Well, It’s been two months since I left Korea (I was there May 27th through June 9th) and I am finally sitting down and writing something about what I did there. The longer I put it off the harder it was to sit down and do, so lesson learned for next time. I did post my pictures here a while ago, but writing captions for them is much easier then being in the mood for blog writing.
Anyways, I got into Incheon airport late on a Thursday. My girlfriend Nan Young (난영) had to wait about an hour at the airport for me. The next morning I slept in and during the afternoon I visited Nan Young at her office at the ASAN Medical Center in Seoul. That evening we got everything ready for flying to Jejudo the next morning. The day we flew into Jeju was one of the longest days I’ve ever had. The flight was only about 45 minutes. After landing we went and rented a car and since Nan Young doesn’t have her drivers license yet I did all of the driving. We only had that car for two days, but during that time I felt like I drove around the whole island like 3 or 4 times. We were always going to a different side of the island it seemed. We met Nan Young’s friends and had some Jeju pork for lunch, followed by a trip to a mystery road (Dokebi Way), which wasn’t really that mysterious but whatever. 
We went to Soingook theme park nearby which had a collections of miniature things from around the world. Took way too many photos there. We took yet more photos at an aquatic center with penguins and sea lions and such. After going there we did one of my favorite things while we were on Jeju, horseback riding. There were guys guiding us around and we didn’t get to make the horses gallop, but that was probably for the best. My horse was small and had a hard time carrying me as it was. My girlfriend bragged that my horse was breathing hard and hers wasn’t. As the evening began we went to a forest park area along the coast called Ouidolge (외돌개), followed by a trip to buy Jeju tangerines, which are especially small and sweet. After sunset we went to a large pedestrian bridge and wandered around the lighted walkways. On the way back to the resort we stopped by a few markets to buy various food items that were prepared later in the night at Nan Young’s friend’s house. At about 2am I couldn’t stay awake anymore and passed out on a bed there, until I got woken up to be driven back to the resort. You probably just got tired reading about this day so you have some idea about how tiring it was for me 
The next morning I waited with my girlfriend for her family to arrive. They took us out to lunch and then we did some more sightseeing. We went to a waterfall along the southern coast. On the walk back up from the base of the waterfall I saw an American guy wearing a ND jacket so I shouted “Go Irish” to him. We then drove to a giant temple and a place with the coolest rock formations I have ever seen. You can read about them here. In the evening, we had dinner and brought food and supplies for the next day which was….
Climbing Mt. Halla (Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea). As soon as I found out we were going to Jeju this was priority number one for me. Nan Young suggested it so I was happy we were in agreement, but then she found out it would take over 8 hours to climb and wasn’t so enthusiastic about it anymore. I had to encourage her with the promise of a gift if she went with me, and by wearing couples T-shirts for the hike. A few times on the climb up she said “미워 (miwo)” which means “I hate you”. I think in the end she forgave me though, seeing as how it was such a clear day with perfect weather and we got many amazing pictures which will do more justice then these words. On the way down a Korean guy pointed out a deer near the trail, which a sign of good luck because wild animals typically don’t venture close to people in Korea.
For our last day in Jeju, we drove around with Nan Young’s family to a bunch of tourist places. We jumped on trampolines and found our way through mazes at a place called Miro Park. We went to a history museum and saw how Korean people lived on Jeju throughout the ages. We tried some schizandra tea (오미자차) and I liked it so much that Nan Young’s mother bought me a jar of it (apparently its pretty good for you). For lunch, we went to an open air restaurant along the coast and had fresh octopus and other assorted sea creatures with Korean sauces. Before going to the airport we made quick stops at a park with a great nature trail and a place along the coast with hallabong statues.
After getting back to Seoul and settling in my temporary residence, I went to Korea University to visit my colleagues in the lab that I worked in last summer. I showed them the paper I had written with the data we had taken and met another professor whose work I had cited in the paper.
The next day (Friday) I met my old roommate Chris at Gagnam. He had just gotten out of his 2 years of service in the Korean military so he is a free man again. For dinner, I went with my girlfriend and her family to a really fancy restaurant where we met her Uncle. Apparently he works day and night for Samsung fending off lawsuits against the company. He spoke a little English which was good. Did I mention that most everyone in my girlfriend’s family doesn’t speak English… and testing my Korean skills on them makes me nervous to say the least.
Saturday I went hiking with my friend Paul. We went on several hikes together last summer and the last hike we tried to do in Bukhansan National Park was less then successful owing to the fact that park rangers wouldn’t let people into the trails after a certain time in the afternoon. So this time we got to the trailhead early before any park rangers could spoil the hike. The climb up wasn’t too long, but I was drenched in sweat at the top. It was worth it for one of the best views of Seoul that I have gotten. On that relatively hazeless day we could see downtown Seoul and the Han River winding through it.
Sunday we met my girlfriend’s cousin and her husband for lunch. They dropped us off at a bus station so we could catch a bus down to Everland Park. I had been to the Caribbean Bay water park there last summer. This time we went to the amusement park and saw all the animals that they had there. They had the usual things like tigers and polar bears and other more exotic animals. We caught a penguin and seal show set in 18th century France but spoken in Korean. They had a nice “Safari” tour were they put people in buses and drove them through an area with wandering tigers, giraffes, zebras, and bears. I think the coolest thing in the park though was the giant wooden roller coaster (the largest in Asia) called the T Express with the really steep (77 degrees) and high drop at the beginning. I made Nan Young go along with me and she screamed sooo loud.
The last few days in Korea I relaxed and met with friends. We met Ethan (the guy who introduced us) on Monday night. Tuesday evening Nan Young and I went to dinner with one of her co-workers and her daughter Se-jin. I was glad to find out that my girlfriend couldn’t understand anything Se-jin said either.
I had to fly out on Wednesday afternoon, so after stuffing my bags to the limit, my girlfriend’s family took me to the airport. On the way they took us out to lunch and bought me yet more gifts to take home. The plane ride back was pleasant as could be and I slept most of the way, which made it very hard to get over the jetlag. Anyways, that’s all for now. Check back here about two months after my next trip to Korea and maybe there will be something new (just kidding, but not really)
