This was a blog post from June, 2013 as part of my journey to Spin the World Around.
Korean Republic - May, 2013
The center of Seoul!
Sometimes, you need to let the universe lead the dance. I'd always wanted to make an "around the world" trip, but it wasn't until the spring of 2013 when the universe told me it was time. Earlier that year, a friend told me about an academic conference called the "New Interfaces for Musical Expression" (NIME for short), which was being held in Seoul and Daejoen, South Korea around my birthday at the end of May. He said I should write a paper for it back in January when submissions were open. However, it wasn't until February when the first sign from the universe came in. On the day submissions were due, my friend told me that they extended the submission dadline by 4 days, which I happened to have free. So, for those 4 days, I wrote a paper about everything I'd been doing since quitting my software development job 18 months prior. The paper was a historical overview of silent disco, technical analysis of guided meditation technology, and a software analysis and design for a "smart phone" silent disco. It was about that time that I also realized the second sign from the universe--my lease was set to expire in my Austin home that very same week. I wrote the paper, and sure enough, it got accepted to be published. I was to present it in Daejeon at the conference. While all of this was happening, my band Jamiroqueen decided on a hiatus, and the guitar player and I produced a brand new Guided Meditation Trek which I had previously recorded the spoken words but no backing music. We released it as a demo at the conference, and it is available online. The stars aligned to launch an odyssey around the world.
Sunset in Seoul
I decided that couchsurfing would be a great way to not only sleep for free, but also meet lots of locals that could show me around and tell me what to see and do in their town. As such, I got an account and offered up my place in Austin for the last 2 months of my stay there. In that time, I met some really amazing people and showed them around my lovely city, trying to be the best host I could be to build my references. My friends told me couchsurfing was a great way to "hook up" with girls, and though I didn't set that intention, inevitably, it happened once when I hosted, and of course it was beautiful!
Anyway, a few days before I departed, I had to close the couch and get ready for my own journey. It definitely helps to psych yourself up for any trans-Pacific flight. In my case, the days leading up to my trip were spent moving my possessions out of rented house and lending them out to worthy friends, leaving the rest in my buddy's garage. I left Austin with no obligations or monthly payments, becoming totally self-existing. Free to roam, I set off on a 6:30am flight after taking the last load from my house only a couple of hours earlier (except for what I left behind for my very understanding ex-girlfriend to handle before the landlord walkthrough).
Anyway, a few days before I departed, I had to close the couch and get ready for my own journey. It definitely helps to psych yourself up for any trans-Pacific flight. In my case, the days leading up to my trip were spent moving my possessions out of rented house and lending them out to worthy friends, leaving the rest in my buddy's garage. I left Austin with no obligations or monthly payments, becoming totally self-existing. Free to roam, I set off on a 6:30am flight after taking the last load from my house only a couple of hours earlier (except for what I left behind for my very understanding ex-girlfriend to handle before the landlord walkthrough).
A smoggy day in Seoul
My flights were uneventful, but it was interesting travelling for over 24 hours and ending up at my destination on the same day as far as the sun was concerned, though we did cross the dateline:
Last night turned to daylight
And a minute became a day
Tokyo airport was a great place for a layover, and I had some sushi and got a Shiatzu massage from a small Japanese woman. It was an interesting style of massage where they kept you covered under towels, pushing on accupoints and never really touching your skin. Unfamiliar with the Yen, I almost accidentally tipped the lady $50, but realized it and threw her $5 instead (whew). I caught my third flight and made it to ICN (Seoul International Airport) by about 10:30pm local time.
Last night turned to daylight
And a minute became a day
Tokyo airport was a great place for a layover, and I had some sushi and got a Shiatzu massage from a small Japanese woman. It was an interesting style of massage where they kept you covered under towels, pushing on accupoints and never really touching your skin. Unfamiliar with the Yen, I almost accidentally tipped the lady $50, but realized it and threw her $5 instead (whew). I caught my third flight and made it to ICN (Seoul International Airport) by about 10:30pm local time.
The first adventure
Super awesome metro in Seoul!
After landing, I took the 45-minute shuttle to South Seoul near Isu station, but I got off one stop too early (not knowing it). I wandered aimlessly for an hour, while my host did the same a kilometer up the road. We couldn't find each other, and eventually she gave up and went home.
Carrying two overstuffed bags in circles
Korean men vomiting in the storm drain after a hard night of drinking
Beautiful oriental girls giggling and gawking as they walk past me
Business men in suits
But no couch host
Eventually, I flagged down a young Korean lad who was eager to practice his English and help me. He wanted to represent the Korean people with honor and nobility. Unable to find an open wifi network to contact my host on Facebook (lesson: always get a phone number from your couch host), I tried to login on his phone, and Facebook freaked out and locked me out of my account. We managed to activate a wifi connection on my phone at a local coffee shop appropriately named "Angel In Us," and I unlocked my account after creepily identifying the faces of my friends. I got a hold of my host's number and she talked to my new Korean friend on the phone, who told her where we were. She arrived on her bicycle, and she was an amazing sight for sore eyes at 1:30 am. She escorted me to my private bedroom (that used to be her sister's), and I fell asleep exhausted.
Carrying two overstuffed bags in circles
Korean men vomiting in the storm drain after a hard night of drinking
Beautiful oriental girls giggling and gawking as they walk past me
Business men in suits
But no couch host
Eventually, I flagged down a young Korean lad who was eager to practice his English and help me. He wanted to represent the Korean people with honor and nobility. Unable to find an open wifi network to contact my host on Facebook (lesson: always get a phone number from your couch host), I tried to login on his phone, and Facebook freaked out and locked me out of my account. We managed to activate a wifi connection on my phone at a local coffee shop appropriately named "Angel In Us," and I unlocked my account after creepily identifying the faces of my friends. I got a hold of my host's number and she talked to my new Korean friend on the phone, who told her where we were. She arrived on her bicycle, and she was an amazing sight for sore eyes at 1:30 am. She escorted me to my private bedroom (that used to be her sister's), and I fell asleep exhausted.
The food in Korea
My first meal was homecooked!
Jetlagged, I woke up at 6am and meditated until 9am when my host's chipper sweetheart mother awoke us for a wonderful traditional Korean breakfast with all the fixins. It was my first of many Korean meals adorned with "banchun," a plethora of fresh and picked vegetables to go along with the meal, the most common one being "kimchi," which is pickled cabbage. Meals in Korea ALWAYS included rice, and they generally contained meat or egg in the dish. Not speaking a lick of Korean, and most menus not being in English, I had to look at often undescriptive pictures or simply have faith in what I was ordering. I generally don't eat pork, and I like to eat a lot of veggies, but I definitely had to break my rules to stay nourished. A common dish was "omurice," a bowl of rice that had meat or an egg on top.
So, the side dish of "banchun" and rice being the constant, the variation came in how the meat was prepared:
So, the side dish of "banchun" and rice being the constant, the variation came in how the meat was prepared:
Korean barbecue was barbecued meat (generally pork) with all the fixins.
 찜닭 aka jjim dalk
찜닭 aka jjim dalk was a chicken dish wherein the cooked bone-in chicken is randomly chopped up and put in a sort of soupy stir-fry. Be careful with the bones on that one!
 Korean Melons
I also had some unremarkable pizza and sushi. In Korea, they have a vegetarian version of a sushi roll called "gimbap" that is popular as a side dish, but would work for a meal if you were vegetarian (good luck in Korea if you are vegetarian, btw).
Metal Chopsticks - Korean Style
|
"hanburg steak" or "bulgogi" was a beef patty somewhat like cooked steak tartar. One day I met with an American friend short on patience, and we ate at a "fast food" place that had a chicken version of a dish normally made with pork called "dongastu" that was breaded, which I liked much better. I suppose it is probably not called the same thing, but it reminded me of the same. Of course, even though it was fast food, it still came with rice and the "kimchi"
I must admit, my favorite meal in Korea was Shabu-Shabu, which is actually Mongolian. It is sort of like a broth-based fondue where you put the raw meat and veggies in the pot boiling broth at the table. Then, you wrap the result in a spring roll. As the meal goes on, the dish progresses, until at the end, you end up with a rice porridge made with egg. I'd seen this porridge made with egg at previous Korean barbecue places, so there was some crossover, and many of the dishes and restaurants were actually hybrids from different locals in the region.
In Korea, they use Bidets and Toilet Paper.. Best of both worlds
|
Korea is more than food Green Street - Fashion Row
Though eating was a great part of Korea, I did manage to do a lot more than just stuff my face for 12 days. Besides spending a few of them watching computer-music-geeks nerd out in lectures and demonstrations at the conference, I got to spend some quality time with my couch hosts. With my first host, we bicycled around South Seoul Gangham Style, checking out the park by the river, where they have water choreographed with music shooting off of the bridge. We also pedaled by many flowers that abound in the city and stopped for coffee on Green Street, where I had some "Black Bean Coffee" which was delightful... made with the same beans as what's in your burrito, apparently.
|
My Poster Presentation at NIME!
Artificial Waterfall
|
Shop Till You DropI also spent some time at "Central Bus Terminal" station, where there is an underground mall that should not be missed, even if women's clothes, electronics, and street food is not your thing. Another (smaller) underground mall is Hoehyon Underground Mall, which includes a nice used vinyl record store with tons of import records from through the ages. Above ground at Hoehyon is an open air market with tons of good street food, and many more shops.
|
Hoehyon Underground Mall
Random street near Isu
|
Music is my aeroplane
For me, the crown jewel of shops was definitely Nakwon Dong music store! Need an acoustic piano? How about 500 of them? Want a boutique guitar store? How about spending all day and not being able to visit each one? The latest electronic goodies? Stacks of them as far as the eye could see Drumsets Neal Peart would be proud of Vintage saxophones? How about a bass sax? Violins? A hundred Stratovariouses to choose from Accordians, melodicas, percussion, african drums Sound reinforcement, repair men, midi controllers Cases of stomp boxes at slashed prices You name it Jam on! I spent hours meandering and jamming on grand pianos and the latest Nords. Eventually, shopkeepers would tell me to move along... 
|
|
See the sights!
Beyond shopping, I spent a couple of days sight-seeing in downtown Seoul. I visited Gyongbokgung Palace, which I found to be quite touristy. I personally don't seek out the historical stuff or the tourist traps that have foreigners lined up to pay cash to see something that was once a part of culture, but is now relegated to serpentine lines, pomp and circumstance, ceremony, and a facade of what once was... but I was told I should see at least one Korean palace, and so it was. I threw down my 4000 won ($4) to walk the grounds and take pictures of the beautifully painted designs and architecture.
Outside of the palace, there were tons of police everywhere. Apparently, the president lives nearby, so I guess they need to have hundreds of polic standing around looking tough. I must admit, I was more in tune with Olympic Park... and it was free. 
|
|
From the palace, I meandered through town, starting with the shops at insadong and samchungdong, then making my way to the large space needle called "North Seoul Tower," located near the geographical center of Seoul. On the way, I walked through Insadong and Samchungdong markets, which had some interesting stuff for sale, like eel! As I walked, I also passed several more palaces, but didn't go inside any of them (already having my fill on that).
|
|
|
Korean Caffeine Buzz!As you walk through Korea, it's easy to see that there's plenty of opportunity for coffee and sweets. There's at least one or two coffee shops on every block in Seoul--no joke. They love their coffee and pastries. Oddly, there were many "Parisian" bakeries, but I couldn't find a single Pain Au Chocolat to save my life the entire trip. The closest thing was this stuff they called "Mocha Bread."
Surely, there's good night life in Seoul, but I didn't go see it. I almost went to "Octagon," a dance club in the Gangham area, but we decided against it due to the high cover ($30) and loud decibel levels rendering conversation impossible. I did get to experience some local culture in Daejeon with my host there. We bought some Soju (Korean hard liquor made from rice that can be found at any 7-11 for a couple of bucks which tastes like a martini) and hung out at the Korean foot bath with some old folks for a couple of hours talking about life while our feet rejuvinated. Seriously, my legs felt 1000 times better after they soaked in the naturally-fed hot spring foot bath. Afterward, we sang Karyoke in a private Karyoke booth nestled in an arcade. We were wildly out of tune, but it was fun. Then, we topped the night off with some tea at one of the many coffee shops. 
|
|
Soju!
|
Foot Bath!
|
Karaoke!
|
Couch Awkwardness
I had a great time with all of my hosts, but I must say that I did have a really weird experience with one of them. She was a slightly socially awkward girl that lived south of Seoul in the next town down. Before leaving Austin, I set an intention to bring something to someone in Korea that they couldn't get there. As it does, the universe provided, and a girl with a fake name, fake age, fake picture, and no references offered me a couch and asked me to scoop her up some cosmetics at Wal Mart and bring them to her. She also suggested we camp a night at a park near her place. Always allowing opportunities for my intentions to manifest, I took her up on it and spent a day in Austin collecting various shampoo, tanning oil, lip gloss, and makeup. I checked a large bag with an old tent and air mattress that I planned on ditching after our camping experience.
After spending the first night in the comfort of my own bedroom and breakfast from my first host's lovely mother, I had the first host call the second host to confirm all was good. My host got a weird vibe from the girl, who spoke with informal Korean, which was odd, since they had never met. I also heard some yelling in the background. Unphased, I took the 45 minute bus to her town.
The girl greeted me at the bus stop (sort of), and we went to her apartment. Already things got weird. She implored me to take a shower, and gave me a bottle of Versache cologne to wear in her presence (I don't usually do cologne). She put together a bunch of ramen noodles and rushed to pack a big bag of her clothes. Everything seemed rushed, and I asked her what was up. She then revealed that her parents (who she lived with) did not like foreigners, and we were to camp that night. Not only that, but we had to be out of the house before said parents got home. She said she didn't want to tell me ahead of time because I was bringing the tent anyway, and I might bail if I knew about the parents situation.
Then, she proceeded to order me to perform several manual-labor-intensive chiropractor-like adjustments on her legs, which were apparently injured in some prior accident that she did not want to talk about, as it seemed to involve bad judgement on her part. She really made me work, and pretty much expected/ordered me to perform these manipulations several times over the next 18 hours until I eventually flat out refused. I carried 50 pounds of gear from her flat across the street to a park, where she assured me people regularly camped. I pitched the tent, blew up the air mattress, and I was ready to chill.
After several more chiropractic adjustments, a security guard came by and told us we couldn't camp there. She was able to sweet talk/bully him into letting us spend only one night. She wanted to get some soju, but I would have nothing of it, opting to eventually put my foot down and crash out. At 8am the next morning, another guard came by to tell us we had to leave.
I had planned on leaving the tent and air mattress with her, but she wanted me to go with her and try to sell them at the flea market after asking me for another chiropractor manipulation. Exacerbated, I took the next bus back to Seoul and left her waiting for a cab to the flea market... groveling to my first host to let me stay with her again for another night. Fortunately, she was still in town and let me stay. Lesson learned--be wary of couch hosts that use fake information, even if they aren't going to kidnap you for ransom, dishonesty sets the stage for awkwardness.
After spending the first night in the comfort of my own bedroom and breakfast from my first host's lovely mother, I had the first host call the second host to confirm all was good. My host got a weird vibe from the girl, who spoke with informal Korean, which was odd, since they had never met. I also heard some yelling in the background. Unphased, I took the 45 minute bus to her town.
The girl greeted me at the bus stop (sort of), and we went to her apartment. Already things got weird. She implored me to take a shower, and gave me a bottle of Versache cologne to wear in her presence (I don't usually do cologne). She put together a bunch of ramen noodles and rushed to pack a big bag of her clothes. Everything seemed rushed, and I asked her what was up. She then revealed that her parents (who she lived with) did not like foreigners, and we were to camp that night. Not only that, but we had to be out of the house before said parents got home. She said she didn't want to tell me ahead of time because I was bringing the tent anyway, and I might bail if I knew about the parents situation.
Then, she proceeded to order me to perform several manual-labor-intensive chiropractor-like adjustments on her legs, which were apparently injured in some prior accident that she did not want to talk about, as it seemed to involve bad judgement on her part. She really made me work, and pretty much expected/ordered me to perform these manipulations several times over the next 18 hours until I eventually flat out refused. I carried 50 pounds of gear from her flat across the street to a park, where she assured me people regularly camped. I pitched the tent, blew up the air mattress, and I was ready to chill.
After several more chiropractic adjustments, a security guard came by and told us we couldn't camp there. She was able to sweet talk/bully him into letting us spend only one night. She wanted to get some soju, but I would have nothing of it, opting to eventually put my foot down and crash out. At 8am the next morning, another guard came by to tell us we had to leave.
I had planned on leaving the tent and air mattress with her, but she wanted me to go with her and try to sell them at the flea market after asking me for another chiropractor manipulation. Exacerbated, I took the next bus back to Seoul and left her waiting for a cab to the flea market... groveling to my first host to let me stay with her again for another night. Fortunately, she was still in town and let me stay. Lesson learned--be wary of couch hosts that use fake information, even if they aren't going to kidnap you for ransom, dishonesty sets the stage for awkwardness.
Crossing the river in Daejeon!
|
Daejeon
|
Korea and Olympic Park get my thumbs up!
|
The Koreans are actually SUPER nice
Outside of that isolated incident which I created for myself, my experience with the Korean people was nothing short of amazing. One day at the conference, I was on my way to my presentation. It was pouring down rain, and I was walking in circles trying to find the venue. Suddenly, a pretty Korean girl (not unusual--there are lots of gorgeous Korean girls) pulled up in her car.
"Get in," she said.
Ready for adventure and ready to just get out of the rain, I obliged.
"Where are you going?"
I told her the building and showed her the map. We drove around in circles for a bit (the buildings at KAIST are not really arranged in an intuitive order), but we eventually found it. I thanked her profusely, and she then gave me her umbrella!
"Keep this and use it!" she said. I was in awe.
She then fumbled a bit with her wallet. I was a bit late for my presentation, so I sort of hurredly got out of the car as I thanked her profusely and told her that she was so kind. Looking back, I think she may have been looking in her wallet to give me her contact info, and I missed out on a date with a Korean hottie! doh! Must... have... awareness... in... the... moment...
"Get in," she said.
Ready for adventure and ready to just get out of the rain, I obliged.
"Where are you going?"
I told her the building and showed her the map. We drove around in circles for a bit (the buildings at KAIST are not really arranged in an intuitive order), but we eventually found it. I thanked her profusely, and she then gave me her umbrella!
"Keep this and use it!" she said. I was in awe.
She then fumbled a bit with her wallet. I was a bit late for my presentation, so I sort of hurredly got out of the car as I thanked her profusely and told her that she was so kind. Looking back, I think she may have been looking in her wallet to give me her contact info, and I missed out on a date with a Korean hottie! doh! Must... have... awareness... in... the... moment...
Language Barriers
Overall, there was a bit of a language barrier (though many people spoke English). Many countries use the same alphabet as us, so eventually, I can start to read and sound out words. However, in Korea, they have their own 14-character alphabet to form words. My name, Russell Dobda, looks like 러셀 돕다 . In the Korean characters though, the "L" and "R" are both represented by the same character, so my first name is somewhere between "Russerr" and "Lussell." My last name actually directly translates to English as "help," which is awesome!
Fortunately, my first host did a great job writing notes for me so I could just show them to cab drivers and bus drivers. They could just read the (unintelligible to me) notes and know where to go. This was key for me.
I really liked the Korean alphabet. To me, the characters seem "happy." They combine multiple characters into groups written vertically to form syllables, then concatenate the syllables horizontally, though with the advent of the typewriter, everything is horizontal left-to-right, just like our alphabet, except there are only 14 characters to work with... but hell if I know how to pronounce any of them by sight.
Having a college degree, I always know I can get a job as an elementary school English teacher if I wanted. Two of my hosts did this. I don't think I ever would, but good to know that I could.
Fortunately, my first host did a great job writing notes for me so I could just show them to cab drivers and bus drivers. They could just read the (unintelligible to me) notes and know where to go. This was key for me.
I really liked the Korean alphabet. To me, the characters seem "happy." They combine multiple characters into groups written vertically to form syllables, then concatenate the syllables horizontally, though with the advent of the typewriter, everything is horizontal left-to-right, just like our alphabet, except there are only 14 characters to work with... but hell if I know how to pronounce any of them by sight.
Having a college degree, I always know I can get a job as an elementary school English teacher if I wanted. Two of my hosts did this. I don't think I ever would, but good to know that I could.
Hotel Reviews
As far as hotel reviews, I did stay in two along the way. I spent two nights at Goodstay Kyungha Spa Hotel in Daejeon. The place was nice and the staff was very friendly and helpful. One of the ladies at the front desk actually drove me up the street to the Korean Barbecue for lunch. However, the bed was as hard as a rock. It was either a box spring or a plywood, not sure which. However, I heard others had similar bed stories at my conference, so maybe it was a Daejeon thing. I also happened to sleep on the floor at my couch host in Daejeon as well.
If you ever need to stay close to ICN airport, I would not hesitate to HIGHLY recommend the Lazy Bird Guesthouse. The innkeeper is a nice lady with nice dogs, a fridge full of beer for a dollar each, free internet, and a very clean and modern accomodation. I paid $20 for a "shared dorm," but I was the only person in the entire place that night! And, it was only a 10 minute shuttle ride to the airport, which they provided for $5 each way. Do it.
If you ever need to stay close to ICN airport, I would not hesitate to HIGHLY recommend the Lazy Bird Guesthouse. The innkeeper is a nice lady with nice dogs, a fridge full of beer for a dollar each, free internet, and a very clean and modern accomodation. I paid $20 for a "shared dorm," but I was the only person in the entire place that night! And, it was only a 10 minute shuttle ride to the airport, which they provided for $5 each way. Do it.
Next Stop: Philippines!
Copyright 2013, Russell Eric Dobda
