Seoul Searchin'

Having fallen into a bit of a routine lately, we've had more time to explore our surroundings. We're taking plenty of pics, and will be sure to get a few online when we have the chance. The internet cafes here are focused on online gaming, so most of the computers aren't set up for downloading photos from a camera. Nonetheless, here are a few pics.



National Assembly Building:





Dean Climbs Building 63:





Shopping is an interesting experience around here. We visited Namdaemun Market the day before yesterday, and found the entire experience somewhat disorienting. The market is made up of stalls about the size of a bedroom or a living room, manned by one or two merchants, selling pretty much the same stuff as the people next to them. The market is organized into sections, so that if you're looking for, say, ginseng, you shop in a certain area of the market where the ginseng shops do business. It's the same story for clothing, or lacquer ware, or paper goods.



Namdaemun market, however, becomes a bit more intimidating when you consider the scale. The market consists of over 10,000 stores employing 50,000 merchants, covering around 66,000 square meters. They cater to 300,000 to 400,000 people daily, who purchase an estimated 1,800 tons of goods. Thus, when we set out looking for fabric, it was no surprise that we eventually terminated our search in favor of grabbing a bite to eat.



Aside from all the pretty things to see, the best part of the trip has been meeting up with a host from the SERVAS program. Mr. Kim Yoonsaeng and his family have hosted us for one day so far, and it's already proved more fulfilling in many regards than most of our days alone.



Among the highlights: learning ping-pong techniques from real pros, dining on some stellar cuisine, and visiting a classroom full of middle-school English students to give them practice speaking in English. Also had a chance to visit a korean day-spa of sorts, a jim jil bang. These spas have a whole collection of rooms for individuals or families to relax, including 40, 35, and 30 degree dry-heat rooms, an ice-coated room to cool off in, a room into which oxygen in pumped, and rooms for massage, bathing, and hanging around on floor mats. Lovely time.



Leaving Seoul for Beijing any time now. We've heard that Beijing is somewhat noisy and poluted, but more on that once we arrive. Oh, and one last pic for the road: here's a shot from Changdoekgung, a world heritage site from the Joeson dynasty.