South Korea Trip, August 13

Good morning Gangnam!  The high today is 28°C (77°F).  It is a comfortable temperature for exploring, but thunderstorms will start soon.

Today's Agenda

Today has the potential to be the best day of my life so far.  I really wish that I could sleep in until this afternoon's events, but I think that I should try to get even more out of today.  I will find an adventure for the first half of the day too, though I must consider the upcoming storms when choosing one.

These are my plans today:

• Study the Korean language.
• Find a nearby place to visit outside of the rain.
• Meet friends at 7pm.

Today's Experiences

I needed to study today, but I cannot stay inside when there is so much to explore!  I decided to explore, and I would study while on the metro.  I asked 다인 (Da-In) for advice on where to go, took pictures of my notes, and left.

Travel to 익선동

익선동 (Ikseondong) is a village near downtown that is known for being traditional.  This is one of the places that 다인 (Da-In) likes in Seoul and recommended to me.

The streets of the village are very thin, and the buildings are intriguing because of how different they are from most of the rest of Seoul's buildings.

I would have loved to explore the area more, but it was hard to stop or navigate in the thin streets with everybody carrying open umbrellas.  I want to visit the area again on a sunny day and enjoy it more.

On the edge of the village, where I had room to step aside and collect my thoughts, I found a neat little tea and snack restaurant.  They advertised traditional Korean snacks and a variety of Korean teas.

As I imagine it is with all of the traditional places in this village, I had to take my shoes off before entering the dining area.  The couple in front of me got scolded for having dirty socks and had to take those off too.  I have never been to a restaurant like this.

I read over the menu and picked what I thought would be the best representation of what they serve there: 5-flavor fermented tea and traditional Korean snacks.

The tea was sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and pungent.  Most of all, it was very good.  The tea had much more flavor than the tea packs that Walmart sells that are just dipped into hot water.  The tea here was a proper drink.

The snacks were very sweet but in an unexpected way.  In the USA, most sweet things taste like sugar.  The sweets that were served to me here did not taste like sugar.  The sweet taste was more natural and somewhat nutty.  I could taste sesame in the recipe, but there were other flavors that I could not pinpoint.  These too were really good.

Returning Home

I had the option of exploring a nearby palace or returning home.  I decided to return home.

I stopped in the 7-11 next door to my apartment -- side note: these stores are everywhere! -- and I purchased some groceries.  I didn't really need groceries, but I wanted to practice.

I purchased milk just because I misspelled it yesterday with 희서 (Heeseo), and I remembered how to spell it correctly today.  That is the only reason that I got milk.

Meeting Friends at 7pm

I met a group of friends a few blocks away a little before 7pm.  For the next five hours, we had a very fun time!  There are pictures, and there are stories, but I feel like keeping this part of my trip more private because it involves other people.