Let me give you a little background in case you stumbled upon this site via a search engine or a link somewhere.  Please note that while this is a heavily visited portion of my site, it started as a journal for my friends and family to read... and as time passed, sites began linking to it.  I never intended it to be viewed by the public, initially. But that was years ago. So anyway...

Stardate: June 2001

My name is Chris (aka Prymal) and my girlfriend of almost two years is Hyun-Jung (HJ).  She is a PhD student at Northwestern University and I am a web developer at a mobile software company.

So, in preparation for taking our relationship to the next level, HJ wanted me to visit Korea to meet her family, to know where she grew up and also to understand the cultural differences that exist between East and West.  I can honestly say that I've learned more about Asian history in these short two weeks than in all of my schooling combined.

Let the adventure begin.

06.23.01

Chris and HJ Depart from Chicago O'Hare International Airport @ 13:00.

06.24.01

Arrived at Inch'on International Airport, Republic of Korea (South Korea for those not in the know) @ 16:00 right at the start of the humid and rainy monsoon season.

Waiting for us once we passed through customs were HJ's brother and sister.  Unfortunately, HJ's brother had a prior engagement and took public transportation home.  So, now the car was left at the airport, and seeing as neither HJ nor her sister could drive, we had to wait until her father arrived from Hong Kong--about an hour later.  Inch'on is actually an island off the west coast of Korea in the Yellow Sea.

At first glance, things weren't much different from the U.S. but as I will discover throughout my two weeks, there were plenty of similarities and differences.  What I first noticed was that everything is within walking distance from their home--shops, subway, restaurants, theatre, etc.  Also, there's really no need to own a car in Seoul as public transportation is abundant.

After the hour drive from the airport to downtown Seoul (Seochu-Ku, to be specific), we freshened up a bit and walked to Poo-Il Kalbi (don't make fun of the names) for a dinner full of mouth-watering... yep, you guessed it... kalbi.  Kalbi basically is meaty short ribs marinated in traditional seasonings and cooked long and slow.  Let me tell you, this is my absolute favorite Korean dish.  Kalbi is so rich and full of flavor, just thinking about it now is making my mouth salivate.  I've had kalbi a few times in Chicago so I knew what to expect.  :)

After dinner, I couldn't help but fall asleep as soon as we got home.  The 14 hour time difference was the culprit.

06.25.01

HJ and I both woke up rather early, so we took this opportunity to to walk around Seoul in the morning.  I noticed a few oddities... there are no sidewalks on the narrow side streets, making both car travel and walking difficult at peak hours.  On the main streets, there are nice wide sidewalks, however, be careful of the motorcycles and mopeds that prefer not to ride in the street (and believe me, there are plenty).  Motorcycles and mopeds are typically used for delivery of small items, and not recreational drivers like in the U.S.  At intersections, I noticed that they have countdown street crossing timers, indicating that you have five-four-three-two-one seconds to reach the other curb. (These are in addition to the usual green/red walk/don't walk indicators.)  Now if only Chicago had such a thing.

Anyway, HJ and I went to Dunkin Donuts for the obvious (Can you believe it?  The second day in Seoul and I go to Dunkin Donuts!?).  After, we just had to go visit a few record stores, and boy am I glad I did.  Just to give you an idea, a typical CD costs anywhere from $6-$10 after conversion... and there is no tax.  I came home with about 25 CD's.

After pleading with HJ to visit as many record shops as possible, we had lunch at a restaurant called the Pavilion and ended the day with The Mummy Returns at the City Theatre with Korean Subtitles running down the side.  They also have assigned seating in the theatre which I wasn't expecting.  Below are some pictures that were taken during our day.

The Mummy Returns in Korean.	Weenybopper's Live Club!? What the...?	This must be where all the Weenyboppers hang out.	I think McDonalds followed us to Seoul.
There's even a Baskin Robbins!	Movie theatre.

06.26.01 --> 06.29.01

Tuesday morning, we left early for the 400 km trip to Kyong-Ju.  Along the way, we stopped at HJ's mother's burial site where HJ prepared food and drink for the ceremony.  I was asked by HJ's father to partake in the traditional Korean ceremony.  At first I was worried I would be disrespectful to her mother, but he assured me that she would want this.  After the ceremony, we all sat down on a blanket and ate much food.

A few hours later we arrived at the Kyong-Ju TEMF Hotel.  Basically, we did everything and saw everything we could those three days.  A brief synopsis of Kyong-Ju:  For 1000 years, up until the 10th century, Kyong-Ju was the capital of the Shilla Dynasty.  Nearly 1000 years later, Kyong-Ju is an open-air museum masquerading as a small provincial town littered with ancient rubble.  Those keen on Shilla culture or archaeology will be in heaven, wandering through the remains of temples, tombs, shrines, palaces, and pleasure gardens.  Every meal was authentic Korean (no fast food on this trip), and even though I'm a picky eater, I always found a few things to enjoy.  The Japanese of the 16th century destroyed much of Kyong-Ju, and it has since been restored.  The Koreans have had many confrontations with the Japanese in history; odd considering they introduced the Japanese to writing and Buddhism.  With that, enjoy the following pictures that I took.

Kyong-Ju TEMF Hotel.	Random signs at the drive exiting the hotel.	Bulguska Temple.	Damn, I'm white!
The Temple entrance.	Side view of the Temple.	One of many Pagoda's in Korea.	A Hall within the Temple.
Intricate building structure.	I am Buddha!	A rooftop view.	What have we here?
The 5 of us signed our names on a roof tile for future restoration projects.	Wide-view of tiny Pagoda	Close-up of tiny Pagoda.	Now this is a big tortoise.
Lunch time!!	HJ and I at the most famous bell in Korea, the King Song-Dok bell (or "Emille" bell) cast in 771 AD.	A full view of the bell.	Ch'onmach'ong Tomb entrance.
Traditional tombs of the Shilla Dynasty.	A peaceful view.	I'm thinking this is the way out...	Native white-bellied Korean squirrels.  Note:  Edited photo.
Something we don't see much of in Chicago... rice fields.	Pagoda's on the Kamunsa Temple site built in 682 AD.	Undersea tomb of Monmu-Wang sign.	Aerial graphic representation of undersea tomb
HJ and I on the beach.  Behind is Monmu-Wang's tomb in the East Sea (also known as Sea of Japan).	This is as close as I could get to the tomb.	Have you ever seen drying squid before?	Sokkul-Am Buddhist Grotto.  Unfortunately, they wouldn't allow pictures inside.
Don't forget to wash your hand (singular).

06.30.01

HJ's brother and I went to a large 8 floor computer vendor shopping center where I bought a 32mb SmartMedia card for my digital camera for 20,000 Won (roughly $15).  Now I can store some 450 pictures instead of the measly 122 with my 8mb card.  He ended up buying the Diablo expansion pack and a numeric keypad for his ThinkPad.  

Back at home, we ordered Koreanized Chinese food for lunch--it was very tasty, yet different from American Chinese food.  Her father called the meat a Chinese burger.

Towards the evening, HJ, her sister and I were off to her brother's acapella group concert.  He's been in the group, called In-Gong Wi-Sung, for quite a number of years and their first CD, released in '92 (I believe) sold 200,000 copies!!!  Now, if only A New January could reach those numbers.  :)  They were very good--sang a few Korean songs and 2 English songs.  On board for this concert was a guest from Japan who did sound effects.  Let me tell you, this guy was amazing!  I wish I had taken pictures, or even better, digital video.

After the show, HJ and I were off to meet 15 of her friends at a housewarming party for a newly married couple.  I was a bit apprehensive, only because I didn't think I'd be able to talk to anyone, but in Korea, English is part of the coursework from early on.  Unfortunately though, they are unable to regularly practice those skills in everyday conversation... so that's where I came in.  At first, I was pretty much keeping to myself and sitting next to HJ.  Then I saw some people go out onto the balcony for a cigarette, so I decided to join them.  From then on, I was having the time of my life.  They started asking me some pretty bizarre questions on all sorts of topics ranging from movies to pollution to music to smoking to drinking to how things are in America, etc.  Needless to say, we all smoked and drank quite a bit.  I'm really glad I came along.  :)

The taxi ride home was something else.  It was my first experience in a Korean taxi... but certainly not my last.  If you think the cab drivers in Chicago or New York are nuts, man, you ain't seen nothing yet!!  Picture driving down a road similar to Michigan Avenue with the stoplights and all at 120 km/h!!!!!!  That's roughly 75 mph!  So he's weaving in and out of traffic like the world's going to end if we don't get to our destination on time.  But I'll get into more of the driving styles of Koreans later on.  :)

07.01.01

Sunday is here.  Only one more week left.  :(  We went to KFC for lunch, stopped by the foreign exchange bank to withdraw some cash and proceeded to take a taxi to Insadong, a neighborhood north of the Han River.  They close off the streets to cars on Sundays to let the hundreds and hundreds of people walk from shop to shop and also to allow local merchants to set up their displays in the streets.  Insadong is known for its calligraphy shops, tea houses, pottery shops and gift shops.  It's about a mile long with shops on both sides of the streets.  It was hot.  Very hot.  Unfortunately, most of the shops didn't have air conditioning, so to cool off, we found ourselves in a traditional Korean tea shop, sipping on ice cold green tea.  I bought a few gifts for my family and also for myself.

I couldn't resist not taking a picture of KFC's menu.	Me, at Insadong, standing in the middle of the street.	Hello Mr. Clown on stilts?  How are you today?	Some traditional Korean music for the shoppers...
A random building.

Back in Seochu-Ku (the area of Seoul were HJ lives), I returned to one of the the local record stores and bought... you guessed it... CD's.  Back home, HJ prepared a scrumptious steak dinner (I so missed western food...hehehe) with fried zucchini, grilled mushrooms and rice.  Later in the evening, we rented Shanghai Noon with Korean subtitles... hehe.  Sleep followed.

07.02.01

We went to Coex Mall (the largest indoor shopping mall in Korea, which is actually probably bigger in terms of square footage than Woodfield Mall), and also to the Hyundai Department Store (Think Marshall Fields with a massive 9 floors).  Now Hyundai was odd.  First of all, I only knew of Hyundai in the U.S. first for making computers and more recently, cars.  In Korea, they also have Hyundai Gas Stations and the Hyundai Construction Co.   This store was huge.  You'll never have any troubles looking for assistance here either, because there are employees *everywhere*.  An example is in the swimming suit area... which is only maybe 20" x 20".  There were some 15 women eager to help you try on the latest and greatest brands of swimming suits.  There had to be at least 1000 employees on the showroom floors alone.  I'm not kidding either.  Overkill?  Perhaps.

I also was introduced to a new brand of cigarettes... Cima, which just came out this year and were very flavorful.  And if you smoke in Korea, you'll be in heaven.  Prices are about 1800 Won per pack ($1.40).  Too bad they didn't have Marlboro Ultra-Lights, otherwise I'd have bought myself a few cartons and shared them among my smoking pals at work.  :)

07.03.01

We didn't do much today.  We drove about 1 1/2 hours east of Seoul to Yang-Pyung., where HJ's father owns some land.  It was a beautiful journey driving along the Han River and through the hills and graceful mountains.  HJ's sister caught a little tiny frog along the road and subsequently lost it in the grass.  It was hot and sticky all day and drizzly away from Seoul.  Her father said that I was probably the first westerner ever to set foot on that land.  On the way back, we stopped at a restaurant where I was introduced to cow-cartilage soup.  Unfortunately, the camera was forgotten today.

07.04.01

The 4th of July.  This was actually the very first 4th of July that I didn't see or hear any fireworks in all of my 29 years.

We took a bus to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was the home and seat of government for many generations of kings during the Chosun Dynasty.  We happened upon the filming of "Yeo In Cheon Ha," a Korean historical TV series starring the actress, Jeon In-Hwa (I think that's how to spell her name).  What better way to be historically accurate than film in an actual historical site, right?  I took a few pictures (as evident below) during "cut" takes.  It was damn near 100° outside and we were literally sweating out of every pore.  The only minor relief we received was at the National Museum of Korea and finally at the Kyobo Bookstore, right next to the U.S. Embassy, which claims to be the largest bookstore in the world... and I don't dispute that.  I bought a couple of books in the English section, one on Korean traditions, how to read/write in Korean and another on Korea's history.  Enjoy the pics below.

A sign that says something about seatbelts taken from the bus, overlooking the Han River.	Water fountain on the way to the Gyeongbokgung Palace.	Oh my God!  It's the KGB!!  Run!	Now, that is a cool-looking building!  It's occupied by the equilivant of the IRS in the U.S.
See that video screen near the top?  They're *everywhere* in downtown Seoul.	There's another one.	And another...  Well, you get the point.	Watch out for this guy.  He'll mess you up!
Me, across the street from the gates of Gyeongbokgung Palace.	HJ and I at the National Museum of Korea.	Those bastards!  :)	Look at the intricacies of the rooftops.
The architecture is so beautiful here.	This is Hyangwonjeong (Pavilion of Far-Reaching Fragrance) within the Gyeongbokgung Palace.  I wonder if heaven is this beautiful?	Strike a pose.  I should have worn shorts.  It's gotta be near 100°.	A large Pavalion where special functions were held.
I still can't get over how beautiful it is.	Camera crew setting up to film an episode of "Yeo In Cheon Ha"	The King fanned himself to cool off while the Queen, played by Jeon In-Hwa, read over her lines.	The cast lined up to start filming.

I decided to treat the entire family out to dinner as a small token of my appreciation for having invited me into their home.  Destination:  Chili's.  I know, I know, it's nothing fancy, but definitely within the means of funds that I had available at the time.  Just as a point of reference, most western restaurants can be two to three times as expensive in Korea as they are in the U.S., aside from typical fast food establishments.  So, the five of us went to Chili's, enjoyed the meal and drank a couple of pitchers.

Her father took us out for more drinks at Steps, a pretty high-class bar a couple of blocks from home, where we were seated in a private area and consumed more liquor.  Have I mentioned that Koreans are big drinkers?  Maybe not so much as the Irish are known to be, but more than the Americans, considering that the drinking age is 18 and people drink for nearly every occasion.

Next stop... Karaoke bar.  Unfortunately I couldn't find a song worthy of me destroying, so I just drank and smoked the entire duration.  Actually, the problem was that all of the Western songs were old...we're talking 60s and 70s, and nothing that I really knew in the first place.  HJ, her brother and sister sang mostly Korean tunes and were quite good.

07.05.01

In the afternoon, HJ, her father and myself drove 30 minutes south of Seoul to Poon-Dang, where there was a showroom for an extremely luxurious condo that her father bought.  This town, I'm told, was virtually non-existent in 1990, and here we are 11 years later and over 500,000 people strong.  Basically it's a satellite city of Seoul (we would call it a suburb in the U.S.).  Now, back to this condo.  Huge living room, 4 bedrooms, marble foyer, hardwood floors throughout, heated floors in the bedrooms, central heating/air with automatic fresh air circulator, laundry room, big walk in closets, big balcony, LCD screen in the living room that shows all security for the place (including camera at the front door), and get this... fingerprint identification to unlock the door (no keys necessary).  Now that is just awesome!  The move-in date is set for the end of November/early December, I believe.  Since her brother is starting Stanford for his master's this fall, and her sister is currently at Wesleyan, only her father remains... and he even has dual residence in Hong Kong and Seoul, due to his business ventures.  I can't wait to see the new place fully decked out the next time I visit.  :)

We had dinner at Seyong Roo, a Chinese restaurant, followed by an early bedtime.

07.06.01

During the day HJ and I had lunch at Mr. Pizza (how Korean!) and walked around downtown for a bit.  As usual during my downtown jaunts, I bought more CD's.  Hey, I had to take advantage of such cheap prices.  

HJ's Aunt invited us out to dinner at one of the best western restaurants in Seoul, The Paris Grill.  It was a full five course meal and oh so scrumptious.  We had our own private room, secluded from the rest of the restaurant by glass windows and doors.  There were 11 of us present and it gave her extended family an opportunity to meet me and nod their approval (who wouldn't approve of me, right?  hehe).  We stayed for a few hours, eating, conversing and digesting.  :)

After the delicious meal, the younger generation (HJ, her sister, brother, cousin and myself), decided to go clubbing in the Hong Dae Ap neighborhood, which means "in front of Hong-Ik University."  It's supposedly a more "alternative" neighborhood where you can dance, dance, dance even with a very small budget.  The first place we hit was called Hodge Podge, featuring mass numbers of undergrad girlies dancing like mad to a baffling mixture of musical genres.  We're talking 80% women all decked out dancing and singing along like there was no tomorrow.  Music varied from Marilyn Manson to the Beatles to Crazytown to Rage Against the Machine to hip-hop.  There was no order...just mixing as the DJ wished.  As the crowd grew, so did the heat...and man, after about 45 minutes of dancing, we were all drenched.  

We left at around 1am and proceeded to search for an electronica type club... which didn't seem to exist anymore.  So this second club was called "NB" (no Korean reference, despite cryptic spelling).  It offered us a sub-tropical climate (even hotter than the previous club) and was populated by American Refugees (Asian-Americans on vacation types and U.S. Army types).  It was *all* hardcore hip-hop.  If you know me, you know how much i *hate* hip-hop.  Nonetheless, it was fun people watching.  We had a drink or two each and the heat pretty much pushed us out of there after a while.  Some bastage also burned HJ's arm with his cigarette.  Die scum!  :)

07.07.01

The day was full of water and sun.  HJ, her brother and myself met up with three of their friends at Everland's Caribbean Bay in Kyonggi-do (an hour or so away from Seoul).  Man, it was awesome!!!  Outdoor *and* indoor wave pool, 7 water slides, an inner tube filled "river" that goes all around the park (half a mile long!) both indoors and outdoors, all sorts of different spas inside, as well as a swimming pool, a few saunas, hot tubs, and... well, you get my point.  We were there for half the day and upon arriving home, i turned into a red hot chili pepper...i was red all over!!  Now, being the white boy that I am, red is not good.  It hurt when a shirt was on, it hurt when a shirt was off.  We went to a pharmacy and got some ointment for me.

For dinner, HJ's Aunt wanted to treat me to one of the best restaurants, Sorabol, which reenacts classical court cuisines from the Chosun Dynasty era, located in the Shilla Hotel .  The food just kept on coming!  We had Bulgogi, Kalbi, Shrimp, Kimchi, and probably everything else under the sun for a gourmet Korean meal.  We must have had at least 10 different servings and I didn't think it would end.  I was *stuffed*!

07.08.01

My final day in Korea.  I'm rather sad.  First of all, everyone made me feel like I was at home.  Her brother is super cool, her sister was great, her father was very generous and kind, her Aunt wanted to make sure that I had the best of the best before I left, her whole family wanted to finally meet the man in HJ's life.  The main reason why I don't want to leave is because the minute I step on that plane, I won't see HJ for another three weeks.  She comes back to Chicago on July 29th.  :(

Now is when I get to do a brief synopsis of the similarities and differences if I didn't already mention them above.  Korea is a very beautiful country, from the busy city life in Seoul to the peaceful serene life on the southeastern coast.  The hills and mountains were absolutely gorgeous, especially when comparing it to Illinois' flatlands.

Did you know that it is illegal to throw the cigarette butts out of car windows?  There were ashtrays with nearly every garbage can on the streets, and to my surprise, people used them!  I couldn't count the number of times I just threw my butts on the street in Chicago without a second thought.

One of the things I didn't care for most of all, is that Koreans, who are generally so calm, courteous and composed, become so impatient and quick-tempered once they're behind the wheel.  Many drivers don't wait until the light changes to green.  I saw motorcycles driving on the sidewalks, and also squeezing between lanes to get to the front when the rest of traffic stopped.  If an ambulance has its lights and siren on, cars don't even pull over to let it through... they just cut the ambulance off, because they feel that they need to get to where they're going quicker than the ambulance does.  Buses regularly cut off cars, taxi drivers cut off busses, cars don't give the right of way to other cars... it's just a big, pardon my French... cluster fuck.  Another thing was the thick layer of haze that covered much of Seoul, which has some 12 million people.  They don't regulate emissions from cars, buses or trucks, which doesn't help the haze problem.  Litter wasn't much of a problem, unless you're walking along some of the side streets... but the main streets were pretty clear of this.  And cars park pretty much anywhere they want to, making side street travel difficult when other cars and pedestrians are filling it.

But... all of this aside, Korea was awesome!  I just want to set the record straight.  I loved every minute I spent there, apart from the near death experiences in a taxi.  Who am I kidding... even that was thrilling.  :)

Departed Inch'on International Airport, Republic of Korea @ 18:55.

Arrived at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, USA @ 17:35 same day.  I flew 11.5 hours to arrive an hour and 25 minutes before I left.  :)

Peace... Chris