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First and foremost: I’ve posted ALL my Spring 2008 pictures at chrisaleone.com. These include: February snowfall, Mom and Dad’s visit, Keith and my trip to Korea last week, and pictures from a beautiful Spring sunday. Here’s a quick link: Spring 2008
For those of you close to me, you’ve probably heard me talk about my first visit to Korea in November of last year. It wasn’t the best trip I’ve ever taken. In fact, everyone in the group left without a desire to ever return. So when I found out I would have to go back one more time, I wasn’t jumping off the walls. I knew it was necessary to leave to Japan so I could re-enter on a new Visa, but I would have preferred a country I had yet to explore - China, Thailand, Guam 
, etc. As luck would have it, this was the least expensive option (by a long shot - $240 for roundtrip flight, two nights in a hotel, and group tour on our one full day) and considering we weren’t paying for it ourselves, Korea made the most sense.
A 1.75 hour, late afternoon flight put us in Korea by late evening. We found our tour group (filled with gitty, frugle, Japanese shoppers) and hopped a bus to our hotel in the center of Seoul.
Talk about a translation barrier - we were in a Japanese tour group in South Korea. Yikes.
By the time we checked into our hotel, it was around midnight. Encouraged by the activity around the hotel, we decided to go out in search of some food. At 12 am on a monday night, the majority of people roaming (read: drunkenly stumbling) the streets were business men still in their suits. Quite a funny site.
We worked our way down one of the back streets and found a 24 hr restaurant that looked inviting. Despite its location and the time, it was undoubtedly a franchise - which we forced ourselves into thinking made it safe to eat.
Morning comes - the food seems to have digested. Victory.
We would spend the morning with our tour group. This would include a complimentary breakfast, a temple tour, and shopping. On the topic of food - every place we ate, no matter what time of day, served kimchi.
One of the most popular and recognizable Korean foods, kimchi is essentially a red pepper sauce spread on vegetables and served cold. Between my five total days in Korea, I was starting to enjoy it. However, at 8 am, it can be hard to stomach.
The temple was like many others we’ve visited in Japan. I regret not having read up more on Korean history as it would have made the experience a little more remarkable, Still, it was nice to be outside getting to experience some more Asian history.
Next, the tour group stopped at a few selected shopping spots but I was holding my money for the street venders we’d visit later in the day.
The group tour finished at 3 pm and we were now on our own. A colorful map and a short $3 taxi ride (opposed to the $60 we experienced last November) put us in walking distance to our hotel with plenty of places to stop along the way. The day had turned chilly so Keith and I grabbed a cup of coffee and relaxed at a western java establishment.
By the time we got back on our way, the street venders were just starting to come out. It was almost exactly as I remember it - high pressure, very aggressive, borderline between annoying and comical. South Korea is a great place to buy cheap knock-offs. And with a little haggling, I indulged.
Fresh out of wan and any place to exchange for some more, Keith and I found some dinner and then made it back to our hotel for an early night. Our bus was coming at 5:30 the next morning so we were both showered and in bed reading our books by about 8:30. Needless to say, we were the only ones not falling asleep on the way to the airport.
All in all, it was a nice trip. While I’m glad I went back for “one more shot” I don’t think I’d want to go again for recreational purposes. It’s not a horrible place, but there isn’t much about the country that intrigues me. In contrast, Japan’s people, history, and entire culture is something I’ve fallen in love with. Japan is a place I will be coming back to - that’s for certain.
-Chris
Oh yeah, and did I mention CNN articles about North and South Korea being on the brink of war published a day before we left? Turns out North Korea is threatening South Korea - specifically Seoul - with destruction. I neglected to tell anyone in my family about this until I made it back.
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