FamiLee Life

Korea Updates

South Korea prides itself on being the most wired country in the world and Seoul in particular is crazy for all things internet. Heck, it says something about a country when you have at least two television stations dedicated to video gaming and no other programming. That said, for some unknown reason, our hotel in Seoul - Sofitel Ambassador - was very nicely accommodated in all aspects BUT the internet. Our room was newly renovated but without internet hookup. We could get wireless for a small fee of 20,000 won (equal to about $24) per day. Ouch! Instead, HW and I opted to go to the plethora of PC bangs (rooms) in the neighborhood to check email once/day. However, the poorly air conditioned PC bangs filled with smoke and young kids chatting away while they played video games left me uninspired to blog. So, hence the month long silence on FamiLee Life.

We are now finishing up our trip on Jeju-do island in the southwestern tip of Korea. It's like the Hawaii of Korea and it's quite beautiful. A perfect relaxing conclusion to our trip to the motherland. Plus, as a bonus, they have free internet in the rooms! Hence, the latest spate of blog entries. It's my weak effort to catch up on what's been happening.

So, here are some of our first pics of the trip in somewhat chronological order (left to right, top to bottom)

1. Waiting for our flight from Chicago to Seoul/Incheon. Flying Korean Air is the way to go (don't fly a US airline to Korea!)
2. We arrived at the hotel and decided to wander around the 'hood to get a feel of things. HW got an iced green tea drink and tried to figure out our rented cell phone. We had to ask the coffeegirl for assistance.
3. The Dongguk University neighborhood/district
4. Meeting up with some of the other Minnesota folks who made the trip out (SY, JR, Lucy, John, Tate, HW). We went on to have dinner with a Korean repatriate (Jane) at (of all places) a Korean-style Chinese restaurant down the street for some yummy jja-jang-myun (homemade noodles with black bean sauce). Our first meal in Seoul.
5. Day 2 - Exploring Sinchon district with Kim.
6. Doing what we do best in Seoul -- Eating some bar food in Sinchon. Duk-boki is spicy rice cake.
7. Eating duk-boki is best with some homemade makkoli - a Korean rice wine that is unfiltered. It's sweet and sour, reflecting the soul of South Korea. Mmmm good. Later in the trip, I received an email from Kurt and Mike asking me to bring home some nu-ruk which is a yeast enzyme in the shape of a hamburger patty to make homemade Makkoli. I did find some of this stuff on Jeju-do at a farmer's market. Watch out Minnesota!