IMH: Unfortunately we only had 3 nights and 2 days to dedicate to South Korea, and so we decided to spend the little time we had in Seoul, the South Korean Capital. With over ten million people, Seoul is South Korea's largest city and one of the most populous cities in the world.
We were delighted to find out on the flight from Osaka to Seoul that the annual "Hi Seoul Festival" - a spectacular showcase of local talent and culture - was happening during the period we're there and as if that's not enough also the Seoul Wine and Spirits Expo! Even though we followed a hectic schedule in Japan and were quite tired, we realised that Seoul was not going to be any different as there is a lot to do and see.
Our accommodation at Seoul Backpacker was ideally located in the Namdaemun Market area where you can buy anything from fresh fish, meat, fruit and other eateries, to camping gear. We especially enjoyed seeing the "live food" on display, which included frogs, turtles, all sorts of fish and shell fish, even octopus.
We were pleasantly surprised by the 'Cookin' Nanta' theatrical show we decided to see on our first night - an authentic (but not old-style traditional) Korean theatre production. This show has very little talking or singing and is enthusiastic, energetic and participative - similar to STOMP or Tap Dogs, but in the kitchen with knifes, rolling pins, pots, pans, dustbins, cups, spoons and other kitchen utensils with a great punch line. On the way home we caught the last 'Hi Seoul Festival' show for the night which was a live Latin-American performance and a brilliant end to a talent enthused evening.
The following day the 'Hi Seoul Festival' hosted the Friendship Festival where the Korean culture, together with international cultures - their friends, was celebrated by means of song and dance. A brilliant atmosphere and very interesting performances kept us from further sightseeing and was a wonderful way to experience the Korean culture and people.
The Korean Wine and Spirits Expo was scheduled for the afternoon and even though it was very busy (not mentioning the fact that we took the subway the wrong way round which means it took us over an hour to get there) it was a brilliant show and we were able to taste wines from all over the globe, including Uruguay. We also had delicious wines from South Africa and met some great people.
Our last day in Seoul was put aside for sightseeing, but after the first palace, we decided to find places where the locals hang-out on Sundays and experience the weekend Korean city life. It was very interesting to see how many markets is set-up in the streets and how many people mill around in these areas with loud music to shop and meet their friends. I was fascinated by just watching the people.
We enjoyed dinner and drinks a friend, Keith and his girlfriend, whom we met on the Ha Long boat trip in Vietnam. They treated us to a Korean barbeque, where you cook your own meat, usually fatty pork, on a gas cooker or coals in the middle of the table and have with traditional vegetables with it. It was delicious and we were also educated in how to prepare and eat the meal the Korean way, which we did not have a clue when trying it the previous evening for the first time to the table next door's entertainment. Thanks for a great evening guys!
Some interesting details I learnt in Seoul: there is a specific vegetable; to me it tastes like pickled cabbage, which the Koreans have with EVERY meal. Apparently each household has a dedicated fridge to store only this vegetable. In general, the Koreans are not very fond of the Japanese or Americans. It seems as though their government either follow America fully or Japan fully and many of their government systems, e.g. education system, is based on both the Japanese and American education systems - how confusing. This, of course, comes from the history Korea had with Japan and America and I think we might find the same in China. As I knew very little of the Asian history, our trip has been an eye-opener for me and I see Japan, Korea and China in a complete different light.
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