It should be obvious that in a city the size of Seoul there will always be a place that catches you unawares, that opens like a fold of paper in Exquisite Corpse, revealing something at once recognizable and yet utterly, sometimes bewilderingly unexpected.  It should be obvious, what with the enormity of Seoul’s population and expanse, but it isn’t.  One gets accustomed to their surroundings, often remarkably quickly, and an idea of the city congeals.

This is no less true for expats.  Our primary motivation for moving abroad may be the promise of adventure, but we also tend to pride ourselves on how quickly we adapt to our new surroundings, and how quickly we can claim (with varying degrees of falsity) that we ‘know’ the city, that it’s all old hat.  Listen to a second year expat talk to a first year.  Call it the race to blasé.

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It’s kind of interesting to compare the sights during rainy days in Seoul with Singapore. Here’s some interesting things I’ve seen.

1. Huge umbrellas during a slight, almost non existent drizzle

Looked out of the window and see everyone on the street using their large umbrellas. Didn’t see any raindrops but thought I was just being blind. Walked out with an umbrella, only to find that there is ALMOST no rain.

The above happens to me really often here. Drizzle here is kind of fine, instead of the heavy water droplets we have in Singapore. In Singapore, most of us don’t bother using an umbrella if it is a slight drizzle. It’s a common sight to see people walking in the rain (drizzle), especially the guys. Most guys don’t carry umbrellas unless it’s really raining. But in Seoul, I’m puzzled by how everyone uses umbrellas in the slightest rains. Huge umbrellas. And I’m just walking normally. Read the full story

Every weekend, thousands across Korea flock to one of Korea’s three race tracks. With action that lasts all day, it’s no wonder that millions each year enjoy the “Sport of Kings.”

In this video, I take a trip to Seoul’s Racecourse Park, located on Subway Line 4. Make sure you stick around to the end of the video to see my mad riding skills!

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When out walking the streets of Insadong and at various festivals, it’s common to see crowds forming in front of stores selling 꿀타래, or Dragon Beard Candy. Here’s what Wiki has to say.

In Korea, the treat was a favorite of the Royal Court and made predominantly from honey (꿀).

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A view from above the stream

November is finally beginning to feel like the pre-winter month of evil that I remember, so I could think of no better way to spend a freezing Tuesday night than to walk along a man made stream in the middle of Seoul, looking at bright shiny things!

All joking aside, I’d been looking forward to checking out the lantern festival since missing the festival last year. I love Asian lanterns, so was really excited to see the massive lanterns that Seoul had on display. I definitely wasn’t disappointed.

The Seoul Lantern Festival started in 2009 along the Cheonggyecheon (“Clear Water Stream”) in downtown Seoul. Set on the small stream is over a kilometre of massive lanterns, most of them going with the central theme of that year. This year’s theme is “Old Story of Seoul” which is wonderfully vague so allows for pretty much anything. There are lanterns from both national and international participants, and displays of other international lantern festivals at the main entrance to the festival.

The lantern festival was really fun, but I definitely felt like I went with the wrong company. As much as I love my friend Alyssa, who came along with me, we both couldn’t help but notice that almost everyone else walking along the stream was a couple or family. After walking the full length of the lantern display there and back (which I believe was 3km?) we both felt very lonely and depressed. So we went to Bennigans and ate Death by Chocolate and whined over how we lacked boyfriends. As you do in such a situation.

Trying to explain a lantern festival seems rather silly, when I could take photos instead. I’ve posted a selection of my photos over at my website, A Blog Abroad. Or, you can check out the full gallery over on Flickr!

Itaewon, right on Namsan, claims about 22,000 people as permanent residents and is frequented not only by the US troops stationed near by, but by millions looking to enjoy it’s acclaimed night life and other less-than-reputable offerings. Because of this draw, several international restaurants have sprung up over the landscape, providing visitors with a diverse range of flavors to choose from – something that this episode’s guest was more than pleased to share.

Over the years, I’ve made it a point to avoid this little area of Seoul because of its bad reputation; however, Paul Ajosshi, as he’s known on the Internet, calls Itaewon home. “The Mecca for foreigners, the ghetto for foreigners, the den of inequity,” he tells me as we kick off our discussion of experiences and those terms all ring true in my ears. All of my previous visits to Itaewon at night have seen scores of youths lining up to drink the night away. Seeing as how Paul has lived in Itaewon and the immediate area for eleven years, he’s had ample time to explore the back streets and find the true gems of the neighborhood — which is exactly what I was hoping for.

Read Paul’s Blog here: http://www.paulajosshi.com
Read the entire YNOTW Post here: http://wp.me/p1hnjj-1aB

Music License Agreement: http://www.smartsound.com/products/licenseinfo.html

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First opened in 1945 by the US Government following the Second World War, the National Folk Museum of Korea boasts nearly 100,000 artifacts and recreations of Korean history and culture.

Exhibition halls are divided among three themes: History of the Korean People (focusing on life from prehistoric times through the Daehan Empire), The Korean Way of Life (depicting life for ancient Koreans), and The Life cycle of Koreans (explaining how the Confucian ideology gave rise to many of the nation’s customs).

Information:

Address: Seoul-si Jongno-gu Sejong-ro 1-1

Phone:+82-2-1330;+82-2-3704-3114 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)

Hours of Operation:

March – October: 09:00 – 18:00
November – February: 09:00 – 17:00
-May – Aug Saturdays & Sundays, holidays : 09:00 – 19:00
※Last admission is 1hr before closing

※Closed Tuesdays and New Year’s Day

Admission: Free

Directions: Gyeongbokgung (Line 3, exit 5), Anguk Station (Line 3, exit 1), or Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5, exit 2).

Web: www.nfm.go.kr (Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese)

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The iPhone 4S launches in Korea tomorrow (11 November 2011) but yesterday I got a sneak peak at the 4S thanks to a source with access to those kinds of things.

On the outside the 4S is the same as the iPhone 4 albeit with a slight modification to the case in terms of where the volume buttons and standby button are.

But the insides are all new promising faster performance thanks to a better processor and a much better 8 MegaPixel Camera with a new lens optimised for low light conditions and a Sony made image sensor meaning you can leave the point and shoot at home – the iPhone 4S will probably be your new camera as well as your phone.

The most hyped and potentially killer app to come to the iPhone in this iteration is “Siri”. Touted as your personal digital assistant, Siri takes voice command of your phone to a new level. Able to parse real language you can tell Siri to send a message to a contact and dictate the contents of the message and check it before sending it off – all with a single touch.

“What can I help you with today?”

The funny thing is that, for now, Siri doesn’t speak Korean, nor does its database cover anything Korea related – the word from Apple being it might not be up and running until next year some time. Case and point:

If you are in the Market for a new phone – the iPhone 4S might just be the ticket – with KT offering some good deals:

The 16GB model will cost ₩814,000 outright. Going by my current phone plan i-Value for ₩54,000/month you’ll get 300 minutes of calling, 300 messages and unlimited Internet, while the handset will only cost you ₩212,000 or about ₩8,000 a month over the course of a 2 year contract.

BUT wait – there’s more! KT will let you trade in your iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 and give a further discount on the price of the handset:

Trading in your iPhone 3GS will net you a discount of between ₩100 – ₩150,000 depending on the capacity and the iPhone 4 will net you a discount of up to ₩210,000! Meaning for some customers upgrading to the iPhone 4S is practically free!

Free!

If you are in the neighborhood, yours truly, The Chosun Bimbo wil be at KT’s Gwanhwamun Global store tomorrow morning between 7:30 – 9:30am demonstrating Siri (in English) at KT’s launch event. There will be balloons, geeks, girls in short skirts dancing to loud obnoxious music and there might even be snacks!

A big thanks to my source for the peek – the views expressed here have nothing to do with KT and they’re not paying me. Although if they’d like to give me a free iPhone I’ll say pretty much anything. Especially if it’s against dirty ol’ SK Telecom. Boo!

First opened in 1909, the Seoul Zoo is the 10th largest in the world. Not only does it boast over 3400 animals and more than 360 species, the Zoo has many parks and hiking trails for families – making it THE destination for many.

Information:

Address: Gyeonggi-do Gwacheon-si Makgye-dong 159-1

Phone: +82-2-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese); For more info +82-2-500-7245 (Korean, English)

Web: http://grandpark.seoul.go.kr/Eng/html/main/main.jsp

Hours:

April – September: 9:00am – 7:00pm (Last admission: 6pm)
October – March: 9:00am – 6:00pm (Last admission: 5pm)

* Seal & Dolphin Show:
4 Shows Daily: 12pm, 1:30 am, 3pm, 4:30 pm
(December – February: 2 shows – 1:30pm, 3pm)

Parking: Small car : 4,000won / Large car : 9,000won

Admission:

Zoo: Adult(Age 19 or older) 3,000 won (group of 30 persons or more 2,100 won)/ Teenager(Ages 13 – 18) 2,000 won (group of 30 or more persons 1,400 won)/ Children(Ages 4 – 12) 1,000 won (group of 30 or more persons 700 won)
Dolphin Show: Adult 1,500 won/ Teenager 1,000 won/ Children 500 won
Youth Training Center: Adult 2,000 won/ Teenager 1,500 won/ Children 1,000 won

Getting There: Seoul Grand Park Station, Line 4, Exit 2

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Located in Amsa-Dong, the Prehistoric Settlement Site (선사주거지) was unearthed in 1925 when a massive flood washed over the banks of the Han River. To date, this Neolithic has been the largest discovered in Korea. The Amsa-Dong Prehistoric Settlement Site depicts the average life of these primitive humans as well as many relics recovered from archeological excavations. The number and quality of these finds is so great, that the site and its artifacts were designated National Historic Relic #267 in 1979. Humans that called this area home not only lived here during the Neolithic period, but also the during the Bronze Age and Baekje.

Information

Address: 233 Seonsa-ro, Gangdong-gu, Seoul (139-2 Amsa-dong)
Phone: 02-3426-3857/3867
Hours: 9:30am — 6pm
Admission Fees: W500 (adults), W300 (students), Under 7- Free

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