Korea

Bound for Seoul

I'm off to Korea!

I couldn’t afford two vacations off island this summer, but I can manage one. Bali is off the calendar—maybe at Christmas—but in the meantime my friend Chul has asked me to come visit him in Seoul, and I’m going. I ordered my ticket earlier this week, found and confirmed a room at a guesthouse recommended by someone I met here on Guam (a Canadian educator and media specialist who now lives there), and now I will be gone for my first real trip to Asia. Watch this space for reports between August 7 and 14.

Chul is a lawyer and friend of my friend David in metro Detroit. They met in upstate New York, where Chul was in law school at the University of Rochester and David was an organ scholar at the Eastman School of Music. (Chul is also a violinist, by the way.) Chul goes back to the States each year where he has many friends and some family, but his friends don’t return the favor and go to Korea because of the distance. But I’m in the neighborhood, sort of, and Korean Air has regular flights back and forth, so . . .

This will be interesting. I’ve been abroad, but never anywhere quite this foreign. (Gaum excepted, at least at times.) I bought the Lonely Planet Korea volume a while ago, and borrowed the Seoul volume from the public library, so I've been doing some research. Incidentally, the Lonely Planet series may be the best of the bunch of travel guides series: authoritative, opinionated, well researched, and well written. Excellent maps. I’m also partial to the Moon guides, which are harder to find and don’t cover as many places. Anyway, I’ll post on my plans as they shape up this coming week, though my guess is that I will go with no agenda other than to wander around, get lost, and eat lots of kimchi. Stay tuned.

Comments

[marcy]

Hey, Seoul Man!

This trip sounds really fun! Personally, my lumch today at Saica, the Japanese restaurant off North Campus where they don't give you silverware, made me think that a week of chopsticks would start to get to me . . . although I bet the food gives you incentive to continue :)

[Rob Kellerman]

I love that restaurant in Ann Arbor, but since being on Guam, Vietnamese food is my new love. This trip should be really interesting; it's my first to Asia, Narita Airport in Tokyo notwithstanding (and notable for the largest selection of Hello Kitty merchandise I have ever seen gathered in one place. It was fascinating and/or appalling--I'm not sure which. As far as the food goes, I may pack a fork and spoon . . .

[Marcy]

omg!!! I LOVE Hello Kitty!!!

Just make sure you pack the fork and spoon in your main luggage. Wouldn't want you sneaking them on board and trying to make salad of your fellow passengers, or something.