Trip to Seoul

Yesterday Brian and I made our first trip to Seoul. It was quite the adventure!

We really had no plans on what we wanted to do or see, where we were going, and how we were going to get there... The adventure started in Cheongju. We found our way to the bus depot and bought a ticket. We had an hour to find which bus was ours... Luckily, we ran into 2 friends from the church and they explained the whole bus process to us, and gave us some ideas of what to see in Seoul and how to get there.

The bus ride to Seoul took 2 hours. It would have been much shorter if we hadn't sat in stand still traffic for half an hour! On the ride we took out our lonely planet Seoul guidebook and our trusty subway map. We planned out our first route to Itaewon. We thought this would be a good start to our Seoul adventure. So we made our way there through the subway....

Now, the subway system in Seoul is insane! first of all it is BUSY! You hear about how busy and packed it is, but you don't really understand it till your there. The escalators down into the stations are jammed FULL of people, to the point where I was worried it was going to break. The trains are also full, to the point where people are squeezing in and trying to fit in the door... Only at the busy stations was it that crazy, otherwise there was room to sit down or breathe.

Itaewon is a very western neighbourhood. The U.S. Army base is right there so there are lots of foreign restaurants and things to see.We got out of the subway station and made our way to the subway sandwich shop, for a taste of home. (MMM roasted chicken on Parmesan oregano!) Itaewon in general was very very overwhelming for us... there was sooooooooooo many foreigners (non-koreans). Too many foreigners. In cheongju, there aren't that many foreigners so when you see another white person on the sidewalk you always smile and say hi or introduce yourself. In Itaewon, it was a majority of foreigners, and they were not friendly... After being in such a small town with mostly Koreans for 2 months, it felt like we were back in America or Canada, and it was too much culture shock and culture mix up to handle. So after our Subway lunch we got back into the subway and made our way to Naemdaemun market which is a big outdoor market that covers a couple of blocks. It is mostly full of clothes, household items, and a bit of electronics. Right away when we stepped of the subway we felt a little more calm, There was only a handful of white people in the whole market. We walked around the market for a while and just kind of took everything in.

Itaewon

 Naemdaemun market

The underground part of the market, very deserted

By that point in the day we were pretty  wiped and exhausted. But there was still one more stop that Brian wanted to see. We got back onto the subway  and made our way to the Yongsan electronic market which is pretty much a bunch of buildings full of electronics. We didn't see any amazing deals or anything but there was a ton of computers. No TVs or Xboxes like Brian wants though... he will just have to keep looking.

By this point we were EXTREMELY overwhelmed, exhausted, and ready to head home. After some difficulty navigating the subway map and asking for some help we made it back to the bus depot only to be told that the bus to Cheongju was sold out! Luckily, there's another depot right across the street and they had seats left... 

Yongsan Subway station

After a loooooooong day

A deserted subway station
 

Overall, and excellent adventure, and we will definitely be going back to Seoul to see more of the sites. However, for now I am happy that we live in Cheongju. I could not handle the busyness, the crowds, and the amount of foreigners! I love the community we have created here and how friendly everyone is! For example, on our walk home from church this afternoon we got picked up by this older Korean couple who saw us walking. They spoke no English, but we could communicate a little, we understood that they were trying to ask us which neighbourhood we live in and if we would like a ride. We knew they were from the church because the guy had his elder robes in the back seat.

Another weekend is over and this week we start a new quarter at school. It is the last quarter of the year, the kids will be 'graduating' or moving up an age level come the beginning of March. We hope everyone has a good week!