The first night they got here it was pretty late, but my Dad was hungry so we went across the street to a little Korean restuaunt and got some bi bim bap (rice and veggies with hot sauce). There were some drunk businessmen out for a late night drunk fest that made us try some of their chewy slimy river eel and their makgoli (rice wine). It was a pretty good intro for my dad to see how friendly Koreans can be, since sometimes in Seoul, just like in NYC, people can be pushy and rude.
The next morning we set out on our first day in Korea. First we went downtown to the City Hall and Gwanghamun Plaza. We took a nice walk to Dongdaemun shopping area and then had lunch at my favorite chain Korean restaurant. I introduced them to ddokbokki, pork cutlet, kim bap, and some other Korean diner food. After lunch we went to Yeoido Island to ride bikes along the Han River. It’s a nice way to see a good part of Seoul. After bike riding we went to Myeong-dong (a neighborhood) and saw the famous show “Nanta!” which is a silent show about cooking and dancing. It was really cool.
The next day I had to go to work so my family went hiking to the north of Seoul on a hike I had done in September. That night I came back into Seoul for dinner. Thursday I also had to work so I sent them to the Korean War Museum. After school on Thursday they took the subway and bus out to my apartment to stay the night. We went out to the bar and to the noraebang (singing room) with all of my local Gwangju friends, which was fun. We all 4 slept in my tiny apartment which was an experience. The next day they all came to work with me. The kids went absolutely NUTS over Andrew, and they still talk about him to me sometimes. “Oh so handsome!”, “So tall!”, or my favorite “fabulous DNA!”. They got to eat lunch at my school and then watch me teach one class. The students in that class were super excited that they were the chosen ones to get them to sit in on class.
After school we had a little happy hour on the roof of my apartment building and then headed into Seoul for the weekend. Friday night I decided I needed to show my college aged brother the awesome nightlife Seoul has to offer, plus the drinking age here is 19 so he was legal! Let’s just say he had a little too much soju and something may have happened at 4AM with a bowl of kimchi…
The next morning we went up in Seoul Tower for a 360 view of Seoul and then went to a Korean baseball game! Seoul LG Twins were playing the Busan Giants and Korean baseball games are unlike American ones for sure. Imagine European soccer, American baseball, plus all things Asia (bright lights, flashy outfits, loud kpop music, etc.) LG got killed so that wasn’t cool but it was fun. We went to my favorite night stopping grounds called Hongdae, which was cool to show to my parents.
Sunday was their last day in Korea and happened to be one of the biggest festivals of the year in Seoul. It was Buddha’s Birthday and there was a festival called “Lotus Lantern Festival” happening. We got to make our own paper lanterns and eat bugs. We also went to the temple, which was decked out in colorful lanterns and decorations for the holiday. As soon as it got dark there was also a parade that went down the busiest streets in Seoul. Thousands of people and monks carrying lit up lanterns walked by along with lit up lantern floats. It was a really cool sight.
My parents left the next morning for China and my brother headed home. I’m so thankful that they got to come and experience something that has changed my life and will influence me forever. Being here has definitely changed my life and I’m glad they will sort of understand where I’m coming from now. It was a good break up in the year since I hadn’t seen them for 9 months. At this point I only have 2 left, so that’s nothing!
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