Lincoln Peterson

This past winter some of my family came to visit me in Korea. Actually, we went to many places that I haven’t been before. We went to Gyeongju, Busan, Jeju, and Seoul. It was my first time in Gyeongju and Jeju.

It would be a little crazy to fly to Korea, and then immediately take a plane to Jeju, so we spent the first day and night in Seoul. We went to Donimun (돈이문) Village and made a mother-of-pearl lacquerware, a traditional decoration in Korea called 나전칠기 (najeonchilgi).

We had lunch at 꽃밥에피다, which means “a flower blooms on rice/food”. My mom met my girlfriend’s mom, and they seemed to hit it off. It’s hard because they don’t share any common language.

his was the first michelin star restaurant I’ve ever been to. I don’t think I would go again… I felt a little bit crazy, when all the other Americans seemed to think it was so delicious. Maybe it was because it was their first korean meal, though it wasn’t very traditional.

Actually, I’ve had much more delicious food in ugly, run down buildings run by grandmas over the age of 80. I heard that because Michelin is run by French, they are having to go by the standards of the French pallate. Maybe French don’t really know what good Korean food is.

Anyways, after going to the National Museum outside of Icheon station, it’s time to take the KTX to Gyeongju.

Definitely one of the best parts about living in Korea or Japan is the high speed rail system… We travelled a few hours to the opposite end of the country for a little less than 20 usd each. I also think my family was surprised by how quiet and respectful people are on the train. It’s ok to eat on the KTX, but it was hard for them to open the food because of how loud the bag could be.

If you’ve ever been on Amtrack or subways in Chicago, you know how it is… It gave me a reverse culture shock travelling to the US and taking the trains. People are clearly on drugs and inconsiderate to those around them. They like to pick fights with strangers, but I guess there’s nothing better for them to do. Maybe my standards have been set too high.

In Gyeongju, we are staying in a hanok (한옥), which is a sort of traditional Korean house. It’s common for Korean tourists to rent one when staying in Gyeongju. It was the capitol of Korea in the Silla dynasty, so people come to experience some of Silla’s history.

Then it was time to go to Bulguksa (불국사) and Seokguram (석굴암). I am a huge fan of all kinds of religion, so it might have been the best part for me. But maybe it was just me who found it so fun.. It’s not good to take images of buddhas, so I just have a picture of the outside.

You can take a bus up the mountain path to get to Seokgulam. I think my family was impressed with the skill of bus drivers in the mountains. The statue is beautiful, though it’s smaller than what you would expect. I don’t think it beats the one in Nara.

When we got back to the hanok, we played the Korean game Yutnori (윷놀이). Actually, it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

Next, we went to Busan. Busan is one of my favorite places in Korea, but I’ve never been able to spend much time there. We went to Gamcheon Culture Village first.

The village was built in the 20s to 30s with the goal of keeping poor Koreans away from some areas. So the area has been in poverty for a very long time. The buildings were painted in 2009 to turn the area into a tourist attraction.

My girlfriend fits the english phrase “people person” very well, because the bus driver had her to sit in the passenger seat with him. She got some advice about what market we should go to. So we went to Gukje market. I wanted to go to Jajalchi market for food, but there wasn’t enough time. It might have also been rough if you aren’t used to a fish market. We wanted my American family to try tanghulu, but they got the worst tanghulu I’ve ever had. It was so hard it was dangerous to eat..

We had some time before the flight to Jeju, so we went to the beach.

You can take a cable car to a small island with some fun random stuff. It seems like the city budget was a little too high, so they placed things like an anamatronic dinosaur and a machine that flips you upside down.

It’s time to go to Jeju. But we had a major problem ^^;

My brother had forgotten to get the international driver’s license. I think I should have explained it better to him.. You can go to AAA and apply for an international driver’s license. You pay a little fee and get it on the same day.

Unlike most of Korea, Jeju is not public transit friendly. I think it’s hard for them to build subways because it’s an island. And very small. So everyone just uses a car.

Luckily, my girlfriend’s mom came running to save us.. Like usual. She came with us to our vacation in Jeju on very short notice. We should always be thankful to our moms.

We went to the market in Jeju and I finally got to have some Hwe. I also had a famous food in Jeju called Dat (닻), which is like a kind of small shrimp served raw. It tastes a little bit sweet. I prefer raw fish over raw shrimp, octopus, and squid, but it was good.

We went to the other side of the island to gather some mandarin or kyul. There was so much, and it’s illegal to take fruits on the plane, so we took it home and gave it to my coworker who was checking in on the cat for me.

I wanted to go to Hallasan, to climb the easiest path called Eoseungsaengak. But because there was so much snow, the path was closed off… So we just played with a greenscreen to place us on the top of the mountain.

We also went to 981 park, and Osulloc tea museum.

It’s time to go back to Seoul for the final part of our trip. But my brother and his partner suddenly got some kind of stomach flu… so I just spent time with my mom.

We went to Karaoke, Red Button (a board game cafe chain in Korea), and did a dance class, because my mom likes dancing these days. I don’t have many pictures because I thought everyone else was taking them ㅠㅠ

Anyways, it’s time to say goodbye. We took my mom to the airport and sent her back.

It’s sad, but I’m sure they will be back next year. I think it’s a good excuse for the family to travel.

See you next time.