Tuesday morning I woke up and packed for my trip to Jeju. One of my teachers from Sogang, Koo Eunmi had asked me to make a copy of a video I had made for class, so once I was ready I made my way to Shinchon where Sogang is located. I met up with her and she bought me bubble tea and we conversed in Korean for a few hours. She gave me a lot of advice on where I could visit during my travels. Afterard I made my way to my favorite mandu restaurant which I can't go to as often now that I've moved into the apartment in Gireum. Lunch was delicious as always and the ladies working as always nice, but I had to head out to Gimpo to catch my flight.
Check-in was easy and I was able to carry both of my bags on the flight which was nice. Security was quick so I had time to rest in the terminal and I ended up falling asleep. When I awoke to a baby wailing in the arms of it's mother who had sat next to my unconscious form, I panicked, worried that I had missed boarding, but I still had some time. As I walked down the aisle of the plane I noticed that I was the only person who appeared to not be Korean. Since then I have learned that Jeju is more of a Korean vacation spot than a foreign tourist attraction. I had to do the "airplane shuffle" over a young looking couple to reach my window seat and they didn't look too pleased at the prospect of a giant white guy falling into their laps. So they wouldn't be me new best friends. I had brought some books to read anyway, so I wasn't too worried about it.
Surprisingly enough, they did become my new best friends. When the woman shyly asked if it was my first time going to Jeju and I responded in Korean, the couple was overjoyed and we spent the remainder of the trip conversing in mixed Korean and English. It turns out they live in Jeju and were just returning from a trip to Bali. We exchanged telephone numbers and they told me that if I needed any help to let them know. They even offered to drive me around if I wanted a Jeju native for a tour guide. It was all a little strange so I wasn't sure about the whole situation. I've seen movies like this (actually one Korean movie in particular) where people end up having their kidneys stolen by mobsters.
Yunjeong and Dongweon on the plane (Not the best picture, but it's all I have)
The air in Jeju as I stepped off the plane was very hot and very humid. It's always great to be perfectly comfortable and with one step, instantly become sweaty and sticky. The weather has definitely been the hardest thing to get used to here. I walked with my new friends to the terminal, said goodbye and headed to find a taxi to take me to the Ramada Hotel where my friends Debbie and Melissa had already checked in. They had the room as part of a tour package and had several weeks before offered to let me stay there with them if I could find a way over.
Our fancy hotel elevators
It was so good to see the girls again. I was so used to 6 hours a day with my classmates that I had been having withdrawals living away from everyone. It was dinner time so we headed over to the beach, which was a short walk, in order to find somewhere with fresh seafood. We found a nice traditional Korean restaurant (take off your shoes before entering the dining area, sit on the floor, etc) where we could get fresh hwei. We literally got to see the fish swimming around before we ate it. Now hwei is a very popular dish in Jeju. It's slices of raw fish served with various side dishes and lettuce in which to wrap it all. I was a little unsure, as I'd never eaten raw meat before, but I've become a bit more adventurous since coming to Korea and will do most anything to get the full Korean experience. So I dug in. It was actually delicious and we made short work of the giant plate they had brought us. Afterward they served a spicy fish soup which was also very good.
The fixin's
Debbie with the Hwei
Spicy fish soup, fins and all
Melissa stole the eye. Lucky!
The next day we took the hotel shuttle to a nearby beach. It was gorgeous and since it's the Summer holidays, packed with young Korean couples and families. The hotel had its own area with canopies, towels, and places to safely store our belongings. After taking some pictures of the beautiful scenery we dove into the deep blue waters and swam around for several hours before grabbing lunch at a local shop. My kalbi tang (beef rib stew) was delicious. We got ice cream bars at the convenience store next door and heading back to the water for another couple hours before taking the last shuttle back to the hotel. I got a little sunburned, but it was worth it for the time I got to spend with my girls in the tropics.
So beautiful!
Me and my girls!
That night we had dinner at the buffet in the hotel which was excellent. Afterwards we decided to check out the hotel's casino. We wanted to be classy so we first went back to the room to dress up fancy before heading over. Excited we entered and had our passports checked. We first got a sense that something was wrong when we saw a sign posted that said foreigners only. We asked the front desk and apparently Koreans aren't allowed to gamble (but they don't mind getting money from foreigners). The next oddity was the lack of noise. Casinos are supposed to be loud and overwhelming, but there wasn't a sound as we walked down the hall towards the floor (escorted uncomfortably closely by a casino worker).
We turned the corner and the entire casino was empty. Each of the 15 or so gaming tables was manned by a bored looking worker, all of whom stood up in anticipation at our entrance, silently begging us to come to their own table, but we froze. After some choice words from Melissa which earned a shocked look from our attendant, we asked if there was a bar, but apparently alcohol isn't allowed in the casino either (more choice words from Melissa). We fled.
We instead made our way over to the hotel bar, where we ordered some Piña Coladas. Just as we were finishing some drunk older business men rented out the entire bar for karaoke. The hotel administration apologized for the noise, gave us our drinks for free, and offered us free time in a private karaoke room (which would normally have costed about $100). We accepted and got a few more drinks as we sang the night away.
The next morning was somber as Debbie and Melissa were flying back to the states while I had to find a way back to the mainland for the rest of my exploration. We said our goodbyes and I headed over to the ferry terminal to figure out if I could find a spot on the ferry to Busan. The ferry didn't leave for 10 hours, so I had to find a way to occupy myself. Now my friend Yunjeong from the plane had been texting me during my stay in Jeju asking how everything was going, so I figured I'd risk losing some vital organs and called her up. She came and picked me up from the port, took me out to lunch and then drove me out to some nearby museums.
We first went to the Queen's Jewelry Museum where we was several beautiful gems and learned a lot about the history of jewelry (it was actually much more interesting than it sounds). We then went to the butterfly museum, which as more of an insect museum with a random petting zoo with rabbits and cats on leashes… Next stop was the teddy bear museum, which was aimed at a bit younger audience than we had expected so we didn't stay long. Afterwards she took me to dinner than back just in time to catch my ferry. I was really happy for the opportunity to practice my Korean skills even though spending all day with Yunjeoung was a little odd. Apparently she had just left her 10 year old child at home alone all day while out with some strange foreigner sharing some uncomfortably personal information. I'm not sure that it was anything out of the ordinary for Koreans though as I have noticed that they tend to be very accommodating and friendly.
The Heart of the Ocean
Yunjeong with the butterflies of Australia
At the Teddy Bear Museum (Teseum)
Well, I was going to write about my ferry ride, but the length of this post is already pushing it and there is a lot to tell. Maybe tomorrow.
Thanks for reading guys!
