Now
that I’m in Korea where I’ve visited frequently and lived for three months in
2009, there will be less of a travelogue and more of a journal of catching up
with friends and doing “old” stuff again.
InAe, the friend with whom I’m staying at Building 63, Hyundai
Apartments, Apgujong Gu, Seoul, was out for most of the day. This let me be on my own to unpack, get
organized, and think a bit about the Korea stay. Had a late lunch of chicken salad at the Paris
Baguette (a chain in Korea with baked goods, sandwiches, and coffee) and,
wanting to be outside, went to the rooftop of the Apgujong Hyundai Department
Store where there is a lovely garden area.
Sat there, feeling far from home, watching this man pace back and forth across the grass
(worried? exercise? contemplation?) and reading a mystery. It was a pleasant way to spend the late
afternoon.
InAe
provided a wonderful Korean meal of mandu (dumplings), noodles, and side dishes. At 10 p.m. her downstairs neighbors, and my
friends, HaeJung and MinJu stopped by.
MinJu who is a sophomore in high school had just returned from her
evening institute (Korean high school students work far too hard), and they wanted to say hello and discuss tomorrow’s
activities.
On
Friday, 5/27, HaeJung and I went to InsaDong, a famous tourist shopping street
in Seoul. I wanted to stop by Seoul
Selection, a nearby store that specializes in books about Korea in English, and
also go to a shop where I could purchase pungmul jackets for my Twin Cities drumming group. Since those places are at the north and south
ends of InsaDong, traversing the street made sense and was fun. We watched the candy makers who have their
patter down well, in Korean and English;
saw youngsters in their rented hanbok
(apparently that’s a thing now in Korea just as renting kimonos is in Japan);
and looked around the art displays and lovely setting at a traditional tea
shop.
We
returned to Apgujong by subway to go to one of HaeJung’s favorite restaurant
that I remembered from previous visits where PoSam is the featured dish (pork
which is wrapped in sesame or lettuce leaves along with hot sauce and
garlic). Yum!! Here is the food laid out before we started and HaeJung looking very satisfied upon completion.
Full
and tired I returned to InAe’s house for a restful evening writing and posting
blogs.
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