Shanghai Times

Here are the pictures from Gapyeong:

There's not much to say about Wednsday. We woke up late, checked out of the hotel, and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out Amara's work visa situation (We ended up having to purchase another tourist visa, as we did not have the documents necessary to get the work one). At about 5pm, we jumped on a bus and headed for the rural town of Gapyeong, in Geonggi-do province.

Once we arrived, Ryan met us at the bus station. He and his girlfriend Meeyan treated us to a delicious pork Kalbi dish. The room we ate in was very traditional - we even sat on the floor. We then went back to Ryan's to sleep.

The next day, we woke up early and visited Ryan at the public school where he works. First, we met him for a nice mondu meal and then we co-taught his class with him. It was interesting to compare and contrast Korean and Chinese students. That evening we had drank some Soju at the local watering hole.

Gapyeong is beautiful town of 50,000, with mountains surrounding on all sides. We took a nice long walk through the country (taking many pictures, of course!). We stumbled upon some interesting animals, also - the ones that I remember most would definetly be the spiders, which were HUGE.

Gapyeong is also very traditional - the locals are extremely nationalistic and are not as foreign-friendly as those in Seoul. Unlike Seoul, this town has not been heavily influenced by Western culture. No American resturants here! Not even a McDonalds! We enjoyed staying in Gapyeong. It was good to experience life in a rural town.

Our last full day in Gapyeong was spent on Nami Island. It was an interesting island. The whole place is covered with art work and random sculptors. We enjoyed meeting some of the other foreign teachers who live in the area. The best part of traveling! We met someone from Canada, South Africa, and Australia!

On our final day in Gapyeong, we hiked up a mountain that gave us a beautiful view of the town. It was a nice climb. The mountains in this area of Korea are beautiful. Finally, we hopped on the bus back to Seoul to spend our last night in Korea before returning home.

Again, we had trouble trying to fly home. A typhoon (another one) hit Shanghai the day we were trying to come home. So we spent 12 hours in the airport because of delays. This was quite aggrevating of course. All in all, we enjoyed our time in Korea. Korean life and culture is so different from Shanghai's; it was a nice change. Check out our pictures and videos! We took many!

Erik and I noticed many comical differences between Seoul and Shanghai. For one, the people of Seoul are much more fashion conscience. No plaid pants with striped shirts here! Also, the Koreans in Seoul seemed much more polite. When getting on the subway, they would line up and wait for people to get off the train before they actually tried to enter. Line up, single file! This has never been seen in Shanghai. Also, we never witnessed a fight to the death for a seat on the subway, the seats that were reserved for the handicap and elderly actually stayed empty because people remained standing. People even lined up (single file again!) for the escalator. They stood on one side of the stairs leaving the other side free for people who wanted to walk up the escalator. Erik and I were baffled by this. So different then what we're used to.

While Korean people want to learn English, they don't seem interested in American culture. In Shanghai, people often ask what kind of American movies and music we like and what it's like to live in the U.S. In Korea however, we mostly heard questions like what Korea movies and music we liked and what kind of Korean food we enjoyed. Also, walking around town, people never gave a second glance. In Shanghai, we are constantly being stared at. So that was an intersting change.

I enjoyed our time in Seoul. It was good to gain some understanding and experience in a different culture. I'm looking forward to our future travels. Asia has proved to be a facinating place to travel.

Day three began with us leaving our couchsurfing host (she had told us she could only let us stay until Wednsday) for a cozy, 40-dollar a night guesthouse in the heart of Seoul. First we went to the largest traditional street market in Korea. Namdaemun market is located in the center of Seoul and is a famous shopping place for tourists. The market has been open for centuries.

Next we went to Itaewon, Seoul's international district, housing a variety of western-styled venues to eat, drink and be merry. Being a place where many foreigners congregate, it remains somewhat of a niche nightlife area for Koreans who are interested in a more international scene. A number of notable bars and clubs spot the area, both on the main street and in the alleys off it. The alleys were full of interesting little shops. Amara and I got some clothing embroidered with our names on it.

Day two began with us on our way to Korean War museum. Outside the museum is a monument to all the (South) Koreans, Americans, and other UN soldiers that laid down their lives to fight off the North.Surrounding the monument are vehicles and heavy artillery that have been used in struggles like the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War.


Inside the museum, we got to see many interesting exhibits. The first display was the original treaty that the Japanese signed to surrender the allies in WW2. After the war, the country was divided into the communist North and the democratic south (although actual democracy took decades to be effective). After Stalin got the bomb, he gave North Korea the thumbs up to invade the south. The result was a war that left millions dead and the original borders re-established. The museum had interesting wax figures depicting key battles, videos, weapons, maps, and timelines. I spent so much time looking around that Amara had to tell me that we had been here for hours and it was time go.
We did not get to go to the Demilitarized Zone because the South Korean President, on his way to a peace conference in the North, wanted to walk across the border on foot. As a result, they cancelled the tour on the only day we could do it.

Later that night, we went to the top of the Seoul tower. It is located on the top of a mountain in the center of the city. We went at night, and got breathtaking views of the city.