We never considered or even gave much thought toward how we would feel about visiting the American districts in Seoul. We had made a habit of finding ourselves as the only white people anywhere to be seen, and were suddenly feeling ill prepared toward how we would relate to seeing legions of Caucasians and confused travelers again.
Our destination was Itaewon, a highly popular district widely reputed among locals as the place where all the foreigners go. This fact had us feeling a bit weary of the area and what we would see. The only grounds for relating to other foreigners we have had is the premise that we both are either white, or obviously enough, not Korean. Besides raising our eyebrows at one another or awkwardly waving, we haven't conversed much with many other people of our own heritage. Not that its a problem in any way, but what we tended to forget was that certain types of travelers you see abroad tend to make you blush a bit at being American. Upon seeing multitudes of bright eyed blondes and gelled hair, we entered the district with an immediate distrust of its charm and authenticity.
We found that Itaewon truly preserves Korea's slogan, "Land of the Morning Calm." Vendors have yet to open before noon, the general inhabitants are fighting off their hangovers, and the Korean mistresses don't dress to impress until under the neon veil of night. The general attractions were merely corporate fast food chains and restaurants. For the homesick westerner it was a haven, but for the thirsty traveler it was nothing more than foreign fraud. It was hard at one point to even recognize where we were. We sat down to lunch eating Arabic food, observing three Indian men walking down the street who bumped into a very culturally confused white man with his rented Korean, next to a bistro whose patio was filled with more white people than a life boat on the Titanic. Perhaps it was because we weren't prepared for what we were seeing, but even in the presence of other Americans, we didn't feel any kind of attachment or even fondness for the place. It felt a bit like driving through Vegas, never quite being sure how to feel about what your seeing, other than the notion it can't be good. The majority of people there carried no desire to leave with a heightened understanding of culture, but merely the best imitation Loius Vuitton purse. If its any indication that we can't even spell that brand right, Itaewon felt like hell. Insadong brought us into the light.
A short distance from one of Seoul's remarkable palaces, which we were lucky enough to walk through for about 75 cents (1,000 won), lies the neighborhood of Insadong. Bedecked with cobblestone streets, tea shops, calligraphy studios, and fine art, it seemed appropriate to find ourselves caught in a rain after having been through such a drought of culture. Seeming to persevere its ambiance with a likening to European architecture and aesthetic, we were fortunate enough to find ourselves trying some of Korea's infamous tea, while shifting through a parade of colorful umbrellas, couples, and the personal efforts of vendors. No, we were not the only Americans here either. There were other tourists, but the whole atmosphere was happier and healthier in comparison to Itaewon. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the nice little art shops and tea houses as much as they were enjoying just walking in the rain with their friends and loved ones.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Far From the Celebration
We celebrated last night at the result of history being made. Barack Obama became the first African American President in the history of the United States. We were lucky enough to catch his acceptance speech on our break between classes, and even with the Korean translator broadcasting over his voice, we were still inspired.
We went to a small, quiet pub or "HOF," as they call it here. Our hostess and server, quite possibly even our cook, sat idly watching the news and knitting in her chair, smiling smoothly at what she had to deem was a momentous and historic occasion. We could see that the world was rejoicing, and though we knew not everyone had the election go their way, even the skeptics seemed to be reassured by the command and intellect imbedded within Obama's voice.
Such an event did make us homesick, imagining ourselves intertwined with friends and like minds, cheering stranger after stranger at what we would have witnessed. But it is a thing of pride now to call ourselves Americans while in a foriegn country, for we feel a great sense of acheivement at how far our country has come. The entire image of America is now susceptable to change for the better. The world will be faced with the task of reassigning their opinions to more optimistic viewpoints on our behalfs.
We went to a small, quiet pub or "HOF," as they call it here. Our hostess and server, quite possibly even our cook, sat idly watching the news and knitting in her chair, smiling smoothly at what she had to deem was a momentous and historic occasion. We could see that the world was rejoicing, and though we knew not everyone had the election go their way, even the skeptics seemed to be reassured by the command and intellect imbedded within Obama's voice.
Such an event did make us homesick, imagining ourselves intertwined with friends and like minds, cheering stranger after stranger at what we would have witnessed. But it is a thing of pride now to call ourselves Americans while in a foriegn country, for we feel a great sense of acheivement at how far our country has come. The entire image of America is now susceptable to change for the better. The world will be faced with the task of reassigning their opinions to more optimistic viewpoints on our behalfs.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Beautiful News
Though the polls haven't officially closed yet, it appears that Barack Obama has become the new president of the United States. No longer will tears be shed at the frustration of not being able to understand why Americans refused to make the right decision. At last, the people back home must look like flowers! For what is right, for what is better, for what is necessary, we must congratulate one another on what we have accomplished. It will be a great honor to return home in the presence of such a president.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
We somehow forgot that children carry a myriad of little ailments. The majority of children we teach have yet to master the ancient technique of covering your mouth while you cough or sneeze. They do it openly, freely, and sometimes even passionately. One of our students even imitated a monster after sneezing and having snot come parading out of his nose. Of course the students thought it was a riot, and we have to admit that even we laughed a little. Now that we are sick, the humor of it has somewhat faded away.
Our plans for the weekend were to see Insadong and Itaewon, the two more alternative and traditional districts within the city of Seoul. Itaewon is basically the American district of Seoul, and is reputed to even have a Hooters. Guess it was a toss up between that or Chuckie Cheeses. But skanky restaurants aside, we both lacked the drive and health to visit either district and so were stuck with option B...Go and see what Koreans deemed LOTTE WORLD, their equivalent to the Mall of America.
We figure that any experience here has to be confronted with an open mind, being that so much of Korea orients its activities to one past time...Shopping! Thus it was with trepidation and a sense of defeat that we entered Lotte World; the halogen, concrete mecca of discount shopping, overpriced leather, and bad restaurants. But it wasn't all that bad.
Most of the day was spent people watching and marveling at how incredibly big the place was. There was everything from a theme park to an ice skating rink, including over six floors of merchandise, food, and other various things. It wasn't until we stumbled onto the gamers convention that we were able to really laugh at where we were.
For those of you who wouldn't have guessed it, video games are huge here. There is even a television station that runs two guys playing a computer game against each other, while another man announces the events like it was a WWF match. This runs twenty four hours a day. The anomaly is that these guys are celebrities, entertainers, a kind of new century athlete. In America we have shows about them, but they usually carry a theme like "Intervention," "Manchild Arrested in Development," and so on.
From the third floor we could see a complete fashion show with models dressed up as video game characters, who simulated everything from sword fights, karate moves, running from their pimps, and gunning down the bad guys. There was also an entire paparazzi there to photograph the show, a DJ, a man with a giant fog machine, and a predominantly male audience on standby waiting to actually order some of the costumes modeled. Adjacent to this there were about one to two hundred gaming booths where you simply just play video games. You are rewarded by making the effort to play in the mall, rather than on your couch, by being given a beautiful Korean girl bedecked in nearly nothing to stand next to you and root you on as you attempt to proceed to the next level...STUD! And to top it off, complimentary energy drinks in case you tire yourself out in the vigorous process of gaming. Being that it was too intense for us to even dare get close to, we decided ten minutes of marveling was good enough. With wide eyes and a box of hot chocolate mix, we decided to take our leave.
Every time we return home we seem to always smile at how fortunate we are to live in what is, in Korea, a quite place. Whether we have been conditioned or merely raised right to be impatient with excess is beyond either of us. LOTTE WORLD was nothing more than a challege of acceptance and tolerance. We aren't shoppers, but we aren't subject to be above going to see a giant mall and finding it interesting.
Our plans for the weekend were to see Insadong and Itaewon, the two more alternative and traditional districts within the city of Seoul. Itaewon is basically the American district of Seoul, and is reputed to even have a Hooters. Guess it was a toss up between that or Chuckie Cheeses. But skanky restaurants aside, we both lacked the drive and health to visit either district and so were stuck with option B...Go and see what Koreans deemed LOTTE WORLD, their equivalent to the Mall of America.
We figure that any experience here has to be confronted with an open mind, being that so much of Korea orients its activities to one past time...Shopping! Thus it was with trepidation and a sense of defeat that we entered Lotte World; the halogen, concrete mecca of discount shopping, overpriced leather, and bad restaurants. But it wasn't all that bad.
Most of the day was spent people watching and marveling at how incredibly big the place was. There was everything from a theme park to an ice skating rink, including over six floors of merchandise, food, and other various things. It wasn't until we stumbled onto the gamers convention that we were able to really laugh at where we were.
For those of you who wouldn't have guessed it, video games are huge here. There is even a television station that runs two guys playing a computer game against each other, while another man announces the events like it was a WWF match. This runs twenty four hours a day. The anomaly is that these guys are celebrities, entertainers, a kind of new century athlete. In America we have shows about them, but they usually carry a theme like "Intervention," "Manchild Arrested in Development," and so on.
From the third floor we could see a complete fashion show with models dressed up as video game characters, who simulated everything from sword fights, karate moves, running from their pimps, and gunning down the bad guys. There was also an entire paparazzi there to photograph the show, a DJ, a man with a giant fog machine, and a predominantly male audience on standby waiting to actually order some of the costumes modeled. Adjacent to this there were about one to two hundred gaming booths where you simply just play video games. You are rewarded by making the effort to play in the mall, rather than on your couch, by being given a beautiful Korean girl bedecked in nearly nothing to stand next to you and root you on as you attempt to proceed to the next level...STUD! And to top it off, complimentary energy drinks in case you tire yourself out in the vigorous process of gaming. Being that it was too intense for us to even dare get close to, we decided ten minutes of marveling was good enough. With wide eyes and a box of hot chocolate mix, we decided to take our leave.
Every time we return home we seem to always smile at how fortunate we are to live in what is, in Korea, a quite place. Whether we have been conditioned or merely raised right to be impatient with excess is beyond either of us. LOTTE WORLD was nothing more than a challege of acceptance and tolerance. We aren't shoppers, but we aren't subject to be above going to see a giant mall and finding it interesting.
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