Chuseok 2013

Chuseok is the Korean version of Thanksgiving. Koreans get together with their families and pay respects to their ancestors. One of the first things we were told when we got to Korea was that traveling on Chuseok is a pain, however most foreigners do it despite the warnings. I mean, who can pass up a 5 day weekend? So when Adrienne and I FINALLY decided on where to go, most of the flights were booked, so we got horrible prices and inconvenient times. But hey, we were going to JAPAN!

But then the nuclear reactor started acting up again and all of our Korean friends, co-workers and students were telling us not to go because it was too dangerous at the time. We really did do some research, and it was kind of all a "maybe it is, maybe it isn't" situation, but what really had us thinking was the travel arrangements and the money. Once we really thought about it, we were going to be spending about $800 for 3.5 days in Japan. I really didn't want to be rushed, but I really didn't want to back out either. So after much deliberation and thought, we decided to cancel our plans and stay in Korea for Chuseok.

Kaleena, Krissy, Adrienne and myself at the Gyeongbokgung Palace 

It actually worked out really well because Kaleena's sister, Krissy, was visiting from the states and we all had a really good time.

First on the agenda was heading up to Seoul. We've been to Seoul a few times, but I hadn't gone to any of the palaces, and I can't turn down an excuse to go shopping. So we shopped a bit and visited my favorite street, Insadong, that has cute little craft shops, pottery, traditional crafts and super tacky souvenir shops. We also headed to one of the palaces which, to be honest, was much like the Forbidden City. I'm starting to think that, if you've seen one palace, you've seen 'em all.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Year of the Rabbit

We also decided to head to Busan for a few nights. We wanted to enjoy the beach before it got too cold. Well, if you know me at all, you know I hate the beach, particularly laying out on the beach. What I was looking forward to was strolling on the beach, drinking coffee and/or a beer (depending on the time of day), people watching and enjoying the beautiful sight, sound and smell of the water. We spent an awesome night chatting on the beach, enjoying the full moon and watching a few small fireworks being set off by people on the beach. Oh, and eating some AWESOME Korean BBQ.

Busan at night

Amazing BBQ

Just before sunset

Morning Haeundae 

The main reason for wanting to go to Busan, though, was to see the temples. Note to self, don't try to visit temples on holidays. They are PACKED. But they were beautiful. One was inland and one was on the coast. I'd seen pictures of the second temple before from friends that had visited... It looked beautiful, and man it didn't disappoint. Though extremely overcrowded, we had a great time watching little kids play around and the weather was beautiful, so it was a great day.

Beomeosa Temple

Yonggungsa Temple

The crazy line to get to the temple, and it wasn't always moving

After returning home, Adrienne and I decided to rent bikes (though they were free- you just leave your ID) and bike along the river and I also decided to take a full day and rest (it was vacation after all). We also decided to hike Palgongsan again, but we made it a short hike because the bus ride there was RIDICULOUS. It was so crowded that Adrienne was LITERALLY pressed up against the window, face first, and I was supporting my entire body weight on one arm against the window in order to stand because we decided to give our seats to two older ladies.

Biking along the river

Palgongsan

Next year I really hope to get tickets before they are all sold out so I can leave the country, but it was actually really nice to hang out in Korea and see what my "home country" had to offer.

Infinite World Tour

My last summer trip: a weekend in Seoul to fuel my new obsession… KPOP.

After a week of deskwarming, I hopped on the fast train to Seoul to meet up with Adrienne, who had flown in from Tokyo earlier that day. The next day was the event we both had been waiting for for a long time. The INFINITE concert. We were pumped. We even got shirts made from the shop in my college town that I picked up during the wedding trip.

Saturday we woke up and headed out shopping for a bit, taking advantage of the H&M and Forever 21, before we headed back to the hostel to get ready for the concert. 

The fans donate rice and the group gives it to charity

After a winding walk in the subway station, hopping off the wrong subway just in time (and Adrienne literally having to leap over an old lady and her luggage) then finally getting on the right subway, we were off! We realized we were on the right subway when other Infinite fans were surrounding us. We got off the subway and were immediately immersed in street venders trying to sell us merchandise. We really wanted glow sticks, but we waited to get closer to the concert where we picked up our tickets. Lesson #1: the good merchandise isn’t near the concert. In Korea, it is all sold out by the time you get there, so we were out of luck and had to end up buying cheap, generic glow sticks. We found our way inside and found our seats, where there were signs waiting for us for a “fan project”. We would hold up this particular sign when Infinite was singing their last song. As a surprise for the group members.

Inside the venue

Glow sticks- a must

There had also been a ton of “no cameras” signs everywhere, but I had planned on ignoring them and hoped not to get caught. If I did, what would they do? Scold me and tell me to put it away. I could deal with that. So I was trying to take a few sly pictures when I saw a security guard go over to another waygook, ask for her camera, then asked to follow her out of the concert. She never returned. Lesson #2: They will kick you out of the concert if you try to break their rules. So I kept my camera hidden the rest of the night and planned on borrowing pictures from the internet later.

My only 2 pictures

We enjoyed the concert so much. They are great live performers. They really engage the fans and try their best to make everyone happy. They threw signed paper planes to the crowd, they did “fan service” (basically hugging and joking with each other), one member “proposed” to a fan and gave her a ring and a flower and they even took selfies with fans’ camera phones. Wait, I thought no pictures allowed. Oh well. But it was a great concert. And when we held up the signs at the end, they all were really touched, some even crying.

Borrowed from the internet :)

It’s a big thing here apparently. Fan projects and making the members feel appreciated. Fans here even collect donations for the idols’ birthdays and send them a large amount of gifts. As if they don’t already have everything they will ever need.

Again, borrowed from the internet

After the concert was over, Adrienne and I headed out. Only to be greeted by a huge line for subway tickets. Lesson #3: Get your return ticket before the concert begins. We waited for EVER. And we were starving. But we had a great time. I hope to get to see them in concert again.

After the concert- happy girls!

The banners we held up on their last song- it says "I'll be waiting Infinite"

Lotus Lantern Festival

This weekend I headed back to Seoul for a friend's birthday and for the Lotus Lantern Festival. This particular festival has actually been on my Korean Bucket List since before I got here, but I didn't actually know what it was until recently.

The Lotus Lantern Festival is in preparation and celebration of Buddha's Birthday. The weekend before his birthday, they light the lanterns and have all kinds of festivities, including cultural performances, crafts and a parade. It was extremely fun and I can't wait to go again next year!

Saturday was the day of the parade, so our group split up and enjoyed different parts of the city during the daytime before meeting back up for the parade. Malia, Kaleena and I decided to shop a bit, then head to Vatos for some awesome Mexican food. We then went on the hunt for a great little brewery we had heard about to enjoy some GOOD beer. Magpie Brewery was started by 2 expats and they have great craft beers, something that is very hard to find in Korea. We then headed to another craft brewery, Craftworks, that is located just down the street, but is run by Koreans. They had a wonderful seasonal brew, as well as a great IPA. After having a relaxing day and enjoying some of the best beer I've come across in Korea, we headed to meet up with the rest of the group to enjoy the night parade.

Craftworks Brewery

I never would've imagined how many people were in this parade. It was insane! Other than the huge lit up lanterns (some with people on them), they also had groups doing performances, dancing and playing instruments, etc, as well as large groups of people lined up carrying lanterns. These large groups ranged from little kids to the elderly, people dressed in their normal clothes to costumes or hanbok. They were great to watch.... At one point, we noticed that there were foreigners that had decided to walk with the people in the parade... crazy how relaxed the security was... we could've just joined along for the walk!

  

 After the parade, we headed down to the end point where there was a stage set up for dances and singing. They had fireworks and confetti. It was such a blast... Hundreds of people gathered around watching at first, then we were drug into the middle to dance along with them... there were people in circles doing traditional dances, people trying to mimic the dances from the stages, and many people formed into "trains". So much fun, AND my friends and I ended up on the Korean news (you can see it here, around the 17:20 mark)!

The next day, Malia, Kaleena and I headed back to Iteawon to grab some breakfast... we stumbled upon this WONDERFUL restaurant called Suzi's, where they have great western-style food and a deli where you can order take out. We grabbed their home made spinach artichoke cream cheese spread and a jalapeno bagel for the road and headed out to the train station....

It was a wonderful weekend yet again!

More pictures here.

Seoul is Happening!

This weekend Malia, Jordan and I went to Seoul, where we were joined by Jay, for the PSY concert. It was a huge event... there was rumor of NK trying to use it as an opportunity to bomb a bunch of people at one time, which is totally ridiculous... though I think we were a little more vigilant than we would normally be... but we are all fine and dandy...

On the (extremely long) train

Friday Malia, Jordan and I rushed to the train station for our 4 hour slow train to Seoul. Lesson #1 of the weekend, take the KTX (the fast train)... 4 hours of anticipation is just too much... take the slow train back all you want, but get to Seoul Friday night early enough (and fast enough) to go out! Once we got to Seoul, we met up with Jay before heading to the hostel. After getting settled, we headed back out to Hongdae, where all the bars and clubs are, and had a few drinks and grabbed some food, before heading back in for the evening.

Saturday, we met up with a few other people that live in Seoul (or the surrounding areas) and headed to grab coffee and go to the Kyobo Bookstore in Seoul, where they have a very large English section. After going crazy on travel guides, we headed to Itaewon (a district in Seoul that is known for its foreigner friendly restaurants and bars and where a lot of the military hang out) to grab some of the most amazing Mexican food I've ever had!

Since there was a wait, a few of us grabbed seats at the bar while some went out to wander around while we were waiting for our table. We grabbed drinks (thank you Vatos for having nice IPA beer!) and some amazing queso, then were, more quickly than expected, called for our table. Though it was a little pricey, the atmosphere was great and the food was even better. I can't wait to go back!

YUMMY Carnitas!

Malia, Lauren, Jordan, Jay, myself and Heather

NUTELLA NACHOS!

After lunch, we quickly headed back to the hostel to change and grabbed a taxi to take us to the World Cup Stadium for the event of the weekend... the PSY Happening concert!!! We grabbed our tickets, picked up a few shirts, then headed inside where all of our minds were blown. Not only was this a 4 hour long concert, but it had pyrotechnics, fireworks, confetti, flying people, great songs, and guest artists Lee Hai, 2NE1 and G-Dragon! It definitely made each of our top 3 concerts. It was great to see PSY, who everyone knows from Gamnam Style, sing wonderfully composed ballads and become emotional with his fans. This is one artist that truly cares about his work, and the people that support him. You can tell that he wants to give his fans his all, thus the 4 "encores" he gave... it was great!

On our way in!

Yay for the standing section

Psy's opening number

They had great confetti

Perfect weather, and the glow sticks really made the environment 

Psy goes flying

G DRAGON!

Dancing to Single Ladies

2NE1

One of his encores 

After the concert, we were all so hungry, but also tired, so we decided to go back to the hostel and get McDelivery... a wonderful invention.

McDelivery

Sunday morning, Jay had to catch the earliest bus out, while the rest of us slept in. We then packed our bags, which we ended up leaving in lockers at the subway station while we shopped in Meyongdong (another area of Seoul). We stumbled upon this amazing Italian restaurant where we split salads, pizza and pasta bread bowls before heading out to explore. Jordan became our Guinea pig and let Malia and I be his personal stylists. He looked very handsome when we were finished though :)

Pasta in a bread bowl... how could it get better?

The best garlic bread I've had here

This pizza was on par with the pizza I had in Italy... it was THAT good

When it was time, we headed back to the subway, picked up our bags, and headed on the train home... A great weekend full of wonderful company, food and music!