Exploring Seoul with my mom

I was delighted to have my final visitor arrive in Korea: my mom. She arrived a couple of weeks ago after having experienced a very delayed flight (long story short, she arrived a day later than she was supposed to), but we made the most of her trip. I was also happy for her to be overseas because it's been 9 years since she left the U.S. I was excited to show her everything that Korea offers from the public transportation to the food to the landmarks. The day she arrived we took the subway back to Sinchon, she unpacked her luggage, and then we had BBQ for dinner. Afterwards, we headed to one of my favorite bars and coincidentally my Korean teacher was there! When my mom went to the restroom a woman came up behind me to give me a hug and it turns out it was her. It was nice reconnecting with my teacher after not seeing her since the semester ended and being able to introduce her to my mom.

My mom and BBQ her first night in Korea.

The following day I showed her the area where I live in Sinchon and Yonsei University's campus. We then walked to Edae where I showed her the various shops and then we took the subway to Hongdae because she wanted to visit the Trickeye Museum. We had a lot of fun there and took a ton of photos just like I did when Henrik visited. We then headed back to Sinchon for dinner and some rest because we had to wake up early the next day to go to the DMZ.

Posing in one of the displays. This is my favorite one we took.

Defying gravity.

Being eaten alive.

We left for the DMZ bright and early at 8 a.m. on a tour bus since the only way you can visit the DMZ is by booking a tour with a company. We visited Imjingak Peace Park, the Third Tunnel, the Dora Observatory, and Dorasan Station. We ended the tour by visiting a ginseng museum/store in Seoul, which differed from the tour I took with my dad. I learned that the most expensive ginseng takes 6 years to grow and it is at the peak of its nutritional value at that age. Apparently ginseng also seems to cure almost every ailment, from period cramps to high blood pressure. I was shocked at how expensive the ginseng was. For two bottles of 6 year-old ginseng extract capsules that would last you for about 8 months, it was around $1,000! As much as my mom wanted to buy some because of the health benefits, we decided against it because of the absurd prices.

The tour bus dropped us off at City Hall and instead of heading back to Sinchon, we decided to explore the nearby palace, Deoksugung. I saw Deoksugung back when I first arrived in Korea when I was on my way to get my alien registration card. I've been meaning to come back to it but I totally forgot about that plan until my mom and I walked past it that day. It reminded me of Gyeongbokgung in Gwanghwamun but it was much less crowded and was laid out more like a park. Out of the two I much prefer Deoksugung and I think I might check it out again when it gets warmer because it is a very tranquil place to rest when you're in the middle of a bustling city. We then walked to Myeongdong since it was nearby because I wanted my mom to try some street food. We were really hungry by then so we got all sorts of foods like sausage, fried potato, pomegranate juice, and tteokbokki.

Posing outside of Deoksugung.

We dedicated the following day to "market day." I took my mom to Gwangjang market, Namdaemun market, and Insadong. Gwangjang is the nation's first market and it still looks as if it did years ago. I showed my mom the goods they sell along with the numerous food stands. We ended up buying some rice cake so she could try some before we headed to Namdaemun. Since it was raining all day we didn't stay in Namdaemun that long (it's an outdoor market unlike Gwangjang), but just enough so I could show her the different streets. We then ended our day of shopping in Insadong, where my mom ended up buying gifts for friends and family along with some items for herself.

The fabric stores/stalls in Gwangjang market.

Some of the food stalls in the market.

Our next day was dubbed "museum day" because I took her to the National Museum of Korea and the War Memorial of Korea, the latter being my favorite museum in Seoul if not my favorite museum of all time. My mom definitely got a good dose of Korean history that day and it was nice revisiting places where you learn so much about a certain nation. We ended the day by showing her Itaewon and going to my favorite restaurant there, Vatos, because of their delicious mango maekkolitas.

We ventured the south eastern part of the city the following day by visiting Bongeunsa temple by COEX. The temple was much, much bigger than I anticipated and there weren't a lot of visitors so it was nice having almost all the grounds to ourselves. After walking around the temple and visiting their store (since my mom collects buddha figurines), we went into the COEX mall for lunch and then headed toward Olympic Park since it was only a couple of subway stops away. My mom enjoyed visiting Olympic Park because she remembers the 1988 Olympics, unlike me, so it was neat for her going back in time. That's the second time I've been there and it's cool knowing that you are stepping in the same area that very famous athletes once did.

Donations made to the temple.

One part of the temple. I loved seeing the contrast with the modern buildings in the area.

The very large stone buddha that the temple is known for.

We then headed to Gangnam because I wanted to show my mom the famous part of Seoul that almost everyone in the world knows now thanks to Psy. After walking around, we chilled in a cafe for a bit before going to Namsan Tower to watch the sunset. Unlike the time I went with Henrik, when we arrived at the tower it was daylight and when we left it was dark, so I enjoyed observing the contrast.

Posing in the observatory part of Namsan Tower.

The following day was Seollal, the Lunar New Year also referred to as the Chinese New Year. Pretty much all non-western restaurants and stores in the city close that day, but main attractions, tourist spots, and some malls stay open. Lotte World, the world's largest indoor amusement park, was going to be open so my mom and I went there for the day. We were surprised to find out that they had a foreigner discount for the day so instead of paying $46 a person for a one-day pass, we only had to pay $24. Unlike the last time I was there back in early September, we decided to just do the indoor rides and attractions, which was more than enough for a whole day. To my surprise, they added 3 new simulation rides since I was last there so we went on 2 of them. We also went on a couple other rides that I didn't go on before, so even though it was my second time going to the park, it was still refreshing and fun.

A story that stands out when we were there is that while we were waiting in line for a ride, a group of what I first assumed where Central Asian men were standing in front of us. They would not stop staring at my mom and I, to the point where it started making us feel uncomfortable, and they took photos of us. So to give them a taste of their own medicine, I took a photo of them and that prompted them to start talking to us. After asking where they are from in English, they told me they didn't understand so in Korean I asked if they knew Korean and to my surprise they did. It turned out they were from Uzbekistan, and so for about five minutes I was talking to a group of men from Uzbekistan in Korean in an amusement park. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

Posing in one of the displays in the art museum in Lotte World.

My mom and I on one of the rides in Lotte World.

For dinner my mom wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe which is conveniently located in the Lotte World Mall right next to Lotte World. What's nice about that area is that everything is connected underground. After taking the subway back to Sinchon I realized that my mom and I had spent about 10 hours "inside" because we took the subway there and back and we were indoors at the park and at the restaurant. We met Marisa at the restaurant since she wanted to meet me mom as well. My mom treated me to a steak dinner which I appreciated very, very much because previous to that it was 8 months ago that I had a steak. Just before we were about to leave the restaurant, my mom went to the restroom. Right before leaving the restroom a woman says "go green" to her (my mom was wearing her MSU sweatshirt the whole day) and it turns out she is a MSU alum and is married to a basketball player who plays in Seoul. She wanted to meet Marisa and I since we both go to MSU and she told us she could give us free tickets (and to our friends as well) to any of the games; we would just have to tell her when we could go. She was super down-to-earth and incredibly nice. Who knew we would run into a Spartan alum all the way in Korea!

Since we were unable to travel outside of the city because of Seollal, I took my mom to a hanok village in Seoul. We went to Bukchon Village, a place that I haven't been to either, which is part of the city by Gwanghwamun that contains numerous hanoks from the Joseon dynasty. This village differed from the ones in the countryside because the houses were packed a lot closer (there was less, if not nonexistent yard space) but like the country villages, people lived in these houses as well. A highlight of that day was also the weather which was in the 50's, so warm that I could take off my jacket. I definitely made my Michigan friends jealous, haha.

One of the streets in Bukchon Village.

After the exploring, we were starting to get hungry so we stopped at a 삼계당 (chicken ginseng soup) restaurant for lunch. I've learned about the soup before in my Korean classes but I hadn't tried it, so this was also a new thing for me for the day. I was surprised to find that a whole chicken is in the soup and it was stuffed with rice, garlic, jujube, and ginseng root. The chicken was super tender so it just fell off the bones and the broth was delicious. At $14 a bowl it wasn't cheap (since it contained ginseng and a whole chicken), but I'd like to have it again in the future. 

삼계당, chicken ginseng soup.

Since we were close, we walked to Gwanghwamun plaza and on the way we stopped in the subway station to get manjoo, my mom and I's favorite snack. Manjoo is a small, sweet bread with custard inside and they are incredibly addicting. I always get a bag when I'm in that area and so I couldn't stop the tradition when my mom visited. At the plaza there were a TON of tourists, the most I've ever seen in that area, so we just stayed on the outside of the palace. I then showed her the U.S. embassy, the statues, and Cheongyecheon, the small stream that runs in that part of the city.

Our favorite subway snack: manjoo.

In the evening I invited a group of my friends to get maekkoli and dinner with my mom since I wanted my mom to try chocolate maekkoli. My mom also had the pleasure of meeting her old friend from India, Seungjin, who she hasn't seen in 9 years (who we invited as well). They enjoyed catching up after so many years and it was nice having my friends together as well. We spent about 3 hours in the restaurant just drinking and talking. 

My mom and her Korean friend from India, Seungjin.

During her last day in Seoul, my mom and I visited Seodaemun Prison and then headed back to my place to give her time to pack. We had to wake up early the following morning so after dinner we headed to bed. It was sad saying goodbye to mom because we really enjoyed ourselves during her visit. Luckily I'm on the last half of my journey here, so I'll be closer to coming back to the U.S. than when I left. I loved having visitors but I'll be honest and say it'll be nice taking a break from going to the airport so many times, haha.

An unwelcome surprise a couple of days after my mom left is yellow dust. Yellow dust comes every spring in Korea and it originates in the Gobi Desert. A somewhat recent and very unpleasant phenomenon is that the dust picks up pollutants as it travels over China before it's dumped in Korea by the winds. We had a very early and very intense dust storm for a day and a half where the dust level reached 1000; at 800 they close down schools and advise people to stay indoors because the air is so toxic. Usually the dust doesn't come until March, so I was caught off guard. Luckily the dust levels have gone down significantly since then, but I bought a couple of masks to wear when the levels rise again. Unfortunately the dust storms occur until June, so it looks like I'll have to live with impure air until I leave Korea.

I finally start classes on Monday and recently all the semester exchange students have arrived, so I've been making some new friends. Additionally, I had an interview on Friday for a research intern position at PSCORE (People for Successful COrean REunification) and I start working there tomorrow! I'll be focusing on fulfilling grant applications while I'm there which will be a very valuable skill I can take advantage of when applying to full-time jobs in the future. Here is a link to their website: pscore.org. When I blog again next week I'll be more detailed in explaining what the organization does and how I will be involved. Until then, I'll have school to prepare for so I will see you next week!