Look and weep! This was my lunch yesterday, Sam Gae Tang! It is one of my favorites. Just looking at this picture again is making my mouth water. It's a whole small chicken cooked with ginseng in a hot stone bowl. (Sam = Ginseng, Gae = Chicken, Tang = Soup) Delicious! And look behind the bowl...kimchi, glorious delicious kimchi! I love Korea! Especially the food!
At one point I had considered getting my own apartment here. This is not easy or cheap. Usually you have to fork up a lot of key money and then pay rent every month on top of it. Key money depends on the size of the apartment and location, but for a decet two bedroom you would have to give up at least 25,000,000 Won, or about $20,000, and probably more. You get this money back at the end of your contract, during which time the owner of the apartment can invest it or make money off the interest. However, sometimes you can find a decent one room studio style that may not require large key money. The smaller the key money, the higher the rent. Awhile back I took a look at one. It was a fairly new place, about 6 months old. The deal was 1,000,000 Won, or about $800 key money and first month's rent, 550,000, or about $475. The Korean guy, Fred (his English name) said he's meet me at the station the next day at 7:30.
I arrived at the subway station and Fred was not there. I called him and he acted shocked.
"You didn't call me one hour before the appointment!" he exclaimed. "I didn't think you come. You know this Korea. You have to call me one hour before. It's a common sense. I don't know why you didn't call me. I can go there now. I will go there now. Next time call me one hour before. I will go there now. Wait for me. I rush and be there 30 minutes. Bye!" "Slow down I can't understand -" "Wait for me. Exit 2. Wait for me now. I will go there now."
Mark was with me and we went down the street and had some a few sticks of O-daeng while we waited. Afterward we stood outside exit 2. Fred arrived, 5 minutes early. He wore a suit and carried a briefcase. He showed me his watch, grinning brightly.
"You see how fast I am. I told you 30 minutes, but it's only 25 minutes. Everybody gonna take 33 minutes to get here. But I only take 25. That's why I'm ahead of the game, you see?" He beamed another smile. "Wow, amazing," I said, dryly. Mark bit his nails, shrugging. "But you make me very many stress," Fred went on. "You didn't call me one hour before. Why didn't you? It's a common sense before appointment to confirmation." "Well, we set a time. I didn't know -" "You have to call me one hour before. It's Korean rule. Everyone knows that. Next time you have to call. I thought you cancel. I want you to remember. One hour before appointment call me. OK?" "Yes, OK! OK!," I said, annoyed. Mark wrinkled his brow and gave me a look as if to say, "This guy's off his bloody rocker." I nodded in total agreement.
Fred began to walk. "Wait," I said. "How far is it from here to the apartment?" "It's 7 minutes, let's go I'll show you it's only 7 minutes. It's not a problem. Not too far for you. Only 7 minutes." "Exactly 7 minutes?" I laughed, wondering why he kept giving such specific times. "Yes, yes, let's go. Come on now. I'll show you. Ready, 7 minutes here we go."
He started to walk very quickly. Mark and I followed. Every minute or two Fred checked his watch. "It's not that important," I said. "There's no hurry." Fred ignored me and continued to speed up his pace. Eventually Mark and I fell behind. I couldn't see what the rush was about.
When Fred got too far ahead of us, I yelled, "Hey! Chun chun hi!, Slow down!" He stopped and looked at us, shaking his head in disblief. "Slow down? Why you want? Even you have longer legs than me. And look - watch me. Watch me how fast I go. We can't slow down. This is Seoul. If you slowly, you lose. Always fast. It's best." "Do you some kind of an appointment later?" I called out. He was aleady far ahead again. "No, no appointment. Only this appointment. You are my appointment. Almost there now."
Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the apartment. It was quite a walk and up a lot of hills. Fred looked at his watch, and didn't say anything else about the time. It was a nice room, clean and new as he said. It was hot though. Very hot, and there was no air conditioner. Fred watched me carefully as I wiped the sweat off my face.
"Are you hot? This is not hot. Look at me. I'm not hot. I'm wearing long pants. You're wearing short pants. Look at me. I'm not hot. This is the fourth floor. Fifth floor above us is more hot. Fourth floor not too hot for you. Anyway, if you're too hot I will install aircon. I will put that here for you, Right here in the wall. Aircon, no problem." "That would be nice," I said. "I'm more worried about the location. It's all the way west in Seoul and we just walked fifteen -" "It's not far. This is good location. This is best location for you. Here are many schools for you to work at. You will like it here. Everybody likes it here. It's not too far. So we have a deal? Let's sign the contract now." "Slow down, killer," I said. Mark bit his nails, giving me looks as if to say "This guy's a bloody wanker." "Why slow down? You always slow down. You can take this now. Right now! No problem. Sign now, move in tomorrow. Everything finished. Everybody happy. Deal is finished. OK?" "I didn't even bring the money with me." "That's no problem. You can use cash machine. Let's go to the cash machine now." "No, I'm not ready. Stop pressuring me." "Yes, OK! OK! This is good place for you. Good location. I will make aircon for you. No pressure, no pressure. Slow down, OK! OK!" "I'll think about it and let you know." "What's there to think about? This is perfect deal for you. Anybody will want this. The deposit is too small. I can get 10,000,000 won for this no problem." "Is that so? How long you been trying to rent it?" "Just two months now." "Two months? If it's such a great deal, why hasn't somebody rented it?" "Um. You know. There is no reason. This will rent very fast now, I'm sure. You can have it now. I said that. You want it?" "Not now," I said.
Fred shook his head in disbelief. He shut down the power while Mark and I waited downstairs.
"It's a nice place," said Mark, biting his nails. "But there's something about that guy I don't like. Too fast and pushy. I wouldn't rent from him. Probably be at your door every month banging away for the rent. And take him three months to put in the aircon, too, I bet."
I agreed. I liked the apartment, and the rent was actually not bad. Ironically it was Fred's fast pace and aggressive approach that turned me right off from taking the deal - the same fast paced approach that he said put him "ahead of the game."
On the way back to the subway, Fred walked even faster, trying to take us on some kind of short cut to show me how fast we could make it to the subway...
Mmm! My mouth is watering again. Here is another of my favorite Korean foods: Garbi Tang, or beef soup. This particular restaurant in Hongdae has the most delicious Garbi Tang I've had so far in Seoul. I could eat this stuff every day if it wasn't for all the other delcious Korean foods I can eat. I can't say enough how good the food is here and how inexpensive considering all you get, and that they refill your side dishes for free.
I'm finally getting around to posting pics from the day we spent in Itaewon, which was not that special. The area is a trap for tourists and is embedded with American soldiers. The shopping consists of standard Korean junk memorabilia, but you can get some decent deals on clothes. On the other hand, if you like hanging out with other foreigners, this is the place for you, and it is a good place to meet English speaking Koreans. The bars are infamous for foreign guys and Korean girls hooking up.
On the line going to Itaewon. I can't get over how clean, nice and cheap the subway is here.
Here's Mark showcasing the Itaewon sign. Look at his grace. He should tryout to model on The Price is Right.
This is the main drag for shopping. They want your business but aren't as pushy as you'd might expect.
A fine assortment of Korean shirts. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a shirt in Korea that has the language on it. I'll pick up a couple of these before I leave here, whenever that is.
There must be a Pizza Hut on every street in Korea. American chains are even more popular here than back home, it seems. Next door is a place to exchange currencies.
In the Hamilton Shopping Center, a fine selection of standard Korean junk. Be aware, the sales people on the first floor are extremely pushy and desperate. The other floors aren't so bad, I guess, but nothing really interested me.
Here's mark lured in by an attractive saleswoman's plead for business. She shows him a traditional pillow case that he likes. He wants two of them and attempts to get a bargain. She gives in and he ends up saving quite a bit. I try my hand at getting a date, but fail miserably...what gives? Look at me lady! - I'm Shawn! Korea Life Blog guy! You snooze, you lose! Ah well, the heartache was short-lived, about 4 seconds.
Later we had some beers at Gecko's Bar, which is across the street from Burger King. There's usually a fairly equal number of Korean girls and foreign men to make things interesting. We didn't stay that long enough ourselves this time, but I'll go back sometime soon. Ladies get ready!
Me and Mark and a Canadian woman we met hung out for a day. She lives in Gwanghwamun, near where Gyeongbokgung Palace is. Here are some pics from around the neighborhood:
This is the number 5 line and will take you to Gwanghwamun. I am totally fascinated by the Seoul Subway System. It is clean, efficient, cheap, safe. There is no grafitti on the walls or guys wearing black standing in the shadows packing a knife. And it only costs 700 Won, or 50 cents, to go just about anywhere on it. The trains come every 3-5 minutes. Amazing!
Coming out of the subway the bright light reveals a Pizza shop. I read the Korean letters. Yes, it Sbarro's Pizza, the overpriced American pizza franchise found in most malls across the states. We went in to grab a bite. I don't expect Koreans to speak English, but at least at an American franchise they should be able to hear and speak the menu. I said "meatballs" three times and nobody could understand me. I had a craving. I wanted the meatballs, and I wanted them badly. Finally the woman understood me when I spoke with a Korean accent: "meat-uh-ball-juh." To my bewilderment, there were none cooked. I would have had to wait 15 minutes, she said in Korean. I don't know why there weren't any cooked already, they're supposed to be, and the woman didn't bother with an explanation or even an apology. So, I ordered a piece of pizza...
Here it is: one piece of pizza and a cola. Price, 4,000 Won, or about $3.50. Not too different a ripoff from back home. The pizza tasted pretty good, at least. Afterward, I used the washroom. The bathroom here is dirty and there's no soap by the sink. Gross!
[Update] This restaurant has since gone out of business. Considering the prime location, it's a testament to poor business practices. Then again, maybe because of that location they got an offer they couldn't refuse. There's still a couple of other Sbarro's around Seoul however, including one in the big bookstore in Jongro 3-ga station.
Next we went to Starbucks, the American coffee chain. There's one or two on every popular street in Korea. This particular one is very nice and has clean bathrooms with plenty of soap. There are 3 floors and the roof, where we sat enjoying the scenery and listening to the peaceful banging of construction next to us.
Part of the view from the roof of Starbuck's. Look at that statue. I want to tell you all about who that is, but I just can't remember.
More excellent Gwanghwamun scenery from the roof.
Walking down the streets you find many of these self contained mini-stores. I'm not sure if they are licensed or not. Anyway, in Seoul, these usually carry all the English newspapers and even a few magazines like Newsweek or Time.
Well, this is as far as we got today, the Sejong Cutural Center. It's a pretty cool place. One year I came to Seoul and stopped here hoping to get tickets to the Miss Korean Pageant, but all tickets were sold out. I hope I can catch that this year...
Here are pics from the night I met my friend Jake in Jongro a few weeks back. Jongro is one of the downtown areas of Seoul. We walked around, got some food, and went to a bar, met some Korean girls and went to a dancing bar...
This is classic...where do they come up with these restaurant names?
A Korean movie poster for Matrix 2.
Some girls dancing to promote something or other....you see this kind of sexy promotion everywhere, including the grocery stores. The girls are pretty but they use microphones and amplifiers to yell in your ear about the product.
The bright lights, the thrill of the night, what's going to come...?
Mmm, care to sit down and join me for a mouthful of delicious, mouth-watering octopus?
Some franchise store that sells goofy looking cartoon stuff...cool!
In the bar, Jake spots a table of girls. The table of girls also spots us. Jake contemplates making a move, but plays it cool. It pays off: soon one of the girls asks us to join them.
We've moved to a dancing bar. Here's Jake with the girls. He can't decide which one he wants, so he flirts with them both, causing him to end up with neither and making me very popular.
Sorry Jake, you play, you pay...the girls have lost interest and are checking out the guys on the dance floor.
Look at this Korean guy shuck and jive, wooing the girls. Later me and Jake also danced with the girls, and probably looked equally retarded.
Except for having to buy a large platter of fruit with our beer (damn I hate that), we had a really good time that night and got pretty blasted. I ended up brining one of the girls back to the guesthouse. Jake went home alone - again.
Jongro is a lot of fun as it's not packed with foreigners such as in Itaewon or Hongdae. The downside about Seoul is taking a taxi home. You're bound to shell out a fortune if you don't live nearby. Although nowhere near as expensive as back home, it's still a drag after spending a load of money on beer.
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Enjoy reading about my experiences living and teaching in South Korea.
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