Rubber Seoul

It’s December but the bright warm sun shining through my window contradicts the traditional memories I’ve accumulated about this month. The last three Decembers have been snow filled affairs with little to look forward to other than the birth of our Lord and a Christmas feast.  Here on the very southernmost tip of South Korea we don’t get snow or frost.  EDIT>>> it snowed the very day I wrote this blog post but I left it in draft. <<<<<

Seodaemun Prison

True enough it has got a bit chilly and I’ve had the under floor heating (ondol) on for a few weeks. But there is no fierce arctic wind cutting through me when I step outside or has my electricity gone off like last winter in the Caucuses.

These mild winter conditions added to my impending first trip to Thailand later this month mean that I’m rather chipper all things considered.  I’ve wanted to visit the Land of Smiles for some years and now I’m living in Asia with two weeks to spare in mid-winter, then it’d be rude not to. When I land in Bangkok (God willing) on the 30^th it will be the 12^th capital city that I’ve visited so far.  The most recent of these cities being the sprawling metropolis of Seoul in October.

In the late summer of 1988 I vividly recall watching the drama of the Olympics on TV live from Seoul. Which was until then an unknown city in a country that I’d only heard of in passing.  The Seoul Olympics was the event that put South Korea on a global scale and showed the world that this dynamic little country was truly a world player. Of course the games of 88 will always be remembered for the drug cheating of Ben Johnson and all the fallout from that.

Move forward over twenty years and I’m in that very city and feeling all nostalgic about a childhood long gone. Seoul is simply huge and as you approach it on the motorway (freeway, highway, autobahn or whatever) you feel like you’re entering the gates or Mordor, such is the size of the buildings that tower over you.  On stepping off the bus you are clothed in a wall of sound, people, sights and smells. I lived in London for much of my early adult life but London has nothing on Seoul in terms of size and scale.

There are people everywhere, crowds of people no matter where you turn or what time of day it is. I live in a fairly small town that is part of a wider city that is in itself rather small. So to visit the 12^th largest city in the world was somewhat overwhelming. To my relief the subway system like the Tbilisi subway system has English widely used so that was one worry off my mind as I tried to find my hotel.

Places I wanted to visit in Seoul included Seodaemun Prison which was a Japanese prison during their occupation of Korea. I also planned to visit Gyeongbok palace which is one of the four grand palaces of the old Korean Emperor.  Both of these places say more about my personality than I’d like to admit but I enjoyed visiting them anyway.  In fact, I was the only Westerner walking around the haunting buildings of the former prison and I did get some funny looks. The Palace although very grand and spectacular was way too much to take in on one visit. I was there for three hours and I don’t think I scratched the surface to be honest.

 The most daunting and vibrant area of an already vibrant city is by far Myeongdong. I’d read up that it is the ‘must see’ shopping area of Seoul but I wasn’t quite prepared for it when I walked up the subway steps. Think Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street and Leicester Square put together and then multiply this new super district by 10. Then you’ll have something akin to what Myeongdong is like.

The noise and the neon signs blasting and glaring out from each store gives you a sensory overload that brings fears of a migraine rushing up ones spine. My tour guide for the day saw that I was overwhelmed by it all and took me to a coffee place that sold Patbingsuce (ice flakes with red beans). I’ll try anything once but this rather bland mountain of ice left me feeling cold quite literally.