This last "weekend" (I put it in quotes because my weekend isn't like a normal weekend, seeing as how I have Monday and Tuesday off), I went to Seoul...all by myself. It was quite an adventure.
It was a lovely day. High of 39 degrees. BEAUTIFUL. I got out my sunblock and my beach towel and headed to Seoul.
On the shuttle ride to Ilsan, I couldn't decide whether to take a bus or the subway to Seoul. Ultimately, it all depends on where you want to end up. The bus will take you right to Seoul Station (which you've seen pictures of in previous posts), whereas the subway can take you to any number of hostile, underground pits of despair.
Thanks to my brother, I have a very informative book about Seoul, which includes maps of the city and the subway system. I had not taken the subway to Seoul before, only buses. But where did I want to go first? Well, one main reason for going to Seoul was to find a supposed shared branch of my American bank in Seoul so I could deposit money. But, for some inexplicable reason, the only available information about this Seoul branch was the building number and the telephone number. I thought I'd better go to a Tourist Information Center or something so I could get more specific information. Well, this book showed all kinds of different Tourist Information Centers. I traced a logical and seemingly simple route. I could take Subway Line 3 (the Orange Line) from Ilsan into Seoul. I would have to transfer to Line 1 (the Dark Blue Line) at Jongno Station, which would take me to City Hall, and there was a Tourist Information Center close to it. So, I thought I'd try it out. From Ilsan, it takes about 40-45 minutes to get to Seoul. There are 18 stops between Ilsan and Jongno Station. It was an interesting ride into Seoul.
Two people falling asleep on the way to Seoul (they were not a couple)--
Ilsan is the beginning/end of the Orange Line, so when I got on the subway, there were hardly any people. But as we traveled closer to Seoul, more and more people got on. They love sitting really close to you and coughing on you. I thought for sure, when this older man sat down next to me, that the inevitable was going to happen. You know what I'm talking about. When they fall asleep on you. He did enjoy coughing without covering his mouth, but besides that, nothing happened.
The subway--
However, at one point on this leg of the trip, some nicely dressed older gentlemen came into our car with a big cart of stuff. I don't know exactly what it was he had in his cart, but he immediately started talking loudly and showing off his product. It was some sort of glove/boot/sock thing. I was listening to my mp3 player at a high volume, as to drown out the various noises that accompany a trip of this ilk, not that I would have understood what he was saying had I been listening freely. I first saw him put one of these things on his hand and hold it up for everyone to see. At one point, he even slipped off one of his shoes to show that he was wearing one of these things on his foot, and they either provided traction, warmth, or both. I was at a loss. All I know is that they were multi-colored and sold for 3,000Won ($3). While I was slightly intrigued as to why the subway car was the best place for his peddling, I did not purchase one of his glove/boot/sock things, nor, for that matter, did I see anyone else buy one of these things.
The man selling his wares (complete with shoe off)--
I was following along very closely to the stops that we were making. When we came to Dongnimmun, I knew I was close. After that was Gyeongbokgung, then Anguk, and then Jongno. I don't know what any of these words mean, but I thought you'd enjoy reading them. I'm just typing them as they're written in my book.
I got off at the right stop, and looked for Line 1. Signs were clearly marked for me, thank goodness. If you've ever ridden on a subway, you know there are usually 2 sides to each Line. One going this way (East/North), one going that way (West/South). Even in NYC, it's awfully easy to get confused about which direction you actually want to go. But I figured it out. My side clearly said "City Hall". So I knew I was going the right direction.
I got on the Line 1 train and prepared myself to exit at City Hall.
In the bustle of excitement that was my first transfer, I failed to follow my plans to the letter. I was supposed to stay on Line 1 for 2 stops, in order to get to City Hall. For some reason, I thought it was only 1 stop, and thusly I got off the train at the wrong stop, one stop early. I didn't realize this until I was above ground.
All was not lost, however. As soon as I surfaced, I realized I was somewhere quite familiar, though I hadn't intended to be here. I surfaced at Jonggak Station (not to be confused with Jongno Station--stay with me!). It was right at this place where I stood and celebrated the New Year, though I didn't know it at that time. But as soon as I climbed the steps out of the subway, I noticed the familiar buildings (one which still has a Christmas tree design on it and has the words Happy New Year 2008 still on the side) and the GIANT bell pavilion that literally rang in the New Year.
Do you remember this building from my New Year's post?--
I had never seen any of this in daylight. It was quite interesting. Cars and trucks were now speeding along the street where I had stood that eve.
The intersection where I stood in the road--
I took this opportunity to get closer to the pavilion. It is actually called Bosingak. My helpful little book tells me that "this pavilion houses a modern version of the city bell, which was originally forged in 1468. The bell is rung only at New Year, when crowds gather here to celebrate. In Joseon times, the great bell was struck 28 times every night at 10 p.m. to ask the heavens for a peaceful night and to signal the closure of the gates and the start of the nightly curfew, which was enforced by club-wielding watchmen. It was struck 33 times for the 33 Buddhist heavens at 4 a.m., which signaled the start of the new day when the gates were reopened. It also sounded when fire broke out."
Bosingak--
The sign by the pavilion, fascinating--
Can you imagine waking up to the clamor of 33 loud bell rings at 4 a.m. every day!? At some point, I would just stop caring about knowing when the gates were being reopened. JUST OPEN THEM--I DON'T NEED TO KNOW. And when they say gates--they mean gates. As with many ancient cities, there was a wall around Seoul. I'm in the middle of investigating all I can about this wall, and will bring you more information in a future blog. But I will give you this tidbit. If you're following these blogs closely, you would remember me shopping at an outdoor market called Dong Dae Mun. Well, unbeknownst to me at the time, Dong Dae Mun means "East Gate". Near the market is the actual gate that allowed entry into the city years ago. I will eventually have pictures of it. Obviously, there is no longer a wall around Seoul, it has long since been destroyed.Anyway, seeing all this made me glad I'd made this unplanned mistake. But now I had to figure out how to walk to where the Tourist Information Center was. I was quite turned around. I knew on the map where City Hall was, but not in relation to where I currently was standing. Of course, I could have simply got back on the subway, but it would have been silly to do that. Plus, with the warm weather, I really just wanted to walk.
I figured it out. I had to walk this way, then turn right and then left. It seemed easy enough. Well, not really. Once I got to the other corner, I was confused again as to what direction the Tourist Info place would be. I walked South when I should have walked North, and I crossed the street when I shouldn't have. I wasn't upset or anything, remember it was really nice out (in actuality, it was quite a bit warmer than it had been for weeks, and I actually wasn't cold, and it truly was sunny, but by no means was it "really nice out"). Counter to my usual bad luck, as I walking, I found a small tourist stand right on the corner. I went in and the young man in there spoke English. Whew. I told him I was trying to find this mysterious bank, building number S-1479. I gave him the phone number, and he called it. No answer. Then he looked it up on his computer, but found nothing. He called someone and asked them if they knew of it. They did not. He sent an instant message to someone on his computer, asking if they knew of it. At first they said no. Well, as soon as I was about to search on yahoo myself, the person sent him a message saying the bank I was looking for was located in the Seoul Financial Center, which just happened to be directly across the street from this little Tourist stand. How wonderful! The guy literally turned around, pointed out the window and a huge building across the street and said, "Right there. 22nd floor." Ok, great. Thank you.
When I crossed the street to enter the building, I noticed something quite odd. A group of men were standing around looking at what appeared to be a wall. Upon closer inspection, this "wall" is a long case with the newspaper pinned up for people to read. I've never seen such a thing outside the bathroom of "Red Robin". It was hilarious. Guys just standing outside, on the side of the road, in the cold, reading the newspaper like this.
The gentlemen reading--
Okay, then I went into the big building. There were 3 different sets of elevators. The first set was for floors 1-11, second set for 12-24, and the third set for the rest...I'm not sure how many stories the building was total. I think 27. Anyway, I headed for the middle set of elevators, pressed the up arrow (some things don't change), and got on the elevator when it arrived, punching the number 22. Once I got to the 22nd floor, everything turned into a movie. The doors opened, and I stepped out. To my right was nothing, just a window with a great view of that side of the city (see pictures). To my left was a set of glass doors. Through the glass doors I saw 3 Korean ladies behind the big counter, and on the wall behind them was the logo for the bank. Mind you, not the one I was looking for. Hmm. I went in. Two ladies were standing by one lady sitting. The woman sitting spoke perfect English. Like frighteningly perfect English. I said, "I'm looking for USA Federal Credit Union..." The little design on the wall behind her shows, "UBS Bank". Two out of three letters ain't bad...even if they're not in the right order. But really, close only counts in death and horseshoes, right? The woman kindly informed me that this was not, as I'd gathered, USA Federal Credit Union. I told her what the man in the Tourist Center told me, and she gave me the typical customer service look...the one that says, "Please leave my presence immediately before I'm forced to verbally berate you further."
I left the 22nd floor. I returned to the lobby, where I checked the long listing of the businesses actually in this building. No USA Federal Credit Union was listed. I asked a lady behind the counter if she knew anything about it. She did not. I showed her the phone number of the supposed bank, and she dialed it. Again, no answer. A man next to her was flipping through a little notebook, and he told me to go to State Street Bank on the 18th floor. I thanked them and returned to the appropriate set of elevators.
"This is hilarious", I thought. "I'm dressed like a tourist, I look like a tourist, for all intents and purposes, I am a tourist. I'm wearing two pairs of gloves, a thick jacket, a hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap. Oh, and I'm sure my backpack with the "Goonies" patch on the back ain't helping my 'No, I'm not a tourist' case."
The 18th floor was quite as swanky as the 22nd. To the right was the window with the same view, albeit it 4 less stories worth. Funnily enough, the view from the window afforded me a great shot of the little Tourist Center I'd gone to moments before.
Just above the yellow/white bus is the small Tourist shack--
To my left their was a hallway; right and left. The signage, all in English, said that State Street Bank was to the left. I walked down the hallway to the double doors of the State Street Bank. I realized I had no real idea why I was headed to this bank. It occurred to me that perhaps the folks behind the desk in the lobby just thought I wanted a US bank. Well, it didn't matter much. I tried to open the doors, and they were locked. I chuckled audibly and headed back to the elevators, after which I promptly left the Seoul Financial Center and went back to the Tourist Information Center. I think the guy was surprised to see me back.
I told him what had happened, he apologized, though I certainly didn't blame him. We then began a very detailed search for this illusive bank location. I showed him the internet site that gave me the information. There are supposed to be 3 branch locations in South Korea, but only one in Seoul. He called the other 2 branches. The first one had no answer. The second one was a restaurant. Ha. Speaking of a restaurant, by this point it was 2:30, and I was quite hungry. The poor guy tried everything, but we couldn't figure out any more information about this bank.
Ultimately, I guess my American bank is just creating a dirty lie. I think they love reading blogs about their customers overseas and their unvindicated search for these fictitious branches. I thanked the guy once again, and got out of there, never to speak of the bank again until now.
View of Seoul Tower from Seoul Station--
Seoul Tower, later that night--
Seoul Station at night (like a mall)--
The guy told me what bus to take to get to Seoul Station, which was down the road a ways. I knew there were places to eat at Seoul Station. When I say places to eat, this isn't to suggest that there weren't a plethora of eateries right around where I'd been thus far traversing. However, you must keep in mind my sensitive palate. I needed some Western food.McDonalds.
Perhaps it was my hunger, or my frustration of not finding the bank, but I decided it would be best to order the NEW Spicy Chicken Tenders. Unconsciously, I thought, "Hey, this is McDonalds, their spicy isn't really spicy..." It was when I bit into the first piece that I immediately realized, "...but I'm in Korea and spicy is like a competitive sport for them. These people eat peppers like they're honey roasted peanuts." The french fries tasted like yucky fish (I'm assuming they fry them in the same oil as the fish), though after my second piece of chicken, I couldn't taste anything anyway, so I just kept eating to satisfy my hunger. It worked out pretty well. Then I bought an Oreo McFlurry to complete the dietary murder. It was perfectly refreshing and delicious. I quickly began to regain feeling in my mouth. Thank goodness for McFlurries!
My next stop was to be Yongsan Station, where on a previous trip to Seoul, I went to the 9 story electronics store. This may seem odd, but the main subway stations have large malls or shopping areas built on them. Think of Grand Central Station in NYC (a very large travel junction), and add a shopping mall. That's what Seoul Station is like, complete with a Baskin Robbins, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and a department store. Yongsan Station has a movie theater, E-Mart (Korean version of Target), a small automobile display, and the 9 story electronics store.
My dad had wanted me to look for a specific camera lens for him, and by all accounts, Yongsan is the place to look. My little book tells me all about the famous Yongsan Electronics Market. But after reading the description of it, I realized the 9 story electronics store, while full of electronics for every conceivable need, was not the famous Yongsan Electronics Market. I walked out of the mall in an attempt to find the actual famous place. I walked South a little bit, then back North a little bit. Nothing. So I went back into the mall to follow the exact instructions in my book.
When I followed those instructions, it took me through a pedestrian overpass that delivered me exactly where I wanted to go. The famous Yongsan Electronics Market. I walked around and around for a long while as there are many floors and many different booths. I followed further instructions on how to get to the street, where little booths were set up along both sides of the street. These booths were either full of various electronic equipment or full of bootleg DVD's. It was overwhelming.
The pedestrian overpass--
I saw a bit of a rainbow before going through the overpass, see it?--
Inside the overpass--
Speaking of overwhelming, one thing I've failed to mention thus far, and perhaps rightfully so, is a certain food they sell on the streets. I don't recall the name of it, but it carries with it the foulest smell known unto mankind. They are some type of bug, or worm. Perhaps it's silkworm? I don't remember, and honestly, just thinking about it makes me dry heave a little, so I'll stop. But I snapped a picture so you could see for yourself.
Whatever it is--
After spending lots of time looking around through the indoor and outdoor markets, it was getting dark, and I was ready to return home. I walked back through the overpass and made my way down to the subway. I returned to Seoul Station, where I caught the 9709 bus. As I learned from my previous travels to Seoul, this was the best way back. The subway could've taken me back to Ilsan, and would have been quicker in the long run. However, I didn't know how to get home from Ilsan. I'm certain there is a bus that would take me back, but I don't know where to get it or what number it is. So, I stuck with what I knew. After this day, I think that was best.
The 9709 bus goes to Geumchon. From there, I catch the 900 bus back to English Village. That trip took nearly 2 hours, as it took us a great deal of time to get out of Seoul at 6:30-7:00 on a weeknight. I wasn't thinking. It didn't matter, I had my trusty mp3 player to keep me company. That and the lady crammed next to me.
I returned home safely and without incident. You see, it's all a learning experience. And that, along with shoveling snow, builds character...right, Dad?
More fun times lie ahead. Stay with me.
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