Takeaways from this captivating country:
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Food tours. My wife organized a food tour through a few of Seoul's many food markets for my birthday. A food tour remains the single most efficient use of condensed time to "see" a city.
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Busan. Something about the dichotomy between ocean and this massive city skyline is surreal. I had a half day to myself during the closing days of the 7th International Marine Debris Conference. The tried and true method of ordering food by pointing at another person's dish + thumbs up was further proved effective. Loved Busan — seemed to be a great jumping-off point to other interesting areas along the southern coast as well. Jeju being the most popular, perhaps?
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Seoul's National Museum of Korea is 1) housed in a massive and gorgeous building 2) would require the better part of a full day to fully view, though can be sufficiently sifted through in a wondrous stupor within 4 hours and 3) is free. 10/10 recommend.
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Gyeongju. Far more domestic than international travelers, which makes sense given the main attractions of Bulguksa and Seokguram Grotto, both classified as national treasures. Walking through the parks in Gyeongju with the ancient burial mounds dotted throughout was amazing — very different than the cityscapes of Seoul and Busan.
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The history. The distinct culture built over centuries of international interference — Tang → Mongols → Chinese → Japanese → United States — is absolutely unique to any country I've been to previously. At Bulguksa, the temple itself was destroyed by invading forces, and much of the scene today was rebuilt in modern times to ancient specifications. At Seokguram Grotto, the 8th century masonry still survives. At both locations, an equal level of intense pride was evident from Koreans. Their people are resilient and, rightfully, damn proud of the metropolitan wonder they have built while holding on to a history going back some five or six millennia.
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Transportation. South Korea is roughly the size of Indiana, and its transportation system was nothing short of stunning, efficient, fast, and clean. Every metro stop had perfectly usable bathrooms — could you imagine this in the States? A single loadable card can be used across all metro and bus systems. This blew my mind. I couldn't imagine Los Angeles and San Francisco agreeing to a unified name for a transportation system, let alone a unified payment method.
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Drinking. Every drink we had was based around a meal, which was such a slight but profound shift. Every night was a bit of a banger in our section of town, near Jonggak station in Seoul. Sipping soju or Korean beers over a spicy meal is quite lovely.
Stay young y'all :)
