I love...

That's all.

Seoul; Presently Tense

It's Tuesday. Monday May 5^th is my birthday. Monday. What can I do on a Monday…? Recover from a good – no, great – weekend, that’s what. So Deuk Kyun and I start planning a trip to Seoul for the 2^nd Annual Seoul World DJ Festival.

We agree not to spend much money as we’re saving up for a big winter getaway. Therefore, I buy tickets to the show in advance, saving us ~$10. We also decide that a “love motel” won’t be cheap enough… no, no. We need to stay in a jjimjilbang. For around $10, a person can pay to get the hot tubs, sauna, rooms (click on the links and read if you don’t know what I’m talking about) any time of day. Most jjimjilbang are 24-hour operations, with dedicated sleeping rooms and mats, pads, and pillows available.

On Friday we pack small backpacks for the overnight trip. Deuk Kyun is arranging seats on the cheaper (read: slower) train to Seoul Station for ~$20 each one-way. Saturday morning we leave Daegu with no problems. The weather is beautiful in Daegu as well as Seoul. When we arrive, we head straight for Yongsan. One highlight of Seoul (for me at least) is the electronics mart in the Yongsan area, near the city center. I want to call it an indoor market but that doesn’t really do it justice. When we get off the subway we cross through an outdoor passageway from Yongsan Station into the shopping area. Upstairs there is a large department store and restaurant section, and on the side is the electronics market.

As I walk in, I immediately feel the warmth and excitement soaking into me from the bright, white display lighting and neon signs on the vendors’ showcases. All the salespeople eagerly greet me, asking what I’m looking for. I have recently purchased a lightly used Nikon D40 SLR camera body, so I explain to the first salesman I want to look at lenses. Specifically, the Nikon 18-55mm VR lens. The first vendor gives me a price and I quickly say, "I'll come back, thanks!" I continue to collect prices, higher and lower until I'm sure I've asked everyone... Or I get lost. I head back to the dealer who quoted the lowest price - he unfortunately informs me he can't sell me the lens. Due to the holiday (5/5 = Children's Day), their supply store is closed, or something. This is the case with 2 more vendors. I finally find someone who sill sell me the lens, I work out a deal, and get the warranty information. Finally, I walk out with my beautiful lens!

After leaving Yongsan, we hop the subway to Itaewon. This area is foreigner-central for Korea, and definitely worth the visit. We are walking up and down the streets looking for anything cool. I visit the English bookstore, browse the street vendors, and finally we begin to look for dinner. After stopping into an alleged "Spanish Tapas" bar, only to find they don't actually have food on the menu, we find a small Mexican restaurant. 2 burritos, 2 tacos and a Corona later, we finally leave for Nanji Park on the Han River.

After exiting the subway station at the Olympic Stadium, we ask some people on the street to get headed in the right direction. We walk... and walk... and then we see signs for Nanji Park. After entering the park, we haven't spotted the Han yet. Upon asking someone else, we are told that there is actually another Nanji Park. Damn. So we leave the way we came, and continue to ask people randomly if they can give us some direction. Eventually we meet 3 Korean girls loaded up with snacks and beer who say they are headed to the festival. Success! We follow them the additional 2-3 km until we reach the riverside. The last little shop we see is filled with festival goers, so we join the pack to fill our backpacks with beer, juice and soju. Picking up our tickets proves to be easy and we make our way in.

Now the music is just getting started, but as the night wears on, people get crazier, the DJ's prove more and more creative, and effects grow spookier. The air fills with dust and artificial smoke. We can feel our hair, skin, clothing, and even teeth becoming sticky with sweat, humidity, and dirt.


It's 3 AM. We're climbing up to the highway to catch a taxi back to the Hongik University area to find a jjimjilbang. We get in a cab with another young couple headed in the same direction and drop them off first. Soon after we arrive at a big sauna just up the street from the University. I am so tired I think I may not recall where we are in the morning. After getting into the bright indoor lights, I realize just how dirty my pack and shoes are though I'm not going to deal with it tonight. I find my locker, have a nice, long shower, and drag myself upstairs to the sleeping area.

After a fitful sleep due to people alternating between snoring and talking, I lay around in the hot rooms, get some misu-karu (a sweet, tasty, blended, grain shake), and lastly get a shower. It is only now that I realize how dirty my backpack and sneakers got last night! Wow, really. I decide to get extra towels just to clean them off. When we leave the jjimjilbang, we begin a search for lunch - which ends with a small "Oriental Food" restaurant in Hongdae called Tiki-ti. FANtastic. We leave the restaurant feeling not only tired but, now, stuffed, so we both agree it's time to go home.

I Love "Love" Motels

A love motel usually runs between $35-60 per night, depending on the city, area of that city, and quality/cleanliness. They are called “love motels” because they have a floor or two of hourly-rented rooms, covered parking, and the amenities in the bathroom include a condom. Whether or not people actually use these services for the purpose intended, these motels differ from the more expensive hotels. As far as I know, there are some other (non-"love" variety) guesthouses or motels - yeogwan - in this price range.

As my Aunt Jan & Uncle Lou are aware, love motels can offer surprisingly nice accommodations such as in-room wireless internet with computer, Jacuzzi tub, or big, flat-screen TV. When they visited Korea last fall I reserved a room on the upper (non-hourly!) floor of the Motel Greece in my suburb, Chilgok. We checked out the room before they arrived to ensure it would be adequate. It was much more than adequate, especially for the modest price. They had heated tile floors (complete with slippers), a computer, the afore mentioned big, flat-screen TV, western shower (somewhat unusual for a love motel) and bathtub, small water cooler and fridge, and a tall, comfy looking bed.

In my time here I have stayed in a few love motels, most of them not as luxurious. The few I’ve been to in Seoul, Gyeong-ju, and Busan have been passable. Typically, I’m just given a basic, mostly clean room – hard western bed, Korean shower, and a vanity with TV. They’ve all surely been better than the hostel I stayed at in New York, for which I paid nearly $70 per night!