Seoul

Just got back to Tokyo yesterday after a 10-day trip to Seoul, Korea. I was couch surfing with Yong and Jamaica (of San Francisco warehouse fame), who have been there for the past two years. At first, I thought I would get out of Seoul for a bit, and visit other parts of the country. But after the first day hangin' with Y and J, I decided instead to just chill out in Seoul the entire time. I spent the week sleeping in, wandering about town, and just eating really good food everyday. Y and J are really plugged into the Seoul art scene (they are both artists, and both have teaching jobs), so I also got a glimpse of a "sub-culture" that I would never have otherwise.

Seoul really feels like somewhere halfway between China and Tokyo (I'm tempted to say Japan, but I haven't really ventured too far beyond Tokyo). Seoul is cleaner, hipper and less chaotic than China, but not as hyper-perfect as Tokyo can be. Possibly a flash-forward to what Shanghai will be like in 10 years. They dress like the Chinese, but like the Japanese they avoid eye contact with strangers. Seoul is affordable for travelers, very much unlike Japan. The food was to die for, even for a vegetarian. It seems a bit weird to me that Seoul isn't more of a "destination city".

On Friday, I went on a tour to Panmunjom, in the "demilitarized zone" (DMZ) between South and North Korea. The tour itself was a lot of kitschy build-up and drama, but underwhelming for the most part. But I did learn a lot more about the modern history of Korea. Setting aside the US' childish demonization of the North, the story of the past 100 years leading to where Korea is today is just heartbreaking (no thanks to the Japanese either, mind you). Seoul is just 40 km from the North-South border, and Pyongyang is just 200 km beyond that. That's less than the distance between New York and Boston. Yet, because of an arbitrary border drawn up by some trigger-happy army guy (i.e., not a Korean), thousands of families have been torn apart, cutoff from their relatives for almost 60 years now.

The most memorable and sombre moment of the past week was over dinner, when our friend Sung Gul told us how he dreamt of "one Korea".

The view from Y and J's apartment, overlooking Dongdaemun.

Saturday afternoon at a cafe in Samcheongdong, one Seoul's art gallery districts.

A vegetarian bibimbap (I think) under a tent/food stall in Dongdaemun market, before our Sunday afternoon hike. Deliciousness.

Gyoengbokgung palace. I visited here almost 9 years ago, on a stopover from Singapore back to Canada. How times do change.

Post-gallery-opening feast on Wednesday, with Soo and the Boda crew. The woman on the left was the artist whose work was on display.

At a ballgame on Thursday night, Samsung Lions vs. Doosan Bears. The Bears had a 5-run 1st inning, and held on for the win, much to our chagrin.

If I had tried to defect to North Korea, that guy would have stopped me.