ve found that the goofier my humor, the great the chance it will transcend language barriers.) I met with Shelby, Amy, Jeff, and Cambell and together we flew to Gimpo airport in Seoul. It took awhile, but we eventually found our destination on the subway map and made our way to Itaewon. In a city of ten million people, it took us a matter of minutes to find a familiar face. While we were supposed to eventually meet up with Jess, we hadn’t yet spoken on the phone, and here she was.... Strange. We spent a good part of the evening at a bar called the Bungalow. Our group had a private, candlelit alcove with a sand floor. A broken leg had kept me off the dance floor for long enough. I think I danced for three or four hours. Koreans are fantastic dancers-at least the sport the best smiles. The seven of us ended up crashing on a hotel floor, a decision most of them made again the following night.

Saturday was spent wandering the streets of Seoul. We did some shopping and did our best to take in what we could of the enormous city. The highlight of the trip was spotting two girls we “free hugs” signs. I gave one of them a hug and she smiled before handing me the sign. I only had the sign for a couple of moments before I had to pass it on, but then the group gathered for a hug and a great photo. Several Koreans wanted to get in on the various photo ops that followed, and then we were on our way.

Saturday night I had the first cheeseburger I’ve had since Dempsy’s Kobe Burger. The early morning hours were spent like the night before-dancing with Koreans. I met a girl named Me-Nae. She spoke English well and told me about all the places she has visited. She and her friend joined us for singing at a Nori bong, and for 4 o’clock AM meal. We said goodnight and Jeff, Cambell and I headed back to the hotel. Cambell had found a premium spot to sleep under a chair, so when I suggested seeking out a Jim Jel Bong we grabbed our bags and headed down to the reception desk. The receptionist was incredibly helpful and, after correcting our pronunciation of Jim Jel Bong, he set to work finding us a place to stay... other than the hotel. He grabbed us a cab, which took us far far away-apparently citizens of Seoul are not so keen on the public bathing as are my neighbors in Seogwipo.

Seoul was incredible, and I can’t wait to go back again and again. However, while I enjoyed my time in the big city, I couldn’t have been more pleased to board the plane and head back to my home in Seogwipo.