First day of exploring : Yonsan 연산 and Dongdaemun 동대문

Yon(g)san
My student home is located near the subway station of Korea University, it takes only a 5 minutes walk to get there. First thing I did before getting on the subway was buying a 'T-Money' card, a kind of rechargeable smart card that you can swipe or scan at every subway entrance and automatically deduct money from your card. Because I am going to use the subway a lot this T-Money is very handy instead of buying single tickets at the vending machine all the time. I bought one for 2.500 KRW and charged it with 10.000 KRW. Using T-Money with public transport gives me a discount fee of 10% and transfer discount to other means of public transportation. Furthermore I can use this for paying at certain convenience stores such as 7-Eleven and FamilyMart.

My first destination of the day was Yonsan, known for its electronic mall complex. It's a huge shopping complex with different 'malls' where I got lost several times - yes and even with the mall map in my hand ;p.

I meanly wandered around in I'Park Mall in the Digital Specialty section : an 8 storeys high department store with only electronics, yeah read this aloud, only electronics. It reminded me of the department stores in Tokyo's 'electronic town' Akihabara, but this one is way bigger than the average one in Tokyo, if I remembered correctly.

But what am I doing there, for most of you know I am not an electronic geek at all? I actually just discovered last week there was infra red on my 3 years old Samsung cell phone and that you can transfer songs and pictures by using that function... Well, I was looking for a second hand cell phone :). Having a cell phone on my way is feeling much safer, just in case I have to reach someone.
I can't use my GSM technology cell phone here, because Korea has a different operating system called CDMA technology. Beats me what that all exactly means... I could rent a mobile phone at the airport, but I think buying a second hand one is more convenient and at least if I come back some day, I can use this one again. I paid 50.000 KRW (less than 50$ and less than 35€) for a 'Samsung Anycall BST3108BK' and it came with a free 'Helly Kitty' sticker, haha.

This one is already more advanced than the one I have... so I am moving upwards in 'technology' terms ;p. I am on a pay and go plan now for 10$, but probably I won't be using this much except for sending text messages. The guy at the shop was very friendly and I used a mix of Korean and English to get myself explained.

After electronic town, I wandered around for about 2 hours in the mall, found a very nice and big book store and had lunch at 'Jeonju Bibimbap' 전주비빔밥 where I had a veggie dish called 'yangpun bibimbap' 양푼비빔밥. It came with the traditional side dishes, of course. It was a really tasty lunch and I almost cried out of happiness for having this wonderful meal in Seoul :).

And I was also happy to witness of a small family gathering : the shop owner's son - in military uniform - just came back (for holiday of the weekend?) from his military training and the proud mother showed him to the people working at her restaurant... His older sister told him to sit down by the window so that his mother could prepare him for a royal meal :). . In South Korea men still have the obligation to do military training for a period of 26 months. And there is no discrimination at all : even the South Korean male celebrities can't escape from it.

After the mall I went outside to explore the surroundings of Yonsan. It was raining though and my feet got wet, but I still liked to walk around and breath in some air of the city I am going to spend 3 months of my life in. I really liked the outdoor 'eating tents'... I have seen many of them in Korean dramas and they looked very cosy inside. I like eating 'street food' and being in a 'street' atmosphere. I am going to try one out for sure one day. Really looking forward to that.


Dongdaemun

So my next destination that day was Dongdaemun. When I got out of the sub, first thing I saw was a beautiful giant gate in the midst of the busy traffic and surrounded by modern buildings. The Chinese character's meaning is literally 'Great East Gate'. Right now Dongdaemun is the only remaining 'intact' gate of what once was the Capital's city wall, because the South Gate Namdaemun was set on fire this year by a 69-year old man out of protest because he had to sell his land to project developers and didn't get paid enough... I understand the frustration of that old man, project developers can be very cunning people - especially to people that don't know too much about the way and rush of modern business life - but still.. destroying one of Korea's most precious national monuments is a bit too harsh... I remember my teacher Korean told us that it was a very sad period and most Koreans - in and outside the country - were very sad about it. It also happened not so long time ago, a few days after the Korean New Year 'Seol Nal' 설날.

Dongdaemun area is also known for its large scale market. You can find a lot of retail and wholesale goods, especially clothing and accessories, at very reasonable prices. Because I didn't have a map of this area, I wandered around and ended up in on of the many shopping malls. Each mall has at least 8 storeys crammed with small shops selling clothing, jewelry, purses and all other kind of stuff calling out for every 'normal' woman to 'look, judge, bargain and purchase'... except for me of course... Because I was actually looking for something else : a 3 or 4 outlet plug for my room. My room only has two power points : one for the router and one for the fridge. So basically, I had to unplug the fridge once in a while to charge my laptop and digicam because I wouldn't dare touching the router. What if my internet connection wouldn't come back... then I'll be cut off from the rest of the world and be definitely totally isolated. I didn't find a plug in that building eventually but I did get on the top roof and had a view on this part of Seoul.

Back down on the streets, I found a small electric shop - not more than 2 square meters - where they did have a 3 outlet plug. There was no price tag so I had to ask the price. Knowing I am a foreigner, the shop keeper would sell it to me for 10.000 KRW (about 10$), which was I think not so cheap. I didn't have the experience to bargain yet - although I know the words I am still too shy about this - so I told him I would look around a bit further.

By that time I was actually lost and the rain was pouring and my feet got wet, but still, had to move on. Walking in that rain, seeing couples under one umbrella, I was beginning to feel a bit lonely though, but the new things I could see and the new impressions about this city, made me feel a lot better. I ended up in a covered street market where you can buy a lot of fresh food like fruit, vegetables and also various kinds of kimchi and special Korean sweet delicacies.

I really liked the atmosphere there. People, mostly men, were gathering around the isles where a 'ajumma' cooks a meal accompanied with a bottle of soju. It all looked very delicious... or maybe I was getting hungry again.

I bought two apples at a fruit stand, I wonder if that's the people's own harvest. Most people, except maybe for the younger ones, don't speak English at all, so it's good that I have to use my Korean once in a while. But the tricky thing is that once they hear you speak Korean, they begin to speak Korean back to you and of course, I didn't understand everything. But there's also something like 'charade' : moving your hands and arms and body to make the other party understand what you are saying. It's quite fun to practice your language in that way. And making mistakes is just a part of learning to communicate in a new language.

I got back at my student home around 19h. I was exhausted and fell asleep. Until past midnight. Took a shower with sleepy eyes and continued sleeping. I think I still suffer a bit from jet lag. Or maybe the heating in my room is way too hot, but I can't turn it off... Luckily there's a window, if not, I would really dehydrate and suffocate ;p.