As many of you may know, my wife is Korean-American; she was born in the U.S. to two immigrants from Korea who both came here in there young-adulthood as their parents fled the Korean peninsula for reasons associated with that country’s civil war. Many of you also may know that we, as a family, try to take one “big” vacation every year, with the majority of those occurring in Europe (last summer, we spent a couple of weeks in Slovenia).
What many (most?) of you don’t know is that none of us (with the exception of my wife) had ever been to Korea. It is not that we didn’t want to go, but for various reasons over the years (my older son is now 23), “the trip” had been postponed, delayed, or otherwise scuttled. It happened so often that it became a common theme that whenever “Korea” was mentioned, one of us would openly question the nation’s existence; we had heard so much about it over the years, but none of us had ever been there.
Until now.
Last week, the four of us embarked on a two-week trip to Korea, or as Nathan said: The Mother Land.
After visiting the palace, we stopped to get lunch. The restaurant only served one thing: piping hot soup with half a chicken in it. Those who know me well are aware that those are two of my least favorite things: hot liquids and meat on bones. But it was good! I felt like I grew a bit today….After lunch, my wife and I ditched the boys (they can only handle so much “culture” a day) and headed to Bukchon Hanok Village, where dozens of traditional Korean houses (Hanok) are still inhabited and part of a thriving section of the city.While the houses are certainly charming, they were not made for anyone near my size and the “windows” are covered with a special kind of paper. So yeah, no way. Fine to visit, but…As with most older homes anywhere on the planet, I am always fascinated by the roofs, for whatever reason.That evening, we headed to the Gangnam District, the financial hub of Seoul, and about a 45 minute Uber ride away (Seoul is huge).The main attraction for us, was the Starfield Library, located inside the Starfield Coex Mall, which is the only way we could get the boys to join us.If the name “Gangnam” rings a bell, it was this region of the city that Psy made famous when he sung about the region’s “Style” and generated some 2 billion hits on YouTube, effectively changing music forever. (The song plays on a continual loop by this statue: Oppan Gangnam Style!That night I had Bibimbap, my favorite Korean dish.The following day, we hired a tour guide to take us to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone): a four kilometer swath of land between North and South Korea. We also stopped by the Gamaksan Suspension Bridge, which was built to honor the 1st Battalion Gloucester Regiment of the British Army, who fought near here during the Korean War.We also visited the much less dramatic, but more historic Freedom Bridge, across which some 13,000 prisoners of war marched to their freedom at the end of hostilities in 1953.The DMZ has become a bit of a tourist attraction even though you really can’t take pictures of much of anything. The war is still technically not over, and it seems as though the South Koreans are really nervous about the North getting any sort of intel to help them invade. Or something. I really don’t know.The following day, we took the train down to Busan, Korea’s second largest city, but not before I had this donkkaseu, a fried pork cutlet in a taty sauce. I opted for the fried shrimp on top for another two bucks, since, well, fried shrimp.Even though we are not beach people, we opted for a hotel right on Haeundae Beach. This is literally the view from our room.Our stay in Busan coincided with a sand sculpture event, which was pretty amazing. This is one depicts a scene with Le Petit Prince, which the Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan adopted as its unoffical mascot in 2009 as the refuge area transformed in to an art and cultural mecca.Many cities in Korea, including Seoul and Busan, have healthy “street food” cultures, which have served as inspiration for many chefs from around the world, including the U.S., where Korean food and ingredients have become almost mainstream.I am a sucker for good mando (dumplings) and these jjin-mando (steamed dumplins) were stellar. But my mother-in-law remains undefeated when it comes to making the best mando.… and my wife’s hamul pajeon (seafood pancakes) still reign supreme.Busan is also known for its galbi (beef short rib), which we gleefully gobbled up one night.I also need to mention that our hotel in Busan had one of the best wine shops, not just in Busan, or even Korea, but I have not seen the likes of it really anywhere. It only had about 100 bottles, but holy cow. With fantastic prices. And yes, that is the night view from our room. Not too shabby at all.
I will be back next week with more pictures from our trip!
I have been an occasional cycling tour guide in Europe for the past 20 years, visiting most of the wine regions of France. Through this "job" I developed a love for wine and the stories that often accompany the pulling of a cork. I live in Houston with my lovely wife and two wonderful sons.
the drunken cyclist 