Korea!
About two weeks ago, Greg Bell and I took a short jaunt to South Korea, for a couple of shows representing the State of Victoria. No pressure. It’s not like we had to be a composite representation of all artists for the whole of Australia or anything. Just for the State. Gah!
Of course, my biggest question, after checking the weekly weather forecast, was ‘what was I going to wear?’ Just kidding.
No I’m not.
I decided to pack for all conditions and, hence, overpacked. My only two suitcases are sized either for carry-on, or house-moving, so I figured this four-day trip fell into the latter category.
The only thing I didn’t pack into my mobile-home, was my laptop. I took books instead and I read them (I mention the last part only because I often take books with me, but I seldom read them. Like the muesli bars that I took with me on this particular adventure and am only just eating now, as I type. They’re quite flat from their travel of over twenty hours in the air and many days by land, but they still taste okay). I thought that I would have very little access to the internet, while I was away. Wrong! South Korea has the fastest, most readily available, free wifi, of any country. Anyway, I was happy for the lighter load and for the literary love. I posted a few short points of interest (mostly food), as you may have noticed, and now here I am filling in the blanks.
Shall we get on with it then?
1. Bibimbap Faux Pas – On the plane, the meal choices were pasta, bibimbap, and something that I couldn’t understand, even after asking three times for the flight attendant to repeat the selection (I am quite deaf). I chose bibimbap. I’ve eaten this dish countless times in both Melbourne and LA, but not for a while and I was a little excited. I was handed my tray of ready-to-assemble separate dishes, accompanied by an instruction sheet with easy to follow pictures. ‘Do you know how to eat this?’, the very helpful attendant offered. ‘Oh yeah’, I said, with an air of been-there-done-that-and-got-the-attitude-to-prove-it, which must’ve sounded somewhat cocky. She retracted her offer of the pictorial guide and left me to it. I panicked, took the top off my seaweed soup and as I poured it onto my rice, I knew it was wrong. As I ate my bowl of shame, that resembled congee with kimchi, I caught the eyes widen on the face of our dear offeree, as she glanced over my porridge, before speeding past to offer assistance to a more just and attentive cause.
2. Pointing is rude – I read it in the travel guide that the Victorian Government kindly provided, alongside my itinerary. I believe Mr Benjamin Law just wrote an article on the perversity of the mind in these situations. I had not been on Korean turf for more than ten minutes (half an hour, if you count customs), when I raised my index and poked it in the face of our lovely tour manager, Min’s face, in a gesture of mock accusation at how wonderfully organised she was. A ham-fisted/fingered show of appreciation from the crass Australian that she would be herding for the next four days. First impressions are everything.
3. Gyeongbokgung Palace – It’s really a city within a city. Right in the heart of Seoul, where apartment living is highly necessary (and I mean highly, as in high-rise, due to the lack of space on the ground), this 600 year old palace sits on the lion’s share of land. I tried to find documentation on the actual size of the grounds, but I couldn’t. Please feel free to offer such information and I’ll update this post. All I can say is that it took us over two hours to cover one third of the palace! There are some photos on my facebook page, if you click on the photo above. They are mostly of walls, because I love the textures of the different brickwork and mosaics. Such a beautiful world. I would go there every day to eat my lunch, if I worked nearby.
4. Discipline! - Within the palace, there were many groups of tourists, as you would expect. There were also large numbers of local students boisterously roaming about on excursions, which I really enjoyed seeing. In one of the main areas, near the entrance, they appeared to be having some sort of assembly. Kids gathered in a group, sitting in rows, to form a rough square. The teacher would shout a word and they would all stand, he’d shout again and they’d all sit. They did this over and over again. It seemed non-sensical and it looked pretty funny. I asked Min why he would just make them sit down and stand up repeatedly. ‘For discipline,’ was her reply.
5.Saengil Chukha Hamnida – After the gig that night, we went to an awesome bar that sat on a raised patio, that you entered via stairs from a back alley. We were offered blankets (or towels, depending on whether you wanted to take a dip in the wading pool that lay by your feet) and a whole bottle of spirits, plus a measuring glass, to pour your own mixed drinks. The group of girls next to us were live-facebooking themselves on smartphones encased in animal shaped protective cases, applying make-up to their sweet wrinkle-free faces, whilst holding up mirrors that resembled anime characters. Apparently it was a ‘young persons’ bar. This was confirmed, when at the stroke of midnight, they began singing, ‘saengil chukha hamnida’, to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’. They insisted we share some of their cake with them. They were 24. They were lovely. Thanks for the cake, ladies!
6. Fast Train! - We took the train to Busan. It went so fast (around 300kms, between stations!), that my ears were in a constant state of confusion. Up or down? They seemed to be asking my head.
7. Pixelated Camouflage – It’s compulsory to serve time in the military here. All the soldiers are in their late teens, early twenties. At the train stations, you can see them hanging out in groups. Personal touches of a pirate-style ‘skull and cross-bone’ duffle bag, or thick hipster framed glasses, surprised me in their casual nod to civilian life. I saw a lone soldier, whose camouflage uniform print was pixelated. Is this a particular division, or do they get to ‘pimp’ their ‘forms?
8. Wonder Woman – She’s a retro icon here.
9. Food – You didn’t think I’d forgotten about the food, did you? I’ve posted some food photos, for those who food-photo fetishists like myself. My favourite? Kimchi pancake. Yeah!
10. Because – Nine seemed odd.
Kamsahamnida!
X
p.s. Whilst googling the correct spelling of ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘thank you’ in Korean, I found this:
(Nae hoebuhkeurapeuteuneun changuhro kadeuk cha isseyo)
