South Korean Getaway, Part II

To read part one of our South Korean getaway, click here.

After Busan, we traveled up to South Korea's fourth largest city (and Naomi's current home) of Daegu with priorities being on dinner, full-out Korean style, of course:

And, thanks to a couple of Naomi's friends who just happen to have their own guest apartment (!!!), we were definitely hooked-up accommodation-wise:

We spent our time in Daegu wandering through the medicinal herb market, taking in the pretty fall leaves and beautiful weather, doing some shopping, and meeting some of Naomi's fellow English teachers. One of them, Rose, came along with us back to Seoul and assisted Naomi in serving as our deluxe tour/cultural-guides:

Heading back to Seoul for a little more time in the capital city before the end of our trip, we had a chance to wander around and take in the hip, artsy Hongdae University District:

And headed out for one last bright Korean night on the town:

Complete with the mother of all Korean culinary traditions: the Korean BBQ:

And, with amazing "luck," we just happened to be back in Seoul during the gorgeous Seoul Lantern Festival. I say "luck" because it seemed as if all of the rest of Seoul had the same idea as the area was literally stuffed with thousands of people! With camera in hand and perseverance galore, however, I was able to carve my way through the body-mass to get some shots of the saturated lanterns set up on the river. Naomi, Rose, and Meagan, however, decided to hit the bar and "visit" the festival through my photos instead. Wimps.

So, for our short little getaway to our closest neighboring land (by "our" I mean Japan as a whole...Hokkaido's closest neighbor is actually Russia!), I'd say we had a great little sampler of some of the best of South Korea. Not sure if I'll have a chance to make it back to SK on this Asian adventure (as I always say, "too many places to visit and not enough time..."), but if so, I'll make sure to leave on an extra empty stomach...

South Korean Getaway, Part I

I don't know why it's taken me over two-years to get to one of the countries that's closest to Japan, but last week I took the plunge and had a great gals getaway to South Korea for friends, fun, and food. Especially bibimpap:

A former ESL co-worker of mine from the University of Central Missouri, Meagan, is also living in Japan as an English teacher. Together, we geared up to visit yet another former co-worker (and current English teacher in Korea), Naomi! An English-teaching triage of Central MO gals, it was!

Landing first in Seoul (and after the above priority of lunch), we took in one of the crazytropolis's many historic buildings, Changgyeong Palace, whose refreshing, bright colors gave a bit of omph to the otherwise underwhelming buildings:

And the fall leaves showcased everything with some awesome colors of their own:

Wandering around the Bukchon Hanok Village, an area of Seoul where quiet, traditional shops and houses have been (or are in the process of being) preserved and maintained, is like completely stepping out of the city which is second in size in the world only to Tokyo:

Of course, when it comes to Korea, it is ALL about the food! Restaurants from all countries, cuisines from all continents, spices, Korean specialities, and, of course, street food will make you forget all about that silly nonsense of eating only when you're hungry!

One of Seoul's many night food markets, where we ended up for dinner:

After a brief, heavy dose of Seoul, Meagan and I took a train down south to the port city of Busan, where we met up with Naomi. It was there that we ate at one of the hugest and most diverse buffets I've ever been to in my life! Plate one of five:

Busan's Jagalchi Fish Market is not only famous for the buckets and crates of fresh, straight-of-the-boat sea creatures, but also for the tough ajumas (married women) who scale, skin, be-head, chop, and otherwise prepare the seafood for sale. They are some intimidating and hard-working mamas:

PIFF Square in Busan...shopping, knock-offs, painful (beneficial?) massages, and amazing street food galore:

Another big draw for Busan are it's beaches, namely its biggest one, Haeundae Beach:

Before leaving Busan, Naomi took us to a wonderful little place on the sea, Yonggunsa Temple, where we sipped on hot yuja-cha (citrus tea which comes as a marmalade-like substance), eavesdropped on Japanese tourists, and took photos of the hundreds of Buddhas on the premies:

Next stop (and Part II), the city of Daegu and back to Seoul...