After going to the café, we headed to Insadong, an area in Seoul that is all traditional Korean shops and restaurants. I noticed even American places like Starbucks were all in Korean. The sign said, 스타박스. After looking around for a bit, we then went to Jongro, a very interesting spot in Seoul. This place reminded me of Shinjuku in Japan, especially at night, with all the lights and lanterns and bright colors. We went to a Korean restaurant where we ate traditional Korean pizza or jeon (전). We also drank makgeoli with jeon which was delicious. Like makgeoli, jeon has a variety of types. We had two different types of jeon. One I remember was kimchi jeon (김치전) and the other I don’t remember. But both were very tasty.
After eating and drinking, it was quite dark so we had to call it a night because I was staying with my friend in Incheon. Incheon is on the Seoul subway line but it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to my station and that’s if they are no delays or if I don’t get lost. So we said our farewells and were thankful for such a great night. I arrived at my friend’s apartment in Incheon about 1 hour and 30 minutes later so it was a good idea that I left a little early.
The next day I my friend from Incheon and I went to Jongro and met his girlfriend. We ate a little American food, such as pasta and pizza but it was restaurant style so very nice. Afterwards, we walked toward Cheonggyecheon, also known as “Seoul Forest.” It is a popular stream that runs along the city and the president of Korea is said to have restored the area as part of his term as mayor. It is a popular tourist spot and it was beautiful during the day. Then we went to the most crowded area in Seoul for shopping in Myeongdong. I have never been to Myeongdong on the weekend so I had no idea how crowded it could get. The only way to describe it was a continuous crowd of people. It seemed like the crowds never stopped. It was fun though we stopped a place where we got a sticker picture, which is just a photo with writing on it. It is something friends and couples like to do. However, it is Japanese culture not Korean. So Korea has many Japanese influences like karaoke and even animation. It was good afternoon and it was just another day in Seoul. I stayed in Seoul last summer so I had experienced the life in Seoul but it was great to spend time with friends.
That night I met with another friend in Incheon. She was also another friend I had made at Ball State University. Her name was Boram. We became pretty close friends a couple of years ago so it was great to hang out with her again. We ate some songyeop sal (송겹살) which consists of thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat. It is similar to bacon in America. It was nice to talk since we haven’t seen each other in awhile. We walked around the city a little and then ate some ice cream at McDonalds. McDonalds here in Korea is very different than in America. Everything is smaller, lol. But on the plus side, not as big means it’s not as greasy or fat so it’s better for you. The time we met felt longer than it was because we haven’t sat down and talked in ages so when we said goodbye, I was satisfied.
I met with Sangwon that night and went to downtown in Incheon and we had some more food and drinks. We just hung out together and talked about our lives. It was a great weekend. But Monday came too soon and I had to leave for Daegu the next morning. I took a bus from Incheon terminal and I slept most of the way. It was very nice and peaceful. The KTX train may be faster but the bus was peaceful and quiet. Everyone seemed to be tired.
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