One last trip to Korea

After my first trip to S. Korea I told my husband, "Never again."  It's not that I didn't like it.  I loved being there, hiking the mountains, exploring the city, traversing the subway.  The problem is - getting there!!   And back.  From Detroit its a 12.5-hour flight!  Ugh.  

I have now been three times.  This time, I'm really done.  Haven't seen everything, but enough to have a pretty extensive library full of photos.  Plus, now all four of our children have been.  I'm not going to post a long travelogue of our ten-day stay, just a link to the YouTube slide show.  Enjoy.

My Korean adventure: From mountains to baptisms, beginning to end.

How do you sum up a 10-day adventure in one blog post?  I don't know either, however, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will begin there. (actually, this is post #5 so you might want to back up a few posts and start way back at the beginning)

 All great adventures have a beginning.  Mine began with a picture of a mountain.  Mt. Daedunsan, to be exact.  It was one of my son's first outings after being sent to the Air Force base in Osan, South Korea.  I thought to myself, "If I ever go to Korea, I want to climb that mountain."  Well here I stand at the path, ready to take my first step.

The trek was hard, really hard.

But the view made it well worth it.

See that tiny little white spike at the top?  That is the goal for today.

My husband Mark on the suspension bridge.

Me in the middle of the suspension bridge.

These stairs go straight up!!  And, the monument is not where it seems to be.  

At the top of Mt. Daedunsan!

Looking down.  Can't we stay??

A close up view of our path.  It's like this the whole way up and down.

We are rewarded with a great lunch. Dennis, our guide, did the ordering.  Bless you, Dennis!!!

 Potato pancakes.Ginsing chicken.

Side dishes.

If you are ever in South Korea, get yourself a guide/translator and go to Mt. Daedunsan.  It is a difficult but amazing hike.  The weather the day we went was perfect, 80 degrees with a cool breeze, early September.  The lunch at the base was the best meal we had the entire trip.  Take your camera, good sturdy hiking shoes, and plenty of water.

That night, after the amazing (have I used that word too much?) trip to the mountain, we moved hotels from Suwon to Seongnam.   We took Thursday "off" and made these discoveries:  

Art was everywhere.  This one is really funny!

 This stream is flanked by

a bike/run/walk path on either side.  It travels 20+ miles from here to Seoul.  On the morning my husband and I ran, at 6 a.m., there were several dozens of people using the path.  The vast majority were over 60 years of age by my estimation!!

The night lights up with neon.

Cars park and drive on the sidewalk.

Mopeds drive anywhere they please, completely ignoring traffic lights, lanes, laws, etc. 

Lotte Mart is similar to Wal-Mart.  They had Oreos!!

My overall impression of South Korea is one of expect the unexpected.  I expected a third-world country.  I found it to be extremely high-tech yet ancient.  The Japanese completely destroyed the land during the war.  The palaces and fortresses I visited looked ancient, yet were only approximately 200 years old. 

The city is huge!  High-rise buildings, apartment buildings are everywhere, yet surrounded by majestic mountains.  Old sits right next to new.

Entrance to Hawaseong Fortress next to Eco mobility lab.

The outer wall of the fortress.  Across the street, homes, condos, shops, and schools.

The older people are very active.  We saw them exercising, walking, traveling by subway wearing hiking gear. 

Smoking is rampant.  

The older women cover themselves head to toe- hat, gloves, and mask included.  (I saw a man wearing a medical mask with a cigarette hanging out the side!)

Young women like short shorts and short skirts.

The people are very polite.  The subway is clean, very clean!  I dropped a piece of trash by accident once and a woman got my attention and pointed it out to me.  Yes, I picked it up and threw it in the trash can. 

It is fairly easy to get around.  Signs are often in English and people will stop to assist you if you look even vaguely lost.

I wanted to take a picture of the scenes in the subway, but didn't want to be arrested for stalking.  Everyone, and I mean 99.5% of the people, had smart phones, old and young alike. Many times we witnessed this scene:  The door to the subway car opens, a person is looking down at their smart phone, usually with headphones plugged in.  He/she walks in, stands in the middle of the car, continues to look at their phone, then several stops later without so much as looking up walks out of the subway car! Many times I looked up and down the car to count the people on their smart phones and I loved to watch the people next to me text in Korean.  Fascinating. 

Food was difficult when we were not with my husband's colleagues.  It was so foreign we did not know what to ask for, even with picture menus.  My food allergies made it more difficult.  Having a translator app was invaluable! 

Shopping malls were fun just to stand and watch people.  Sales personnel stood at every section, every kiosk, every register waiting to assist you.  Strollers were uncommon.  Most mothers, and fathers, wore back or front carriers for their babies. 

Men carry "purses".

TV commercials are hilarious.  The Koreans probably think the same about ours.

The women are very into plastic surgery.

Kias and Hundais are the primary brand of car.  I'm guessing 90-95%. 

I never felt unsafe, even when wandering around on my own. 

Subway stations have "squat" toilets.  Eww.

Transderm scop patch for air travel is a must and a life saver.

13 hours in an airplane is too long!!!   This is the only thing I disliked about the trip.  Security was not a problem; customs, flight changes, going through immigration.  It was all an adventure I will never forget.

Baptisms at Jubilee

Me and Kristen, the homeless ministry leader.

On our last Sunday in Korea, we went to church at Jubilee, in the Gangnam district.  Kristen met us at the subway and we discussed ministry over Asian infused tacos.  Ministering the homeless is a challenge, but that is a story for another blog.

Will I do it again?  Maybe.  If that's where God wants me to go. I am every grateful to my husband for inviting me and putting up with my "getting into mischief".   I learned a lot about myself.  A lot of my fears are mind over matter.  Crowds, heights, airplanes.  Maybe it's because we had absolutely the most perfect conditions the entire trip, no problems, no issues, no one got sick or hurt.  This trip was a real boost to my confidence.  I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me!! (Philippians 4:13)