Six in Seoul

Just a little something I have to share my house with during the rainy season.

So really, the monsoon rains have not slowed us down one bit, however, I have never seen so much rain.  Some days it rains ALL day long, and when I say all day long, I mean ALL day long, sunrise to sunset, and then some.  The nice thing about the rain is that it cools things off here, on the flip side, the humidity is a killer!  Here are a couple of picture of the Bampo Bridge on our way back from Osan the other day.  I had heard for several sources that the bottom level of the bridge gets covered in water, but I had never witnessed it till this day.  A friend told me the markers showed that it was 9 feet under water!   In the first picture you can see part of the lower level....look at the end of the black car, then up and to the right a tad..see the blue?  That is the high part of the lower level, the rest of it is totally underwater.

When you arrive here, day one is pretty much a wash, first off, guest are always jetlagged. Since we live on a military post, we have to in-process them, which mean we have to fill out paperwork, (which I do early) show copies of their passports to some higher up official whom I don't know. He approves them to stay with us here on post and then they are allowed to get a temporary ID card.  This process is really painless; it just takes a bit of time.  After we in-processed them, we took them (just Twin & SIL) to our favorite little restaurant, you all know which one I am talking about, yes, that is right, the Mackerel Lady.  Now, I have to say, I did not think this was such a great idea for their 'first Korean meal' but Hubby really wanted to do this so I went along.   You ask why?  Well, for some people Korean food has to grow on you a bit, and I thought this might be true for SIL.  I thought she might kill over with a heart attack when we walked by the Mackerel Lady and she was standing outside with her plate of mackerel in the sun, with no ice on it.....SIL did great, although she questioned this practice several times.  The in-laws also thought it was quite odd that we were eating in the Mackerel Ladies house.  We just accept this as an added treat.   

Monsoon season has arrived, and it was in full force on Thursday.  I woke up at 5:15AM and it was pouring.  It continued to rain ALL day, with the rains ending around 5PM.  For those of you moving to Yongsan, especially this time of year, don't forget your rain gear, including your rain boots.  Monsoon season is predominate in July.  I personally enjoy monsoon season, most days it does not rain all day, just a few hours here and there, and that is a welcome rain as it cools things off!  Here are a few fun pictures I took while out running errands on Thursday!

It is that time of year again, people all over are gearing up to PCS, this is another post of general information for moving here to Yongsan, South Korea -  I hope it is helpful.

1. This is hard for some American's to get past....personal space is no longer personal.  The sooner you accept this, the better off you will be.  People bump into you and do not say sorry...people will put their hands on you to move you if you are in their way, this is not rude.  I even do it to people now.  During rush hour on the subway, you feel like a sardine.

2. Having a copy of the subway map in English & Korean is helpful.  I use it all the time when traveling by cab...I just tell/show the cab driver which subway stop I want to be taken to. 

3. Use the internet when going someplace new...most locations you want to go to in Seoul have a website and the website has directions in Korean, even if you cannot read them, print them off anyway and give it to your cab driver.  Having the phone number helps too....cab drivers will call the location if they have problems finding it.  Know where you want to come back to!  There are many Koreans that work on post & they are more than happy to help in this area.  I have a friend that wrote in Korean where to drop us off; I keep it in my purse and show the cab driver on all return trips.

4.If a cab driver tells you no, or gives you the 'X' with his fingers or arms, and points across the street, he is trying to help you save fare, by telling you to cross the street and catch a cab going the other direction.

5. I never thought I would drive in Seoul.  This is one scary place when it comes to driving for some.  In the beginning I was terrified, but now, 1 year later, I drive all over the place & I have had several people tell me I should be a cab driver here!  :) Some helpful hints for driving...don't be polite, just stick your nose out and shove your way in.  Buses always have the right of way.  Left turns are not allowed in here.  Some red lights are optional!!! I am serious; once you start driving here you will figure this out!   I could write a whole blog on driving...maybe I will - later.


On Korean culture -

You do not shake hands first, you bow to each other first, then the older person can offer their hand during the bow for a hand shake.

Elderly are given special attention, respect and care.  The older the person, the deeper the bow.

When eating the oldest person eats first.

You always pass thing with 2 hands.

When visiting a Korean home: *always remove your shoes *make sure you wear hole free & clean socks,if you are wearing sandals you will normally be offered slippers to wear  *always bring a gift of aprox $10 in value * Koreans usually do not open the gift in front of you  *when offered a drink, take it.

Do not use your finger to point with, you use your whole hand.

Korean's don't keep eye contact when talking with you 

In stores and on the street Koreans shove and bump into people, personal space is non-existent here. 

Little is usually said during meal time.

Females & males hold hands with friends of the same sex to express their friendship.  It is not unusual to see same sex walking down the street holding hands.

Koreans avoid confrontation and raising their voices when dealing with others....they are very calm all the time. 

Koreans do not hug or kiss when meeting with family or friends, they bow.

Koreans do not write names in red.

Koreans do not drink in front of someone older or of higher status without permission.

You do not sit with your legs crossed...foot sitting on knee.  This is  a sign of disrespect, it is telling everyone around you they are lower than the dirt on your foot.

Korean women typically dress much nicer than American women.  They rarely wear sneakers out. 

I hope I have not overwhelmed you....if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Swim lessons and summer camps.  These are a *BIG* deal here on Yongsan Garrison!  Parents wake up in the *WEE* hours of the morning to secure a place in line just so their kids can the *primo* spot.  You see, for swim lessons you don't want to be in the early classes for a couple of reason....my main reason is frankly, I don't want to wake my kids up too early during their summer vacation to drag them to the pool! By doing that, it makes swim lessons a chore and not fun.  Second, the air is too cool in the morning and the water is TOO COLD!  The kids in the early morning class are freezing & it is just miserable for everyone involved.  This is why I opted to get up at 6AM on my Saturday morning, (OK, for those of you that know me, 6AM is not early for me, but is sounds good for the purpose of this blog) to go sit in the drizzle....  Oh, and for summer camps, if you aren't there early you will be put on the dreaded waiting list.

This year since I am seasoned mom here on Yongsan, my friend JA and I plotted, she would arrive at 6:30AM to hold a place in line for me if I brought chairs and coffee at 7AM.  Done deal.  I arrived at 7AM and received my #12!  Woo-hoo!  Here we are waiting, drinking our coffee with out little numbers stuck on our hands...

Can you believe it has been over a year since we have been in Seoul?  This happened while we were on vacation in Thailand...I wanted to do this blog on our anniversary date, but if you know me, you know I can't do things out of order.  There was no way I could do a 1 year anniversary blog in between Thailand stories.  It would have totally wigged me out & most likely I would have had to edit & my life would have been out of whack for days.  So to save my sanity, I am writing it now, 1 year, 18 days later. 

Where do I start?  We LOVE living in Korea.  We have had so many wonderful opportunities. As I rummaged through our website I have discovered we have done so much, yet also so little.  We have barely scraped the tip of iceberg...there is so much more to do here.  So, I am going to list my top 5 things we have done here in Seoul. 

1. The flower market at the express bus terminal is my favorite place here in Seoul.  It is my happy place, anytime I go; I can't help but to smile.  I also love taking new people there and watching their expression.  I have discovered there are 2 types of people when it comes to the flower market..........1 - the ones that are overwhelmed by the size, smell, beauty, crowd and cheap prices, so much so that they cannot buy anything at all, they just take it in and go back later for purchases.   The second type are  the people that embrace it immediately,  and with their mouth dropped open in awe, they purchase everything they can get their hands on.


2. The Seoul City Bus Tour is fantastic!  It is great for both young and old, new to the area, or even for the seasoned xpat, and the price is right, only 10,000 won and you can ride all day, & get off and on as many times as  you would like. The Seoul City Bus Tour is a great way to learn the city!


3. Noryangjin Fish Market - I know some of you cannot stand the thought or smell of fish...but to me, I am like a kid in a candy store when I go to the fish market.

4. Yeoju City, aka - Pottery Town! -  Yeoju was my first 'real' outing in Korea, and it has proven to be a favorite of guest and xpats alike.

5. Mackerel Lady Restaurant - I don't know the real name of this restaurant, in fact, I don't know if it even has a name.  This place is the bomb - cheap and good!!



There is so much more I love about living here in Seoul, like Saturday nights out with Hubby, (I love our date nights) but I wanted to keep the list short.  If you come to visit, these are just a few of the things we will do with you.

I want to thank you all for reading my blog this past year!  I hope you have had as much fun reading it as I have had writing it.  On March 28th, I had my highest number of hits on my page in one day.....268!!!  Normally I average 100-120 hits a day, and right now for the past month I have hits from 14 different countries.....if you are reading, I would LOVE to hear from you.  PLEASE drop a line just to say hi!  I love comments!  

Just a random post for those of you moving to Yongsan this summer, or anytime really... 

SHEETS - if you like anything nicer than 200 thread count, bring your own!  Beds are still not that popular in Korea, so sheets are hard to find on the economy & the sheets at the PX, well, they are a polliy-cotton blend, 200 thread count.  If you are good with cheap and stiff, you are good.

FANS - housing does not turn the air conditioning on until late May, early June, and the fans at the PX go fast, so if you are arriving during the summer, bring your own.  You can buy them on the economy, but they use 220, and on post we use 110. 

AREA RUGS / CARPETS - The furniture store carries them, but in high season (summer) they can be hard to come by.

OK, you guys might think I am crazy, but I have been looking for a griddle since I moved here (almost 1 year ago), and I just found one this week, so if you like to cook on a griddle, bring your own.  I left mine at home, because I was told not to bring anything I did not find 'essential' for the kitchen.  I didn't think a griddle was 'essential', now I do. Same goes for the ice cream maker....I now have one here and one back in the states in storage.  An ice cream maker is 'essential' in my opinion.

Along the same lines...specialty food items, buy extra and bring them with you. Vanilla bean paste, can't find it here, my friends and family have been so gracious as to send multiple bottles to me (remember I like to make ice cream...I also use it for other things).  I haven't been able to find tahini either, I'm sure it is out there, but I cannot find it.  If you are moving here and you don't love tahini, you can still bring some for me please.  ;)  You can find most basic spices & Asian spices you can find here, but if you want things out of the realm of 'basic' bring extras to last.  (Example of out of the realm of basic, Chef Paul Phudhomme’s – any of the magic spices)  However, Penzey’s spices will deliver here, and they are pretty fast, spices typically arrive within one week.


Oh, another thing while we are on the kitchen.  I entertain just as much, or more here than any other place I have lived.  Bring things for entertaining!!  Party buckets (for ice & drinks) are hard to come by.