Weekend in Busan

Sat. 7/6  Busan

This afternoon we headed over to Busan for the weekend.  Lee, the other Fairfax teacher, and her host teacher, Minju, joined us.  Busan is the second largest city after Seoul.  So lots of traffic and lots of people!  (Refer to the maps from the blog entry “School and Host Family Introduction” for a geographic reference.)

We stopped at Igidae Park first and hiked around a bit by the water.  The weather was really nice in the afternoon, which made Igidae a popular Saturday afternoon destination.  Finding a parking spot near the park was a challenge – similar to trying to find a place to park at Fairfax Corner on a Friday or Saturday evening or in DC any time!

View of Busan from Igidae Park!

Me and Lee

Me and Yeji

Hotel room in Busan

After our hike we went back into the city to look for a place to stay for the night.  We walked in and out of different hotels and motels until we found one that offered the best quality for the price we were willing to pay.  We found a really nice room!

I loved the translation of the sign on the door of the fire exit!

Sign on the fire exit door

After we dropped our stuff off at the hotel, we headed over to Haeundae Beach.  By then, the weather had turned a little cloudy but that did not stop many of the beach goers from enjoying the water and sand.

Me and Lee at Haeundae Beach

We walked around the beach for a bit and came across a full stage with seating set up right on the beach.  It turns out that the city of Busan was hosting something called World Camp this weekend, and tonight was the performance!  We stuck around to watch a few of the acts.  We got to see traditional dance performances from Indian, Thai, and Korean dance groups.  Here are a few videos from the Korean dance performance.  This particular performance told the story of Korea’s struggle against the Japanese invasion of the late 1500’s during the Joseon Dynasty:

After that we were were hungry of course!  Since Busan is right on the water, we thought some kind of seafood meal would be fitting.  We didn’t need to wander far.  Almost every restaurant on the market street boasted tanks full of the various fish and crustaceans caught that day – right in front of the restaurant to entice hungry passersby.  Here is our feast for the night accompanied by some makkeolli (rice wine).  Pictures courtesy of me this time! 

As my mom pointed out to me, it seems like all I have been doing since arriving in Korea is eating!  I just love to eat and everything has been fantastic and delicious – a completely different kind of eating experience for me – so I really want to share it with you :).  Also, for the Koreans, food and eating are a big part of the cultural experience, so I think they have been going above and beyond in making sure that I have the chance to experience all of the culinary goodness that is available here!      

After dinner we wandered through the markets and shops, took in the lively night life scenery of Busan, and caught a few more performances at the World Camp stage on our way back to the hotel.  Tomorrow morning we are heading to the spa!

Sun. 7/7  Spa Land!

Today we headed to Shinesegae department store to spend the morning at the spa.  A little note about Shinsegae:  It is officially the largest department store in the world and is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as such!  

If you think Tysons Corner is big, Shinsegae is even bigger!  The pictures that I took don’t quite do it justice – it has a dizzying amount of stores and levels. 

Bottom-up view

Bottom-up view

Top-down view

The spa is located in one section of the lower level of the department store.  Going to the spa is a very popular activity among Koreans.  Admission to the spa was only about $10 since we got there early!  The spa has a range of sauna and hot steam rooms, relaxation rooms where you can lounge on comfy chairs to nap or watch TV, as well as various natural spring water baths.  Spa Land also offers a choice of massage and body scrub services as well a few restaurants and cafes – all at an extra cost of course. 

After the spa we wandered around the department store for a bit.  Shinesegae has everything from clothing and home good stores to an ice rink, movie theater, book store, grocery store and even a golf course on the top level!  You would need a whole week or more just to explore all that Shinesegae has to offer. 

We headed back to Changwon in the afternoon and spent a quiet evening at home.  Yeji has started to teach me how to read and write in Korean.  The Korean language is called Hangul.  Right now I am learning the basic vowel and consonant character combinations and practicing the pronunciation of each.  I even made some flashcards!  Learning a new language – especially one with such a different alphabet – is a truly humbling experience.  I think this is good for me to know what it feels like again.  Learning a new language can be a very difficult and sometimes overwhelming experience and I am reminded of the feelings – and sometimes frustrations – that my students must feel every day.  But it is definitely fun to be a student again! :)