Sho's trip to Korea: Day 5 - Wednesday
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
The story so far: Days 1/2, Day 3 and Day 4
Work and Lunch and Play and Shopping
Wednesday 15th November 2000
Work
Having breakfasted on the complimentary bananas the chambermaid left me, I meet up with the others and the morning's struggle through the traffic begins. I don't even twitch as we're narrowly missed by a bus, and make a vain attempt to mow down pedestrians on the crossing. As we approach the toll gate to the motorway I'm engrossed in watching the following scenario: a group of men, all wearing anti-pollution masks1 and clutching bunches of bananas are congregated in the central reservation, under the flyover. They periodically launch themselves at a previously chosen target car and attempt to persuade the occupant to part with a few thousand Won for a bunch of bananas. I watch in anticipation, surely one of them will get lucky soon? But it is not to be, in 20 minutes of viewing, not one transaction takes place! I'm left wondering how they feed their families as we sweep through the gate and propell ourselves along the motorway in the direction of Anyan (about 40 minutes away) and the company RandD centre.
We're given an excellent presentation about the activities at the centre, which I think might have had a somewhat soporific effect on my colleagues. The morning brightens when one of the Japanese women (girl, really) meets up with a long-lost friend 2 There is much hugging and exclaiming, as she produces, from nowhere, a present for her friend. There is much more hugging and exclaiming, until, finally, she announces that she is ready to follow where we will lead. Where we are leading is lunch, work - all 60 minutes of it - is over for the day.
Lunch
With beaming face our chaperone announces to the group in general, and to me in particular, that we will not be eating Korean food this lunchtime, but will be going to the Skylark American Diner. Sounds interesting. We hurtle through the traffic like something out of Wacky Races3 and arrive in eager anticipation, on the stroke of noon, at the diner. Well, it looks like a diner, it smells like a diner, there is ketchup on the tables: it must be a diner. The waiter brings us all a glass of water and a menu. He returns seconds later with kimchee for all. Ah. I should have known. I read the menu, and order a salad4. I read the menu some more. I discover the pizza to end all pizzas: kimchee pizza. And not only is it on the menu, some of our party actually order one. I'm stunned. I decline a slice, and stick to the taco chip salad with a very passable guacamole. Sated we squeeze back in the van and proceed in a less than orderly fashion to the Traditional Folk Village. For some culture.
Play
Our chaperone has things to do, so he buys our tickets, presses guide pamphlets (in the appropriate language) in our hands and he's off - a speck in the distance. We divide into our usual groups, and I find myself with the 2 women from the USA office striding up the main pathway in the Traditional Village. The first thing we see is a booth where you can try on traditional wedding garb and have your photograph taken. No thanks, but one of the Japanese colleagues has a go. We move on, and look at how traditional houses - not just for the rich but for farmers too - didn't change much over about 400 years! Like the food5 it strikes me that everything is in small portions. Each room has a function (writing, cooking, sleeping), and the walls are made of paper. They have a system of underfloor heating, similar to that of the Romans, and large clay pots, some buried in the ground, to keep food cool. The kitchens are dark, however, and when we see one being used it is full of smoke and doesn't look at all comfortable or easy to use. There are people dressed in traditional dress, and I take a few photos of them, which they all find highly amusing. But not as amusing as my attempts to thank them in their own language. That sends one old woman into such spasms that I feel an ambulance is needed. But she recovers, and takes us to the Magistrate's house and orders her husband there to give us a tour round. He gives us an interesting tour, and finishes by showing us the prison. He finds it highly amusing to show us round, and sends us on our way with a merry wave and a toothless grin.
Just as I recall that one of my workmates at the office told me that the village is used for location shots for TV and films, we stumble into some filming. It is a military scene, and I'm interested to note that the "soldiers" are wearing basket-type shoes. They look very uncomfortable. There is an awed silence as the leading man makes a speach, then stunned silence followed by raucous laughter as one of the extras' mobile phone rings. He scoots away, admonished by all to take his call, and his place in the tent is taken by someone else. I hope the caller was at least the Korean equivalent of Steven Spielberg.
We wander around, and take a look in the museum where I learn about the folk festivals at different times of the year; weaving - floor coverings, baskets and shoes; traditional food - 500 varieties of kimchee, of course; and childbirth - the implements would have been an excellent contraceptive I think. Ouch! We finish our tour in the gift shop - where else? - where I purchase a few trinkets, and then we meet up with our group and our chaperone, for the last time. He gives us all a present, which is beautifully wrapped, and says that it is time for him to leave. Our driver, however, will - as promised - take those who want to go to the East Gate Market, via the hotel. Back in the van then, and for the first time each of us has a seat.
Shopping
We set off from the hotel at the height of rush-hour, and finally make it to the market. I don't get a sight of the East Gate, but what I do see is stunning in it's own way. And what do I see? Streets full of market stalls and cram packed with shoppers. Our driver points accross the road at a tall building, and with a final wave he hops back into his Chevvy, and with a toot of the horn he too is away. We descend the subway steps, which isn't as easy as it sounds since every square inch is taken up with somebody's wares. There are bags, scarves, hats, kimchee, trinkets, jeans, kimchee, sunglasses etc. etc. We emerge some minutes later, blinking into the neon lights of a massive market, on 11 floors. I have never seen anything like it. Stall after stall after stall of clothes, mens on 2 floors, then women's on 3, then children's and so it goes on up and up and up. And it's my luck to be with the Korean/American shopping champions. They drive me relentlessy on, and we see every single stall on every single floor - this is DOOTA they tell me. Enjoy! Finally we fight our way through the exit into a crowd of teenage girls, everywhere in Seoul there are gangs of them as though they are afraid to go out alone. Maybe they are, but they all look pretty confident to me. And every single one of them yakking away into their mobile phone - undoubtedly if not with one of their group, with someone they only saw 5 minutes ago. This crowd, however, are there with the purpose of looking at a Beatle-alike band. Who, it has to be said, are doing a fair job on From Me to You. They finish and I'm deafened by the screams. We plunge into the next building, which turns out to be more of the same. Only this time we're looking for food. Which we find, and eat, amid much head shaking that my companions had brought a westerner to such a grotty place 6 The food is great, plentiful kimchee as I have come to expect, and really great spicy tofu soup. We trail round some more stalls, and then decide to brave the trip back to the hotel via subway. We finally push our way down onto the platform, clutching our newly bought shiny tickets7, we wait for the train. When it arrives it is only stuffed to the brim with humanity, and not bursting at the seams, so all in all it is a fairly comfortable ride back to the hotel. We arrive at the Samseong statin in time to sprint to the 7-eleven, for some chocolate. I impresse my 2 native companions no end with my knowledge of the geography of the Mall, having walked every inch of it at least 3 times, it is now imprinted on my memory.
I have time for a swim, alone, in the pool and lounge around for the rest of the evening planning my day off tomorrow. Again I dream of kimchee, only this time it is on pizza.... I in with a cold sweat, and collapse back in relief that I'm not really eating one....
