Seoul Tower...
Trip Start
Dec 11, 2008
1
6
32
Trip End
Dec 13, 2009
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Seoul, Korea Rep.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I've been up more towers in cities than most people have had hot dinners, but I couldn't resist as it got me out of my apartment, and it was pretty cheap. So I took the cable car to the summit of Namsan, Seoul's resident mountain, then boarded the elevator to the top of the tower for some impressive neon-lit views. There was one area that seemed pretty enticing, with huge department stores and lots of bright lights, so after descending to ground level, I headed in that direction...
The place in question was called Myeong-dong, a vast criss cross of shops, restaurants...and people! It was ridiculously crowded, even though it was 9pm on a weekday evening, but I love those kinds of places where you can anonymously wander to your heart's content, observing the chaos that is unfolding around you. I'm going to spend a lot of time in that area in the future...
Later on in the week, I went to T.G.I. Fridays for some welcome western food. It's quite expensive, but you get lots and I always feel full afterwards. I had to sit at the bar as it was pretty busy, but this turned out to be a blessing as I got talking to the barman who had exceptional taste in music. In fact, the first question he asked me when he found out that I was from the UK was "Have you heard of a band called Teenage Fanclub?" I couldn't believe my ears, and simply showed him my mp3 player to prove the coincidence, and then recommended some bands that he might like. We exchanged phone numbers as there was mention of us going to some music festivals together in the summer...
Speaking of music, Oasis are playing a concert in Seoul this April, and I was grateful to one of my students for letting me know! However, I doubt that I will go as I will be working, and I don't get much in the way of optional holiday days. In fact, I'd been having some issues with work as I was hoping to have an extended weekend when my brothers visit, but they didn't seem keen. Apparently we shouldn't use our holiday days on teaching days, and should wait and take them during holding periods - two week periods between semesters, when we don't teach the students.
This is complete nonsense and they've since relented, but actually I might save my holiday days afterall as I want to visit Taiwan for a week in April/May. I'm not sure why Taiwan has suddenly entered my head, but I really want to check it out as it could be a potential teaching destination post-Korea. Plus I have a friend there and she seems eager to show me around...
We had another all-expenses-paid work gathering on the Friday, probably to celebrate more students signing up. I couldn't believe the place we went to as it was ridiculously posh! We worked a little later than everyone else, so we were the last to enter the princely Chinese restaurant, and I was a bit taken aback by the size of the long table in our own separate room, with the Director sat at the end watching over everyone - it felt like entering Sir Alan's office on The Apprentice!
We went out for drinks afterwards which was a little more laid back, but I was glad when the Director moved tables as I was concious of not making an arse of myself infront of him! He's got quite a powerful aura about him, but he speaks virtually no English whatsoever, so it's impossible to make small talk. All in all it wasn't my favourite night out of all time, but these social events are very important over here, so it's essential to attend, even if it is a little uncomfortable...
I had a much more enjoyable Sunday, as I met up with Joana, the Korean girl I'd met on New Year's Eve. We met in Gangnam which is a bustling student area, and went to watch Yes Man starring Jim Carrey. There's a bit in it where he speaks Korean, so of course the crowd loved that! Afterwards we went to a plush restaurant for dinner, and chatted about football a lot - Joana was a big fan after spending so much time in Brazil.
Time was flying by at this stage, and suddenly there wasn't that much left of the intensive period - soon I'll be able to put my alarm clock into semi-retirement!
Comments
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Hey! I've read you're NZ logs way back, and randomly saw this one today- such a coincidence, you always seem to do the trips I want to do before me, so you're a great resource!
Sounds like fun, I'm debating between Korea and Taiwan if I do get around to teaching overseas.. so i always love another viewpoint!
Cheers