Being here in Korea has been a real blast to the past, as I left Korea 21 years ago. We took the subway to BongCheon Dong, the first area that I lived in Seoul. We walked from the subway station towards the church. There was not one recognizable building on either side of the street. They have literally raised whole neighborhoods and rebuilt new high rise apartments and shopping centers. And, the street was littered with Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Starbucks, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Red Mango, a French Bakery, and an Italian restraunt. I don’t think missionaries in Korea are suffering through 3 meals a day of rice and kimchi!!!! However I was able to find the little restaurant we ate at everyday for lunch, and it was hardly unchanged. A bowl of Ramen noodles that cost us 500 won is now 1500 won. It seems to me the bus used to cost 100 won, now it’s 1000 won, the taxi meter now starts at 1900 won, it was 600 won. And the vehicle traffic is beyond belief!!!! BOKCHAPHAYO!!!!! Very congested…for you non Korean speakers….:) But the subway still rocks, and is at least 3 times as large as it used to be.All the men still wear a suit and tie wherever they go, but the ability to match tops w/ bottoms and a tie seems to be much improved. They still wear the surgical mask around when they are sick. I’ve not seen one baby strapped to a mothers back and a bag of rice on her head. I’ve seen no crippled people begging at the subway or bus stops. In fact I actually saw a man in a motorized wheelchair. They have handicap spots on the subway, ramps for wheelchairs and elevators. All things that were non existent 25 years ago in Korea. However, and even Maija made this comment as were were walking home in the dark, that it feels very safe here. No matter how dark the alley, you don’t feel like your going to get mugged, and that is the way Korea always was.
On Saturday we continued walking past Seoul National University, then onto another area that I used to live. We found the market street and walked up into the neighborhood. There are more grocery type stores, fewer street vendors, and I used to hold my breath for 3 blocks to get home every night. Which is one of the things that I’ve noticed the most about returning to Korea. It just doesn’t smell like it used to, not that it’s a bad thing. But I think that smell is one of your strongest senses, and it’s the thing I remember the most about living here. The strong smell of garlic, or red peppers drying on the street, raw sewage, the fish in the markets, tear gas lingering from the riot the day before all combined made for a real potent mixture.
I’ve been telling Maija that the best treat was HO DUK and it was everywhere. Well, it’s not everywhere anymore, but we finally were able to find it and it was still as yummy. It’s a small pancake sized, fried sweet bread w/ sugar and cinnamon in the middle. Everyday when we head out Maija says, lets find a HO DUK!!! And, it's been quite cold and windy while we've been here, hence the hoodies.
