Location: Seoul, South Korea

Nothing went to plan today, and it might have been one of the best days I’ve had yet. I ate a giant breakfast of galbi (seasoned pork rib) instead of the hostel toast which I just couldn’t stomach today. Good start! I slowly made my way back towards the palace area to see Changgyeonggung palace which was closed yesterday, and was extremely disappointed to find it was closed again today! Damn! Not as good of a start.

Another day I guess?

I wandered around lost for a little bit, not sure what to do when I opened my big ol paper map to see what was around.

Hey you know what I’ve heard of?

Gangnam Style! (Circa 2012?)

Gangnam is the very rich people’s neighbourhood in Seoul and according to my map there was a big temple right in the middle of it! 45 minutes on the train later and I stepped out into what was clearly the more high-end part of town. Lots of people were dressed lavishly, with diamonds and gold on display. Stylish but crazy outfits made way for clean cuts, leather and wool. Huge swathes of the ground were covered in fake turf surrounding mirrored sky-scrapers and marble pillars. My jean jacket and Nike’s were a bit out of place here!

I made it to Bongeunsa temple, with no idea what to expect (I’d never even heard of it), grabbed a map and started wandering. The smell of incense hit me first, and then I heard the chanting. Turns out this is the biggest active Buddhist temple in Korea. There were very few people around, and even less tourists. I wasn’t sure where I was allowed to go or what to do so I walked until I found the chanting and then sat outside listening.

An older Korean lady approached me and asked why I was outside. “Go in! Go in!” I took off my shoes and went inside, and saw a bunch of dancers in big pink skirts practicing some number to the timing of a monk’s prayer. No other tourists in sight. I stayed for a few minutes before deciding to move on… and the lady was still outside, waiting for me. She asked if I had drank the medicine water yet and when I replied no she looked totally aghast. She prodded me gently up the hill towards a pool full of mountain water and made me drink 3 full cups and said “you’ll feel better after this.”

She kept asking me if I’d seen this thing or that thing, and each time I replied no she took me around and explained it as best as she could. She taught me how to pray properly for wishes, and took lots of pictures. We got to talking along the way and I found out her name is Julie and she was a university professor for 20 years teaching nursing in Korea. Her husband is a police-man who is not home more than a few weeks a year, her only son doesn’t come around often, and she’s trying to learn English. She said she tries to guide people around at temple or the library and in turn gets company and English practice. She proudly showed me all the selfies she’s taken with her friends, and was particularly smitten with two Spanish boys she met last week who called her ‘mom’. She said some people pretend to be nice but then run away when she turns her back, or more often people think she wants something more from them.

She took me all around Gangnam, showing it off proudly and asking a million questions and giving me tons of advice about where to go and things to try while I’m here. The language barrier was tough, but after a couple of hours I almost forgot about it completely. We went to Starfield library, her favourite place, and ordered cake and visited for a long time. She bought me a coffee and gave me her number in case I ‘get into any trouble while I’m here.’ Eventually she walked me to the nearest train station, wished me luck and sent me on my way.

I started the long train ride home, smiling. There should be more people in the world like Julie. I had a warm fuzzy feeling.

Based on Julie’s recommendation I decided to hunt down some bulgogi for dinner, and luckily I found a place right near my hostel. Turns out that it’s like a pulled beef dish that you cook over this upside down colander thing right on your own table. A few things happened:

1. I ordered the bulgogi for one person, and they came to the table with enough food to feed like three people.
2. I ate this weird brown jello thing that I swear was food, but I’m worried I wasn’t meant to eat it? Not sure why else it was there if that wasn’t the case…
3. They turned my flame off when the meat was still pretty pink and told me it was ready, and then laughed at the look on my face.

I ate it, obviously. And it was delicious, I’m pleased to say.

Not a whole lot happened but days like today make my heart happy.

Sav

P.S. I’ve officially ranked my hostel as the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed at. So bad, in fact, that the place Meaghan and I got bed bugs at in Italy a few years ago ranks second worst. At least they had laundry machines and something to put on your toast. I’m not looking forward to leaving Seoul, but I am looking forward to getting out of this mosquito ridden/ weirdly damp/ stale dry toast/ single bathroom with no toilet paper/ squeaky bed with no real sheet hostel.