At first, I was tempted to write about the Silla dynasty today since I'm currently quite fascinated with its history. However, I realized I hadn't yet written about one of the most important topics about living in Korea: food! Not only do you have a pretty wide range of options when it comes to food here, but meals have a certain significance here. In America it's not uncommon for someone to eat alone or with just another person. Yet in Korea, having a meal together is an important way to socialize both with your new suitemates and friends as well as people in general.

In smaller groups it's normal for everyone to order their own dish and maybe share a little with those who want to try it. Side dishes are complimentary with any order, and can include fish cakes, kimchi, eggs with ham and vegetable bits, and commonly other vegetable sides. I did once find french fries available as a side dish, which was peculiar in its own right. Such American staples are only typically found in American-style burger restaurants.

In bigger groups, it's more common to order one big dish that everyone can share in. While this means you have to eat whatever the group's ordered, it has its benefits. Eating as a group like this can mean more interaction than individual dishes provide. You can get to know someone better during the meal, though talking during meals can sometimes be sparse. Younger Koreans seem less inclined to observe the cultural practice of not talking during a meal, so getting together as a suite to eat a big one can provide the interaction mentioned earlier.

Above are pictures of one instance where our suite ordered a big meal for everyone to share. The dishes avaiable were fried chicken and a separate pork and noddle platter. As an aside, there are lots of chicken restaurants here. And all of them seem to have the delivery bikes whose riders dart through traffic in dangerous fashions.

Something that can be rewarding about these meals is that you can learn little tricks on how to eat the food by watching your Korean compatriots. For instance, you can see in the pictures above that the pork noodles were fairly messy - and some people had to reach across the table to get to them. To avoid spilling the noodles on the floor, the solution was remarkably simple: use extra disposable cups to hold the noodles while you're working on eating them.

Eating lunch together can also be a good way to spend a language exchange that's part of the International Studies program at SoonChunHyang University. Today, for example, my two exchange partners and I went out to a place called 'Uri Jib', which translates as 'our house'. It was highly recommended by both of the Koreans, and wanting to try more varieties of Korean cuisine I followed along. What we got was the above platter of bogori - a mix of chicken, veggies, noodles and rice cakes with hot sauce. Meaning it was pretty spicy.

I learned quickly that the rice cakes are to be eaten first, as they'll get overdone if you leave them in too long. There are burners built into the tables at this place, so you cook the food as you sit at the table. Noodles can be eaten just after the rice cakes, and were spicy but not too spicy when I ate them. The rice cakes soaked up more of the hot sauce and as such were quite spicier. Thankfully water is provided free of charge and in large thermoses for every table.

When the chicken is finally ready, it's been cooked just long enough to make it supple and tender. And spicy. You really can't avoid that with bogori. At this point it's totally fine to use a spoon to scoop out portions into your individual bowl. Korea's the only Asian country where spoons are used so regularly that they're provided in boxes at every table. This certainly made eating the bogori easier, though you can still spill it on the table if you're not careul. All in all the meal was very tasty but also very spicy. But just like the using cups for noodles by our suite, I picked up a tip by watching my Korean exchange partners on how to curb the spiciness.

Here it is! A bowl of diced raddish. You just eat a cube or two of this stuff and it helps tame the spiciness enough to let you eat more bogori. Before I came to Korea I really didn't care much for vegetables and would actually avoid them. Something I've learned here, then, is that they can be pretty good. Raddish is included in kimbap - Korean sushi, esentially - and as a side dish at most restaurants. Vegetables are in many dishes here too, and I've actually come to enjoy them. So thanks, Korea, for helping me like veggies!

Sometimes, though, the amount of food provided in a big meal is almost too much. We couldn't quite finish the bogori, and had the remainder boxed up so we could take it with us for later. That didn't prevent the arrival of a platter of mixed rice, seaweed and vegetables that you see above. Despite the bogori we were still hungry enough to finish the whole thing, which finished the job of filling our stomachs.

This is another case where you wait for the food to be cooked a little on the table before you eat. Not too long though, maybe a couple minutes. Once again we used spoons to scoop morsels out for consumption; we had to blow on it to cool it off enough to eat though. So once again very fresh food. And once again surprisingly tasty for someone who never enjoyed vegetables before.

No, that's not a picture taken in a movie theater (not exactly, anyway) - it's from one of my classes at SoonChunHyang University. I've already discussed how to get to the School of Global Exchange and Education, and shown a layout of the dorm suite. So this week I'm going to discuss how a class here is organized and taught, and how it compares to a similar class at Portland State. Today I had my Understanding Contemporary Korean Cinema class, which is best compared to a film studies course at PSU.

Like such a course, the main focus is films and how they reflect certain specified topics each week. Obviously for this SCH course the topics all relate to different Korean cultural themes, ranging from the Korean War to friends and friendship. So far we've seen films and presentations on the Korean War, the Korean Wave (the increasing popularity of Korean TV dramas and pop music in other countries) and Aesthetics of Korean Art. As in an American film studies course, the first order of business is to watch the week's film, with most running around 2 hours. Above you can see the credits from this week's film, Chihwaeson.

It's after viewing the film that the differences between SCH and PSU courses comes about. While every instructor has their own teaching style, general trends can be discussed. Typically in a PSU film studies course, the film in question would be discussed between the professor and students. Thoughts and reactions to the film and its cultural effects or aspects, as well as aspects of filmmaking would be paramount to the discussion, which could last between 20 minutes and almost an hour. Sometimes students are organized into smaller groups to discuss such things if the class is of sufficiently large size.

In this course at least, the emphasis is on outside group research on the week's cultural topic. Our class' diversity is such that every group has one North American, one Japanese, one Chinese and one Korean student. Over the course of the semester each group is to present three times on a selected topic from the syllabus, each presentation being around 10 minutes. As is the case with my history course here, presentations utilizing PowerPoint and multimedia is required. This emphasis on such presentations is very different than what I'm used to at PSU, but isn't too difficult. It also serves to foster communication and friendship between students of different nationalities and backgrounds as they work on each presentation. The pictures above are of today's presentation on Korean art.

After the student group presentation, Professor Min KyungWun utilizes his own slide show to touch on the topic of the week as well. He also elaborates on they way these topics are shown in the film the class has just seen, explaining things that may be confusing to non-Koreans. For example, several Korean painters were mentioned by name in today's film besdies the main character. The most important ones were given more explanation by Professor Min, including what they're most famous for.

Unlike at PSU, the professor doesn't stand at the front of the classroom during the class. Instead he stays at the back of the viewing room, which is kind of like a little movie theater. The room's computer and projector connection are located in a small booth in the back corner, and English subtitles usually need to be activated from there. Yet even during the discussion portion of class, he remains in the back, somewhat removing himself as a focus. However, if one has any questions for him, they need just ask and he'll be happy to offer assistance. Sometimes he will go up in front of the class, mainly to point out things on the slides he's prepared.

Overall it's not too dissimilar from the culture through film courses I took at Portland Community College, actually. There, as here, films are used to present cultural topics and issues that may be alien to the American audience. In America, though, group discussions are the focal point of the post-film class time. Here, outside research and group presentations take the place of that. Neither one is superior, though; discussion still takes place in the classes here, and presentations or projects are still part of courses back in America. Like many things, it's just a different way of doing things.

Since I've already given a photo tour of the route to the School of Global Education and Exchange, this time I plan to illustrate what an SCH dorm looks like. What I knew before arriving was that every Global Village dorm is a suite with six ajoining bedrooms. Each bedroom has a bunk bed and space for two people's belongings. There are two shared bathroom/shower facilities and a common room with a big TV, sofa and cofee table.

What I wasn't prepared for was how small some of this has turned out to be, and other certain conditions. Above you'll see both my bed and the (at the time) unoccupied top bunk. Before coming to SCH I knew that the bed would be smaller than mine at home, SCH's only being a bunk twin size. The mattress is very firm, though, so it's hard to get used to sleeping on it; the first two weeks especially are rough. It's a good idea to look into getting some kind of bedding to make your sleep just a little more comfortable. For my bed, I was using a blanket I'd brought as extra padding - this seemed to work pretty well and helped me sleep better. After a while you'll get used to the SCH mattress, firm or not.

Each of these cabinet doors opens to a small wardrobe where you can hang jackets, pants, or whatever else you so choose. There's space on two bottom shelves for additional clothing, though this may be occupied by wire baskets. Said wire baskets are very helpful when used to put dirty clothing in, then transporting to the laundry downstairs. Other students put their laundry in large shopping bags, which is a very reasonable alternative. One just overfull basket is about a full load, though, so best to keep that in mind if you're doing laundry. There's also a laundry service that will wash and dry up to about 10 lbs of clothes for 4,000 won (around $4). I haven't used this yet, but may do so within the next week or so. If I do, I'll post here to let everyone know how it is.

The common area does have the sofa and tables promised, as well as a large television just below the large window overlooking the edge of campus and the local farmland. However this term the signal boxes (don't know what else to call them) were removed from all the dorms. Meaning that the TV is a useless oversized electronic device probably for the whole term. High speed internet is available in the dorms, though, and combined with other activities with friends you'll stay pretty busy. What did impress me was the view from the window; you can see it above. All of that green, combined with the mountains and the occasional apartment tower makes for unique scenery you're unlikely to find in Oregon at least. Just visible across the road in this picture is a blue roofed restaurant that turns out to be a vegetarian establishment. At night it lights up, and this is a pretty unique sight on its own.

And now we shift our attention to the bathroom. This is really where that smaller than expected feeling kicks in, and you really get the idea you're in a foreign country. Pictured above is the shower. It's a pretty narrow room, so if you're a little bigger you're going to have to be a bit flexible to get in and shut the door easily. Unlike in the west, you have a faucet with a hand-held shower head here. While strange to foreign eyes at first, it's really pretty simple to use and there are shelves for your shampoo, soap, towel, and clothing. Like many other things in Korea it just takes some adjustment on the foreigner's part to really get used to taking a shower like this.

Then we have the toilet. Some places in Korea have an eastern-style toilet, which amounts to a curved indentation in the floor and a hole. Many places, though, have western style toilets - though expect them to be of varying degrees of cleanliness. The ones at the Global Village are clean at least, though again the room is very narrow compared to what I was used to at home. They work like a toilet anywhere, but there's a big difference in how you use the bathroom here in Korea. Korea's plumbing is apparently unable to handle toilet paper. That means you'll need to deposit your used toilet paper in a garbage can usually found in the stall or bathroom you use.

Obviously, this is the sink. It's the same as in America, so there's really not much to say about it. In the dorms you bring your own soap, so you should consider investing in some liquid hand soap for ease of use. Also you'll need to buy your own toilet paper, as it will not be provided for you in the dorms. Outside the dorms you can usually find some in every restroom, but if you travel around you might consider taking a roll with you. Just in case.

And this wonderful device is a folding rack that represents the dorm's chief method of drying clothing. Dryers are rare in Korea so you'll need to use one of these racks to hang your clothes after washing them. This was a surprise to me - I'd known I'd have to dry my clothes in the suite, but having the rack was a nice bonus. It's so much easier to just set one up, put the wet clothes on it, and let it dry for a day than trying to find somewhere to hang them up in the room (really, there isn't anywhere). Usually it takes about 24 hours to really dry out your clothes, so I tend to do laundry every 3 days or so. This ensures that I'll still have enough clothes to wear for a couple days in case the laundry takes a little longer to dry. As for how to get the clothes washed in the first place, as I said before you'll need to head downstairs to the laundry room next to the Global Village lobby entrance.

It's pretty small as well, and when all of the Korean students are present during the week it can be hard to find an open machine. Optimally you should try and get to them at 6 am or close to curfew (midnight), or do laundry on the weekends. This ensures you'll be able to get to a machine with ease and without waiting. If you do have to wait, some people put their laundry or a box or other object on top of a machine to claim their spot as its next user. Besides the three machines you see above, another row of three lines the back wall. There are baskets along the wall next to the door, where unclaimed but finished laundry is deposited.

Recently while washing my clothes, the machine I was using stopped at 10 minutes. My clothes were still sitting in a good amount of water, and I was incredibly frustrated that the machine hadn't worked. Unsure of what to do I'd been about to take the soaked clothes out and over to the laundry service to have them dried. At that moment the security guard came over and assured me that if I did another cycle they'd be fine. Sure enough they were. Just another example of Koreans being willing to help you out if you're in need, and very much appreciated on my part.

To actually do your laundry, you open the lid and toss your clothes in. Inside the machine there's a tray you can pull out and deposit your detergent (either liquid or solid) in, not unlike back home. Next you'll need to press the button on the far left to set the temperature, the one next to it setting the time for your load. Finally you press the button on the far right (red one with a triangle in it) to start your load. Oddly the machines play a little jingle when they finish a load. But now you know how to do laundry... in KOREA!

For the first text blog this week, I thought it'd be a good idea to give people a bit more of an idea of what it's like to be on the Soonchunhyang campus. All I'd known about the school before I came was that it was a newer instutition (founded 1978) and that it was in a slightly more rural part of Korea. What I hadn't known was that the campus is located in lower mountainous land. This means that the university amounts to something like a hill or very small mountain on its own.

To get from the Global Village dormitory building, you're going to do a little bit of hiking. Either by one of the myriad sets of stairs here, or the long way around (no stairs, but still a hike). Today I'll be providing a photo tour of how one gets from the Global Village to the School of Global Education and Exchange. This is the building where your Cultural Internship, Korean language and some history classes are held; this makes it important to know your way around. First you'll need to get down to the 'second' (or ground) floor of the dorm building you live in, and go out through the main lobby. Above you can see the pathway leading from my dorm building to the central lobby, with a nice water mural painted on either side.

After exiting through the Global Village lobby, you'll need to head straight across this turnaround to the Haemaji building. This building serves as a dorm for regular SCH students, i.e. Koreans. Also of note here is that a Buy the Way convenience store is located inside Haemaji as well - snacks and drinks mostly, with a few varities of microwable meals and top ramen. Once you've passed the fountain at the center of the above image (a gathering spot for hanging out at night), and reached Haemaji, you'll need to go up the stairs.

These stairs, to be precise. As I mentioned in my video blog and earlier here, Soonchunhyang University is home to many flights of stairs across its campus. You'll get a lot of exercise just going to and from class, let alone any actual working out you do. If it's humid and hot like it was until recently here, even more so. Of note for these stairs is that a small wind can form at the center, under the overhanging building. This has led to their unofficial nickname, 'the wind tunnel'. There's often a nice amount of shade here as well, so they can be a good place to just sit back and relax out of the sun.

After reaching the top of the Haemaji stairs, it's an almost straight shot to the Unitopia building which will serve as your next waypoint. There's a parking area between the buildings, so be careful to watch for any cars. They have the right of way in Korea, so it's more dangerous than in the USA. The Unitopia building is used, as far as I can tell, for classes attended by SCH's Korean students. Its name refers to SCH's goal of having several top programs by 2020, en route to being a top national institution by its centennial. To the right of the entrance above is another flight of stairs, which you'll need to make use of.

These are the Unitopia building stairs, mostly wooden planks, and sized well enough that you won't find yourself nearly tripping (as will be the case with the next set of stairs). Note the two garbage cans at the center of the stairs, since such recepticles are nowhere near as common as in Western countries. At least if you're outside. Once you've reached the bottom of these stairs, hang left of the building across the roadway (being mindful of traffic) and you'll find the last stairs en route to class.

These stairs wind around a little bit, and have both positives and negatives worth mentioning here. On the plus side they're surrounded by trees and plant life, making for a scenic and beautiful view as you descend towards your classroom. It can be pretty peaceful to take in the greenery, and near the top of these stairs are picnic tables to sit at and do just that. Maybe while enjoying a meal or a waffle from the nearby SCH cafe stand.

Be cautious, though, as the wooden steps are fairly narrow and thus harder to traverse. Ropes on either side provide something of a handrail, but they are attached to wooden posts with rusting nails. Some of these will pull right out when you try to use the ropes to balance yourself, so keep your eyes open. As long as you're careful, these stairs can be a nice way to get to the School of Global Education and Exchange. It's also the most direct route. After you've reached the end of the stairs, as pictured above, the building we're looking for is almost directly in front of you.

Conveniently, the school bookstore is located in the building right next to the School of Global Education and Exchange. If you need regular supplies, or forgot to buy a textbook, it's a quick jaunt over to get whatever's needed. The staff speaks varying degrees of English, so be prepared to use charades or have the title of your textbook written down for them. This will make the process more expedient for everyone involved.

Here it is, the School of Global Education and Exchange! This is the front entrance, which you'll have to go around the building from the stairs to find. There's a rear entrance as well that's much closer to the foot of the stairway, if you want a more direct route. Cultural Internship and my Intro to Korean History course are on the second floor, with Korean language courses held on the third floor. When you have exchanges with Korean students, they'll be in the Global Lounge on the first floor. It's right next to the head office, where you can head if you have any questions about.. well, pretty much anything here. They've been incredibly helpful so far, for which I'm extremely grateful. So there you have it, the tour of your most direct route from the Global Village to the School of Global Education and Exchange!

Interaction with my project is always encouraged and invited! You can reach me with comments, questions, etc. at HangukMartyn@yahoo.com.

A playground near the main entrance of the National Museum of Korea.

Korean soldiers taking in the view from the central plaza between the museum's main buildings.

A view of Seoul Tower from the museum's observation area.

Even though I've only been in Korea for about three weeks, there's a lot that I've seen. One of the most impressive has been the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. Since I'm studying Korean history at SCH, I thought it would be a great way to preview some of that history in person. Little did I know just how much was in store for me as I rode the subway with our group towards it. Finding the museum is very simple - it's just a matter of riding to the Ichon (not to be confused with Incheon) station and walk a block or so. Standing at the end of a somewhat long drive are twin ten story structures, one of which houses the permanent collection of artifacts and art.

Just the walk up to the museum is full of impressive sights. There's a man-made pond with a pagoda in the middle (see above picture), a row of columns, plenty of trees and a very nice plaza-like area from which you can observe Ichon for a very long distance. Seoul Tower is visible from here as well as the gardens behind the museum. Though I didn't go to the gardens, they looked incredible just from the vantage point above. Inside the main building of the museum are housed myriad artifacts, some as old as 4,000 years old. To be able to see all of these pieces in person was an amazing experience.

A gold crown and belt from the Silla period (57 BCE-676 CE).

Ancient Korean jade jewelry, a symbol of status and power in that day.

Parts of a distinctively Korean sword, I belive from the Three Kingdoms period (early 1st milenium.

Recreation of a Silla warrior's arms and armor.

A towering piece of work that stands near the end of the museum's first floor, from the Joseon dynasty, built in the 1300s (if I remember right).

Reconstruction of a Confucian scholar's study inside the museum.

A Joseon period Buddha statue at the front of a room full of such works.

A room full of large Buddha statues from several different periods.

The first floor is dedicated to prehistoric and neolithic Korea, as well as the Gojoseon and Three Kingdoms periods. You can see how Korean pottery and artwork advanced from primitive means to intricate pieces of expressive art, as well as how weaponry evolved as well. Many signs are in Korean, but an audio tour is likely available in English. Having limited time in the museum, I didn't take the opportunity to ask. Displays also explain in English the history of each period. Each of the Three Kingdoms of Korea are given an introduction and examples of their work are on display to compare and contrast. Of them all Silla appears to have been the wealthiest, and eventually the Silla kingdom unified the nation. That period, Unified Silla, has its own side of the first floor. Due to time constraints, I was unfortunately unable to view the treasures there.

Even so, the Buddhist artwork on the top (third) floor was amazing as well. Everything from the statues to paintings of Buddhist mythology can be seen here. Especially interesting to view were the paintings of the 7 kings of hell, each of which had very intricate details involved in the work. Due to a prohibition on flash photography, I wasn't able to get any good pictures of these fine (yet violent, in the kings of hell case) works of art. The Joseon and Yi dynasty artifacts are located on the second floor, but again due to time constraints I was unable to enjoy them either.

Most impressively to me, the National Museum of Korea is free. There's no charge for the permanent collection. This makes the museum a must-see if you come to Korea; you will learn so much in an afternoon that you never knew before. I highly reccommend taking a full day to really soak up everything the museum has to offer. It is more than worth the commitment of time that requires. I know that I plan to return to finish exploring it before I return to America, and that it has me very excited about learning a bit more in depth about Korea's history.

A lot of things to talk about this time, most of which happened over the prolonged weekend due to the Korean holiday of Chuseok. This is a holiday celebrating the harvest according to the old lunar calendar that was once used in Korea. Some people even call it the Korean Thanksgiving; some similarities are there to be sure. Koreans return home (often the home of the eldest son) for a big meal with the family. This means lots of work for Korean women, who are expected to do all of said cooking. Ancestor worship is also part of the holiday - food is left out for them, and they're allowed to eat first before the living. Ceremonies are also held at home in honor of the ancestors. The younger generation seems to have mixed opinions about the day, with one saying, "I don't know if I'm going.. it's kind of boring." Many Koreans also use the holiday to travel, so buying a ticket to do so yourself can be very difficult. Trains will be packed heading out of Seoul before the holiday and heading to the capital afterwards, more so than usual.





I explained some of this in my last video update. You may be wondering why, when I'm talking about Chuseok, I have a picture of a spider at the top of this entry. The reason is simple: there are a lot of insects and spiders around the SCH campus. Being up in the mountains, that's not exactly a huge surprise. What is is how often these insects find their way indoors. In 3 weeks I've seen a dead grasshopper, moth and cockroach in our dorm building's lobby alone. Doors are often left open, as well as windows (to allow fresh air to come in and thereby improve residents' health). But bugs also get in, though they haven't caused any major problems; they end up dead quick once located. Though I have had at least 5 mosquito bites in the past week or so.





Spiders are another thing entirely. They don't come inside, but there are lots of them around the campus. Not only that, the spiders here are incredibly large, and one wonders how they got that way. The pictured spider was found on the way to an orchestra concert, and appears to be missing two legs while still being alive. So not only are the spiders big, they're tough. Best advice that I can give for that is to leave them alone and they'll leave you alone.

In the first active week of classes here, there were a surprising number of live performances from the fine arts department. First Chicago, then Romeo & Juliet (which I did not see), and also a live orchestra concert. For the Korean students, this is the end of the academic year, and thus it makes more sense for such performances to occur so early in the semester. I imagine they'd been rehearsing for the events since last semester, or the end of it anyhow. If you come to SoonChunHyang Universtiy and have the opportunity to attend such performances, I highly reccommend that you do so. Those I did attend were well performed and easily worth the investment of time I made in them. Best of all the performances are all free to attend, allowing one to take in entertainment without opening the pocket book. During the orchestra concert especially you may encounter people of some importance; I happened to spot the university's headmaster during the intermission.

The performances seem to all include audience participation as important components; Chicago had seating such that the action sometimes took place amidst the audience. After the final set piece of the concert, two encores were performed during which the audience was encouraged to clap along, and thus was included in the music. Another play I attended, but unfortunately cannot recall the title of, also had moments of direct participation with the audience. It's a very interesting thing to see, though I'm unsure of how much it relates to Korean culture.

Over the weekend a large group of international students travelled to Seoul - there were a lot of birthdays occuring over a few days. Not only did the first group have a hard time getting going, but it proved difficult to keep everyone organized once we did reach the city. Let this be a lesson that you should travel in smaller groups when travelling anywhere. Otherwise you'll end up spending half the time searching for everyone.

That aside, we stopped first in Yeungdeungpo (a few stations before Seoul Station) for both lunch and shopping. It was here that I found yet another instance of what seems to be pretty common in Korea: underground shopping complexes. With space at a premium within cities to the point where multiple businesses share sometimes very narrow buildings, it's understandable that such shopping areas exist. A similar one exists in Myeongdong, and I'm certain there must be others too. Inside these subterranean centers of commerce, it's like a more cramped version of a mall - individual storefronts, full of products that may likely be illegal copies of brand names. In Yeungdeungpo, the mall had mini-sized but more standard stores as well, such as the sporting goods store ABC Mart.

If you're in the market for women's clothes or shoes especially, you'll find them at any of these shopping areas. One thing I've learned about these sorts of places is that the prices are usually cheap, possibly due to the fact that may products are knockoffs. As long as you don't care about that you can find some good deals on clothing, if it fits you. Remember that Korean sizes will be one smaller than in the US (so a US large will be a Korean extra large). Also keep in mind that bartering will likely be expected at a good number of the smaller stores and stands. I've yet to remember that, and what few things I've bought were initially cheap enough that bartering seemed unnecessary. Bartering skillfully will get you that item you're looking at even cheaper. These underground malls can get a bit crowded, but generally aren't too swamped with people from what I've seen. Certainly not so much as the street level.

Also in Yeungdeungpo, we found a display promoting the Korean Grand Prix race in October. This provided a photo opportunity for two of the international students, and is how the above picture came to be. It just goes to show you that there are lots of things you won't necessarily expect to see when you travel in Korea. I try to just keep my eyes open and look out for little things that might not be so obvious at first.

Sights in Yeungdeungpo and Itaewon, including an Indian restaurant next to Burger King.

After Yeungduengpo, our group travelled to meet a friend near Itaewon, near the large US Army base in Seoul. Previously all I'd heard about the area was that it was an expensive tourist oriented area. What I found was a section of Seoul that's easily the most westernized of any I've seen in my time in Korea. Almost all of the shops had English signs, and there was also a large concentration of Western establishments in the area. Burger King was amongst them, and illustrates how expensive things can be in Korea - a hamburger will set you back almost eight dollars here.

Itaewon also had the same large concentration of street vendors you'll see in other shopping districts of Seoul. Their merchandise ranged from souveniers to hats, watches and other miscellaneous articles of personal wear. Many had brand names on them but were most assuredly not authentic items. However, if they fit you and you don't mind their being fake, as I mentioned before you can get a very good deal. Even sports jerseys are available in this form, steeply discounted from what an authentic one would cost in America.

It was kind of strange to see all of the western businesses side by side with not only the street vendors but also the myriad smaller shops. Commonly found all over Korea from what I've seen, they also carry items of questionable authenticity. More remarkable to me was that so many of these kinds of shops, along with bars, PC rooms (where you can use a computer for a nominal fee) and other smaller businesses often share buildings. Each takes a suite or maybe a floor of the building, making the most use out of the limited space in a country where that space is at a premium. You can barter in Itaewon as well, but the prices seem to be generally pretty reasonable at first too. Again, though, unless you go to an official store the items will not be authentic brand name merchandise.

While traveling and studying in Korea, there's a lot to take in. Sometimes when you're thinking about cultural differences, the food and where to shop you forget the political situation South Korea is in. There was no peace treaty signed between the North and South, and so the threat of war is still present. Sometimes you only realize this when something really unexpected leaps out and reminds you. At the subway station in Itaewon (and others elsewhere in Seoul) you can find cases with gas masks in them, along with an instructional video on how to use them. Ostensibly these could be used for any sort of attack, but the relationship with the North has to be the underlying cause of such precautions. It was sobering to see this, something inspired by what can sometimes be written off as a cold war relic of sorts, right there in the modern train station.

On the way to Hongde, we experienced the normal phenomenon of an incredibly full subway car in Seoul. If you travel in the South's capital by subway or bus, you can expect to experience this at some point. Be ready to push your way onto the vehicle, because the locals will do exactly that to get on the train or even snag a prized seat. The picture above illustrates how packed a subway car can be, even on the weekend of a national holiday where many people leave the city to visit their families

A Hongde street vendor's wares, including a likely knockoff White Sox cap and an oddly worded 'California' hat.

Our final destination for the evening was Hongde (Hongik Univeristy Station). There are many bars, restaurants and clubs in the area, and a number of the international students had birthdays over the weekend. Thus it was decided that the group would go clubbing in an area famous for being a hotspot for Korean nightlife. As we arrived in the evening, the neon signs were already shining brightly and proclaiming whatever club, bar or specialized business owned them. Many young people were already out in the early evening, moving from spot to spot as they enjoyed their weekend's beginning.

It was strange that there were some flyers for some sort of live entertainment deliberately placed on the ground near one club. I'm not sure what purpose this would serve, other than it being one more place where people might spot the announcement. Very peculiar. Amidst the chaotic hustle and bustle there were a few foreigners, all college age and presumably studying at Hongik University or a nearby establishment. Also present were more street vendors, selling the same items that their counterparts in Itaewon had on offer.

On the subway I've also encountered on three occasions a single man selling some item he had a number of, walking from car to car making his pitch. The products being offered included a back brace, electric shaver, and extending flashlight. No one seemed interested, and the subway is intended to be a quiet place, so this was very interesting to see. Even in a country with one of the world's biggest economies, people sometimes have to do unorthodox things to bring in money it seems.

It's also worth mentioning another case of a Korean going out of their way to help a foreigner. A Korean student from SCH came with us and provided translation services. When our resident married couple needed a private bedroom (they sleep in separate dorms on campus), she went out of her way to hunt down such a room for them. It took two hours, but we finally located one and everyone ended up very happy and also very impressed with this assistance. When thanked, she proved very humble about what she'd done. Yet we all knew how much trouble she'd gone to, and really appreciated her invaluable assistance.

The next day, a smaller group of us went to the National Museum of Korea. That visit is worth its own entry, so this is where my first blog about activities during Chuseok will end. As always, I encourage interaction by readers. You can reach me by email at: HangukMartyn@yahoo.com with questions, comments and feedback. Thanks for reading!