Winter Sonata in Korea

April 30, 2013

Winter Sonata in Korea

The temperature here in Manila is currently at 34 degrees Celcius (yes, CELCIUS) and, while I've always loved summers, the heat is killing me.

So in the hopes that I might trick my mind into thinking that I'm actually in a cooler place or that Manila isn't trying to "out heat" the seventh pit of Hell, let me talk to you about my fairly recent winter sojourn in South Korea.

I visited the land of K-Pop, romance dramas where somebody ALWAYS dies and funny variety shows (I'm no K-Pop fan, but you guys have to watch this variety show called 2 Days, 1 Night. Funniest thing on TV) last January, in the middle of the coldest winter Korea has seen in over 30 years. I knew it would be cold, but nothing could have prepared me for just how cold it got . One time, I had on 7 layers of clothing, including thermal underwear and a thick winter jacket, and I still couldn't stay outside for more than 30 minutes.

Anyway, despite the fact that I was pretty much half-frozen the entire time I was there, I loved South Korea.

Seeing snow fall and gently cover the landscape during our first morning there was, for this Pacific island girl, a truly novel and quite magical experience. I'm not one to take my photos of myself when traveling, but I easily said "yes" when my professor (who I was traveling with. I'll explain later) asked me if I wanted to have my picture taken when snow started falling.

I also thoroughly enjoyed their food. My aunt and her Korean husband took us to this restaurant, which totally looked like the kind we see in their dramas all the time, that served Korean barbecue. The pork barbecue was great, but one bite of the beef barbecue brought on an epiphany: BEEF is the Rolls Royce of meat. Chicken has always been my meat of choice, but when I tasted their succulent, tender, tasty beef, I became a convert.

But a big part of the reason why I really liked the country is that, unlike the other so-called First World countries I've visited (okay I've only actually visited two FWCs, Singapore and Hong Kong, ang HK isn't really a country, but what the heck), people seemed more relaxed here---no one was rushing at train stations, families went to parks, friends drank soju together at night and students walked around taking selfies.

Also, I thought the Koreans, or those I met at least, were really nice. Let me give you an example: I wanted to buy a pair of shoes (the boots sold there were awesome) but had a hard time because my feet are humongous. Despite having had to try on at least four pairs at every store I went to (and not being able to buy one at the first three since nothing fit), the sales people helping me out never really complained or changed their demeanor. Now contrast that to the vendors in ... never mind.

Now before I end this post, let me just say that, unlike half of the world, I have not jumped on the Korean Wave bandwagon so the views on the country and its people that I expressed here were not influenced by some infatuation/obsession with pretty boy bands and celebrities with perfect skin. I just really, really liked the country. In fact, of the different places I've visited, it's on top of my "Re-visit List." I'm targeting an autumn visit next.

RANDOM NOTES:

Taxi fare isn't so bad so if your budget isn't really that tight, this is the most comfortable way of moving around (especially if you're about to freeze your butt off)
Fare for the city tour bus costs just US$10. Basically, this will let you get on and off the different city tour buses to visit some of the major attractions in Seoul, including the Namsan Tower (~~which I will write about in another post. It's so pretty there~~ EDIT: here's the said post).
The changing of the guards at Deoksugung, one of the old palaces here, is a must-see. It happens every 2 PM.
Maybe one of the reasons why Koreans have such perfect skin is that the place is just teeming with cosmetics shops.
Food cost depends on where you eat. If you're not picky and is fine with restaurants that aren't fancy, then an average meal would cost you about US$7.
I can't help you much about the costs of accommodations; we stayed in one of the housing facilities in Yonsei University during our visit since I actually came to Korea to present a paper at a conference (but really, I'd be lying if I didn't say that touring the place was my number one priority. haha).

Forgot the name of this palace, I just remember that it's considered to be one of the most well-preserved palaces in Seoul. You can take the city tour bus to get here.