On a mission

One of my missions on this trip is to visit as many F1 circuits as I can.  Close to Gwangju is a city called Mokpo.  Close to Mokpo is the Korean F1 circuit.  Don’t try and get there when there are no races on.  It f*@# far away, especially if you are walking.  Rather take in the city of Mokpo with all its world class museums.

Speakin' Japanesey

Today I went to Gwangju, well off the tourist route.  But it is a great jumping point to other sights in the province.  That is if you can find a place to stay.  Namdo Guesthouse is an impossible hostel to find.  Not its location but the hostel itself.  But like the previous place it was well worth finding.  Mr Park is a great host and very sociable.  He had opened the hostel that summer and took it upon himself to make sure all his guest are happy and entertained, especially in the evenings.

Sorry to say but on Korea’s Independence Day (of Japan) I spoke a lot of Japanese.  At the same time I checked in to Namdo Guesthouse so did XXX.  She is a uni student doing her masters in archaeology.  Unlike most Koreans she couldn't speak much English.  But she did speak perfect Japanese.  Pera–pera to say the least.  We decided to go to the Gwangju National Museum together and so chatted mostly in Japanese.

Mount Horse Ear hike

Not to early Kevin, another French guy and I seat out for Mount Maisan, or Horse Ear Mountain.  A popular spot for Korean day trippers to get out in to nature and enjoy a stroll in the sweltering and unrelenting heat of the Korean summer.

Predictably we met a very boisterous and friendly group of people from Seoul.  Decked out in the newest and most expensive of hiking gear it didn’t take 1 minute of chatting before the beer, makgeolli and snacks appeared from seemingly nowhere.  Not to be rude I graciously accepted a crisply cool beer and shared it with my two fellow hikers.  The makgeolli was just as willingly received with the tasty snacks.

Slightly fortified we continued our hike to a temple hidden deep in the valley.  The hermit monk who established the temple build these weird spires which grace the front end of the temple.

In the evening another banquet, except this time with Kevin, Jisoo and CoCo.  Back at the hostel we drank copious amounts of beer with a few other people.  As the following day was Korea’s IndependenceDay (from Japan), Gwangbokjeol, we were not permitted to speak any Japanese after midnight.  Not to push the limits of national pride I acquiesced. 

A feast fit for a king!

During the day I explored much of Jeonju.  The city is famed for its well preserved old quarter.  A tourist trap for sure but very interesting and informative.

In the evening… another banquet!  I’d met Kevin the night before.  An Aussie whose family hales from Hong Kong he is definitely a food aficionado.  Kevin arranged for a group of us to have a traditional Korean style meal fit for a king… literally.  They served dishes that were offered in the times of yore to Korean royalty and in the same style.  To me, not to be critical, it was just another Japanese enkai but served in a Korean style with Korean food.  And it came with an enkai price tag.

After the banquet a group of us went to a noraebang a.k.a. karaoke.  Loads of fun.

I didn’t like the hostel I was staying in.  I just wasn’t getting good vibes from the guests or the people that ran the hostel.  I was planning on going east to a famous national park and hiking area.  But at the last minute I changed my mind and headed south to Jeonju.  A good choice to boot.

It was a bit of a hassle to find the only hostel in town, Jeonju Guesthouse, but well worth the search for this gem.  Jeonju Guest House is run by a charismatic man and his wife.  They are well informed and very sociable.  It was through him that I met Teresa.  Teresa, a devote Christian,  was travelling with her mom.  Her mom hadn’t been back to her home town, Jeonju, since she was about 7 years old.  Now in her early 60’s (?) she returned to meet with her long seen relatives.  A happy reunion from what I gathered.

I explored the town a little and then joined a big group of people for dinner.  The Koreans really do make a big thing about eating together.  Every meal is a banquet.  The restaurant we ate at had a very interesting concept.  You don’t pay for the food you eat. It is complimentary to the huge kettle of makgeolli you order.  The more makgeolli you drink the more food they bring.  Great idea!

The most interesting Changing Of the Guard

Since I hadn't seen much in the way of touristy sights in Seoul I decided to visit one of the palaces around the city center.  I returned to the area where James and I were doing the admin the day before.

I hadn't been there 5 minutes when I fell slap in the middle of a protest.  I’d learned a lot about the social unrest in Korea from a Frenchman, Julien Bally.  Julien is a freelance journalist (amount other occupations I gather) living in Japan.  He is based there with his girlfriend two weeks in a month.  In the remainder of the month he travels abroad covering various stories.

There is a lot of friction between the government and various groups within Korea.  The way that I understand it  the government, whichever party is in power, sits firmly in the hands of big business.  This is true for any (democratic?) state around the world, but exasperated in Korea by the hugeness of big business and the relative small geographic area of South Korea.  Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, Daewoo and LG are just a handful of the powerful international brands home to Korea.

Julien was reporting on the apparent gross human rights violations inflicted on a group of people (illegally?) evicted from their homes in an area earmarked for development by a large bank.  The victims were being intimidated by thugs and rapists employed (?) indirectly from the bank while the police and government turned a blind eye.  Bought by the bank?

The protest I witnessed was by a group of paraplegics wheelchair bound.  They had been promised certain civil services.  After the promise was made the government said they must pay for the services themselves.  I’m not sure on the facts here but it was still interesting seeing how the polices reacted to the protest.  The protesters wanted to interrupter the changing of the guard, nothing significant in the grand scheme of things, just another tourist attraction. 

Admin

After getting home at about 7am the day was a waste anyway.  So in the afternoon James and I had some admin to sort out regarding James’ flight to Thailand. James is off to attend a 10 day meditation course at somewhere in Thailand.  I’d decided to stay in Korea longer to check it out some more.

For dinner that evening we ate at an Outback Restaurant.  That's the biggest single piece of meat I'd eaten in a long time.  And it wasn't that big or tasty.

Armies and Parties

Seoul is a very cool and accessible city.  It has to be… it’s big.  The transport system is top notch with wifi and full mobile reception on all the subway systems (as in all Korean cities, like Busan too).  The result is a bunch of people talking to each other while on public transport.  This is a stark contrast in Japan where just hearing your phone ring in your pocket is an embarrassing no-no.

On our first day in Seoul we went to the DMZ –DeMilitarized Zone.  I learned a lot of interesting things from our very informative guide:

• Most striking is the DMZ is still in effect a war zone
• Although the number of South Koreans far outnumbers the Norther Koreans they can't just  invade because of the threat nuclear weapons.  Nobody knows just how crazy Kim Jong Il just is.  And Seoul, with its massive population of civilians, is very close to the DMZ.
• The Americans were (and still are) happy keeping a buffer between its ally and communist China.
• Most South Koreans do want to reunite with North Korea.  But they are weary after considering what the social costs to their own country might be.
• I’m stupid for not taking more pictures, but it was a cloudy day.

In the evening we had a good seafood meal, got very drunk on soju and hit a hit-up a club.

We must have looked like crap on the underground on the way home!

Small country

In the morning we went back to the temple I’d been to before, Bulguksa Temple.  I’d actually wanted to go back because it is quite a sight.  Not big or anything but just beautiful.

In the afternoon we bee-lined it to Seoul.  South Korea is a surprisingly small country. From one end to the other is a very short distance.  It’s the traffic, as always, that takes so long. 

In the evening I introduced James to Ginseng Chicken.  Delicious!

Finally, leaving Busan

Kicking it out of Busan took a tad longer than planned.  James had accidentally forgotten his camera at the hostel.  Two hours later after a return trip from the bus station to the hostel we were on our way.  No stress James!

Back to Gwangju for me, the two hour bus ride slipped by.  We took in a few of the sights I’d seen before.  When we got back to the hostel James bumped into Alejandro in the corridor and invited him to see a show with us in the evening.  Alejandro is an ALT in Korea so it was interesting learning the similarities and differences between teaching English in Japan and Korea.  In summary:  same shit, different place!

In the evening we ate Bibimbap, a tradition meal served in a searing hot iron pot.

Get'tin bored

Another day of sightseeing and ‘hectic bat’ would be our last day in Busan.  I did eat a delicious burger though.

Busan Rocks!

I’d found out about the Busan International Rock Festival before James had arrived.  It goes on for a few days so we thought we’d check it out.  Let’s just say we didn’t have to go back.

Drunken Pick up

After being handed a great deal of ‘hectic bat’, ie. no action, I made it to the port in time to meet James coming off the ferry from Japan.

Lets say nothing much happened this day except we did make it back to Gwangalii Beack.  To be handed some more ‘hectic bat’.

Delicious Chicken

After seeing Satoshi off in the morning a French dude and I went to a local UNESCO World Heritage Site, Yangdong Folk Village.  It’s supposed to be some marvelous old village.  Save you money, time and sanity.  Don’t go.  Not worth the effort.

I do hope I get to meet Satoshi again.

Before going to Busan the Frenchman introduced me to “Ginseng Chicken” or Samgyetang.  Delicious and filling.  The Koreans KNOW how to eat. 

In Busan I met an Auzie dude who was also a JET.  We decided to hit the town.  After some tasty Korean style sashimi we went to Gwangalli Beach to chase some skirt.

Wow! Big Spider

Inspired by Satoshi I myself hired a bike… for the day.  Fortunately the surrounding area is fairly flat.  I enjoyed the day on the bike but my butt didn’t.  I’m sure bicycles seats are called “blades”.  If not they should be!

On my journey I found many ancient royal graves and a really really cool temple, Bulguksa Temple.  I now understand a little of the animosity the Koreans have against the Japanese.  The Japanese invaded the Korean peninsula a lot.  And they destroyed much of it, quite often in fact.

Another interesting site is the Reunification Park.  Gyeongju it the ancient capital because it is the seat where three separate kingdoms were unified into one Korea.  It is called theReunification Park because there is a desire among the South Koreans to be reunited with the North.

Satoshi ran into some bad luck this day.  To cheer him up I bought him his dinner.  Well worth it!

New Age Famalies

Counting my losses I decided to go to Gyeongju – the ancient capital of both Koreas.  It is similar to Kyoto as an old capital but a lot less revered.

It is really a marvelous place and was recommended to me by Saito sensei (a teacher at Hamada High School who has travelled to Korea many times).

On my arrival I checked into a pretty cool hostel, Han Jin Hostel, all be it a little rundown.

Now nobody can say Korea isn’t a highly technological country.  Everything is digitized.  There are even huge information points in the metro stations that display Google Maps among other techno wizardry.  But I find it a little off putting when 12 year old kids are walking through a museum playing on their brand new Samsung Galaxy tablet, not paying any attention to the amazing displays around them.  Even more disturbing are kids’ moms watching as the kids’ progress in the game.  I don’t expect the moms to chide their children.  This is a new age we live in.  But couldn’t they themselves appreciate their own culture a little more?  New meaning to the term family outing.

I met Satoshi at the hostel in the evening.  He is a really cool Japanese dude and we got on well from the moment we met.  He is cycling all the way from Japan to London.  Go for it Satoshi.