If there was ever a time in my life where I got my cake and ate it too, it was summer in South Korea 2024!
I spent more than a year seriously and intensely studying the Korean language and culture before I ever set foot there. I can proudly say that I can read and write Korean! I might not always know what I'm reading, but I can read it! But introducing myself is all the Korean I am willing to speak. Even though my tutor lovingly told me over and over that my speaking is "very good" (her words not mine), I have absolutely no confidence and can't get past it. But even so, I landed in Korea feeling like I could do pretty well at least reading a menu and ordering food.
Until.
Until.
Until I actually had to read a menu in a real Korean restaurant.
Less than 24 hours after I landed, Eric and I went on our first bus trip (no time to waste!) to the Pohang International Fireworks Festival on the eastern coast along the Sea of Japan. The entire country of Korea is the size of Utah with a population of more than 50 million people, so an international fireworks festival is going to draw a crowd. Except that a "crowd" in Korea is not like any crowd I have ever seen in my entire life. There are no words to describe how many bodies were walking/standing/eating/ordering in the exact. same. space.
So you can imagine how insanely crowded every restaurant in all of Pohang was too.
Eric and I got off the bus and started looking for food. The fireworks weren't starting for a few hours and would go until late, so we knew we needed to eat first. Sleep-wise I didn't feel jet lagged at all, body function-wise, I was still on U.S time, and since we have to navigate the world according to my Epilepsy, finding food was essential. But adjusting to the sights of a foreign country plus the sheer amount of people plus needing to find food... was really overwhelming.
We walked up and down the boardwalk for what felt like forever trying our hardest to muster enough bravery to walk into any restaurant, hoping that we'd find just one that didn't have a soul inside where I wouldn't feel so self conscious. No such luck. When we finally got the nerve to walk into one we saw that all of the servers were old Korean women who were literally running from one end of the restaurant and back again taking orders and bringing out food. It was loud and hot and everyone had to be touching just to make room.
We sat down, got a menu, and that's when I froze.
I forgot everything I had ever learned and I started to feel like I was going to cry. Eric could see me breaking down so he took out his phone to translate, but when the waitress came at the exact moment, we just panic-pointed to something. Our food came back shockingly fast and Eric and I just.... stared at it.
Our food was moving.
It was raw. Raw.
Still squirming on the plate raw (I'm not kidding). Ice cold raw.
Barely even dead, raw.
I joke all the time that my husband has a garbage-gut and will eat literally anything, but this pushed even his limits. We felt terrible at the little old ladies running all over heck trying to make sure that everyone was fed and happy. The last thing we would ever do, no matter where in the world we are, is complain, especially knowing that we were the ones who asked for it.
We choked down what we could.
Eric and I may have left that restaurant hungry still, and a little nauseous, but you know what else we left with? Bravery! Our experience, besides the food, was wonderful. No one seemed to notice or care that we were foreigners. We weren't being stared at and not a single waitress cared whether we could speak Korean or not; pointing was more than adequate and no thought was given beyond that.
I still didn't feel confident speaking Korean, but we learned that wherever we went, we would be fed and treated lovingly. We left the restaurant that night braver than when we walked in, and... with uncontrollable giggles (and even now, whenever we talk about it).
We didn't have a problem walking into any other restaurant after that.
My most favorite randomly-timed photo I've ever taken in my entire life.
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Despite the initial hullabaloo, I settled into life in Korea surprisingly fast. I got on their timezone on almost the first night. Eric took me to the PX and Daiso (Asia's version of a dollar store) so that I could get all the things I needed to make his little apartment a home. And as soon as he went to work Monday morning I set out to clean from top to bottom, unpack, and rearrange his entire space. It took zero seconds for Eric and I to get right back to our normal of just being together in the same home again.
For as excited as I was to see my husband and spend the summer with him, I was MORE excited to see our cat, Carley (no offense Babe, but you know it's true). Back in March, when we were preparing for Eric to go back to Korea without me, we made the decision that Carley should go with him. She obviously couldn't be left alone in Kansas while I went to Korea for two months, and she just wouldn't have done well with any sort of pet sitter. Carley is elderly now and she needs to be with her family.
It's a lot to get an animal overseas. We had done it with her once before when we moved to Europe in 2013, but getting her all set to go this time was intricate and time consuming. To cut a long story short, we crossed all our t's dotted our i's and Carley made the long trip to Korea like a perfect angel. She settled into life in Korea as easily as I did, and for all that I tried to do after buying a few things at Daiso, she is truly what makes Eric's little apartment a home.
Carley has been so good for Eric and his mental health. They have become incredibly bonded and they absolutely adore each other.
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Korea is an indescribably beautiful country in every way. It's mostly mountainous (although their mountains are considerably shorter than anywhere else in the world), but also has coastal plains, valleys, rivers, lakes, and the ocean! The entire country is surrounded by the Sea of Japan, Korea Straight, and Yellow Sea, making it a peninsula.
Korea has centuries-old Buddhist temples, cherry trees, coastal fishing villages, caves, sub-tropical islands, beaches, a professional baseball league, major high-tech cities, and one megacity.
Korea is consistently ranked one of the highest in the entire world for education, with 68% of their entire population being highly educated. Economically, South Korea is a wealthy nation with an insanely fast economic growth in the last twenty years. Their food culture and cafe culture is like none other! You'll never want for coffee as there are coffee shops every few feet in every city or village on the entire peninsula. And I dare you to try just one k-drama on Netflix and not become absolutely obsessed! (<--- this is a not so subtle hint to literally watch just one; they're amazing and I can't get enough.)
Their skincare and cosmetic surgery procedures are one of, if not the, best and most cutting edge in the entire world. Since ancient times, Koreans believed that their appearance could influence their inner selves. Both men and women devote themselves to their outward appearance, cultivating over centuries, a culture that embraces cosmetics and accessories as essential for the human body as food and water.
You could say that Korea has it ALL!
Jogyesa Buddhist Temple - Seoul, South Korea
The royal changing of the guards at Gyeongbokgung Palace - Seoul, South Korea
Bukchon Hanok Village - Seoul, South Korea
North Gyeongsan Province, South Korea
Jukbyeon Cape - South Korea
Gamcheon Culture Village - Busan, South Korea
Seongnyugul Cave - North Gyeongsang, South Korea
Daegu, South Korea - Korea's 4th largest city.
Don't ask, we don't know either.
Korea is indescribable in all of the best ways... their culture and scenery are impossible to describe, and the people are delightful, loving, and welcoming in every sense of the word. Their unabashed eagerness to show and share their culture, language, and country with us was emotional.
In Seoul, Eric and I were approached by the littlest old man who asked in English where we were from, when I replied back in Korean that we are American, he threw his hands up and excitedly said "I love youuuuuu!!" When we were shopping with friends in Daegu, a lady put her hands into a heart shape and said "we love you!!" as she passed by. A little girl approached our table at a cafe we were at in Gyeongsan and shared her candy with us, taking the opportunity to practice her impressive English and said "welcome to our country." A group of school children passed us as we were making our way down the Third Tunnel of Aggression on our DMZ tour who all excitedly broke out into a chorus of "Yay! Hello! Welcome to our country! Hello!" We felt like rock stars. At that restaurant in Pohang, I stood in line for the bathroom with a man who told me over and over "I speak English!" and every time I said, "your English is SO good!" And every time he smiled bigger and each "I speak English" got more confident, and it was truly the most adorable few minutes I have ever spent waiting to pee.
To be honest, Korea has so much that it's been overwhelming writing this blog post. I truly can't do it justice.
When I got back to the States a good friend asked me what my favorite part of Korea was and it caught me off guard. I honestly hadn't stopped to think about what my favorite was, there was so much of my summer, not just the country, that I loved. But I've thought about it a lot since she asked me, and so I've taken my time to really process everything.
I'll try to put into words what our favorites were.
This was Eric's....
The only part in all of Korea that Eric really wanted to see was the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the 38th parallel. The DMZ divides the peninsula in half and is 160 miles long and about 3-ish miles wide. It serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. While this stretch is demilitarized, borders on both sides of this zone are heavily militarized, and we needed our passports just to get there.
There is a place within the DMZ called the Joint Security Area (JSA) where both nations work in the same space (both North and South Korean Soldiers are required to wear sunglasses while inside the JSA, since tensions are so high they don't want misunderstood eye movements to set off another war. Absolutely true story.). It has a history of being a meeting place for diplomacy, but mostly it served as a tourist attraction. As recent as July 2023, you could visit the JSA and legally set foot into North Korea. But it was that exact time that an American soldier took the DMZ tour and deflected into North Korea through the JSA, thereby shutting everything down. And now, the JSA is completely off-limits to civilians.
We could only even see the DMZ by taking a tour with a certified Korean tour guide and with our passports. Even though we never technically set foot into North Korea, we could not even go to the DMZ without those things. Once we got to the DMZ and had our passports checked, it was to my understanding that we were still 3-ish landmine-filled miles from the true border of North Korea. It was impossible to actually set foot across the border, but do we count it as actually going to North Korea? You bet we do! It was the closest we could safely and legally get, and it was good enough for us!
The Peace Train - Imjingak Park, DMZ
This isn't real. First of all, Eric would never be so stupid as to cross the border in a joking manner. Secondly, his body is still 3 miles safely into South Korea. But this is a great photo op and we had a blast!
Even being well within the borders of South Korea, areas not to cross were clearly marked. No one jokingly (or god forbid, seriously) crossed any area that was forbidden.
Gaeseong is the southern most city in the country of North Korea. We could safely see it through binoculars on an overlook with our bodies firmly in South Korea. While the city appears to be like any other, it is thought that it's actually a facade and there are no actual people or businesses there. Actual North Korea has one of the poorest populations in the world, is barely livable, and a general humanitarian crisis overall. It was surreal to see that type of propaganda that up close.
Both Eric and I have family members that fought in the Korean War. Our day touring the DMZ was full of history and really made us aware of the importance of the Korean War, and the importance of what our Soldiers and Korean Soldiers are doing there to this very day.
North Korean flag.
Gaeseong, North Korea. Beautiful, but fake.
As for my favorite. You know me, if it brings me joy or peace, I'm going to love it. So to pick my favorite of alllll the things that brought me joy this summer? It's impossible to pick just one.
We were treated with love and kindness everywhere we went. Being able to read all of the labels in every convenience store. And then that one time I could read the McDonald's menu and was able to switch it to English for my husband in a flash and he was really impressed. Hiking really hard hikes in a bajillion percent humidity and accomplishing them. That one whole week where I didn't see daylight while cocooning and watching documentaries with wine and my cat while my husband worked. Eating raw food on my first night in Korea (wouldn't do it again, but now whenever Eric or I need a good laugh, we just mention it and die laughing). The (cooked) food! Being in a perpetual state of awe while looking at the colors and designs of all the temples we saw, thinking about how much my Grandma would have loved them. Meeting new friends and feeling like we'd known each other our whole lives. Learning how to make bibimbap with women who didn't speak English - they treated us like we were family; it felt like we were family.
But most importantly, getting to spend my summer break with my husband just being together again.
Chopping vegetables for bibimbap - North Gyeongsan, South Korea
While Eric worked, I spent my days sleeping in, then lazing around all day watching documentaries in my PJ's with Carley.
Kissed the sky on the Apsan Observatory! Daegu, South Korea
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Gamaksan Mountain and Suspension Bridge, South Korea
Frozen beers in Busan, South Korea
But as with any cake, there comes the last bite.
I am back in Kansas, Eric is still in Korea... weirdly where the other wishes they were. We painfully miss each other.
