My husband Regan is a true military brat, he doesn't even know what to say when people ask where he's from. His dad was stationed in South Korea for 4 years and then Regan later served a church mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Korea for 2 years. For those number-crunchers out there, 6 years total. He is fluent in Korean and actually just took an Army language test (DLPT) last week and did super well!
(Picture below of Regan on his mission in Busan, South Korea. He's the far right.)
He's in the military and so are most of his siblings. His oldest brother gifted us, another brother, and sister-in-law with tickets to South Korea for our one-year anniversary!
We were there for about 3 weeks and had the neatest experiences eating kimchi, taking public transportation, and me practicing reading characters off of advertisements and signs. (No idea what I was saying, I just know the characters and their sounds. Risky business, accidentally read off the name of a stripper lounge to the shock of others nearby.)
Unfortunately, I uploaded our pictures to a Facebook account that no longer exists because it was hacked by a Palestinian guy. The phone I used to take pictures tragically died so I'll use generic pictures and it should be close enough to give you an idea!
FOOD. Some things are very different like live baby octopuses (octopi?) but some things you would recognize from cheap Chinese restaurants like fried rice dishes.
Bibimbap: like a Korean-version, fried rice dish (all of this is on top of rice), fried egg, carrots, sprouts, and some other veggies and is probably a safe bet for one of your first Korean foods!
We visited several Korean markets and bought the cutest little-kid clothes for some friends and family. I recommend getting these as gifts: hanbook (formal clothes) and ajumma pants (casual pants).
Another honorable mention: an island just off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula: Jeju Do. This is an island with Mount Hallasan that is available for hiking, with an admission price (on the website it says it's free but I'm 99% sure we paid). There are 5 trails, only one goes to the summit. By the way, Mount Hallasan is the tallest mountain in Korea.
This hike was ridiculous. Like, I think off-trail would have been easier than the trail. The trail was kind of like they assembled all of the rocks and boulders and strung them along the ground, winding up the mountain and demanded you walk on it.
Exhibit A:
The smooth dirt? Not the trail. The rocks? The trail.
We did this hike with Regan's brother and wife (who by the way, was 6 months pregnant at the time) and they forged ahead. No idea how. I was literally grateful for every step that granted me footing.
It was beautiful going through patches of sunshine and shade and you're walking through an uphill forest, basically, so you can see wildlife. At one point, there was a patch of bamboo. There were birds twittering and people were exceptionally pleasant. Everyone in Korea is so sweet and polite. Lots of smiling and head-nodding.
There's a time limit to this hike, everyone must be off of the mountain by sunset (probably because you would die if you tried to hike these boulders without light) so if you want to reach the summit, you must be at the halfway point by 1 pm. If not, turn around and enjoy the descent.
We stayed in the Queen Hotel, which is run by the most adorable Korean lady. The lobby has kids' artwork on the walls and there's a big design of a Queen of Hearts card on the wall. She was so incredibly sweet and gave us some good tips about where to walk and how to get to places!
I absolutely loved the feeling of safety as we walked around the streets, even at night. I thoroughly enjoyed riding the trains and getting to drive through "rural" places that still had 3-4-story buildings. I loved hearing Regan and his brother speak Korean and watching Korean people being caught by surprise and smiling. I especially loved practicing my extremely limited Korean and reading Korean characters off of everything. Bee-yoo-tiful place.
Saranghayo, Hankook!! (I love you, Korea)
(Picture below of Regan on his mission in Busan, South Korea. He's the far right.)
He's in the military and so are most of his siblings. His oldest brother gifted us, another brother, and sister-in-law with tickets to South Korea for our one-year anniversary!
We were there for about 3 weeks and had the neatest experiences eating kimchi, taking public transportation, and me practicing reading characters off of advertisements and signs. (No idea what I was saying, I just know the characters and their sounds. Risky business, accidentally read off the name of a stripper lounge to the shock of others nearby.)
Unfortunately, I uploaded our pictures to a Facebook account that no longer exists because it was hacked by a Palestinian guy. The phone I used to take pictures tragically died so I'll use generic pictures and it should be close enough to give you an idea!
FOOD. Some things are very different like live baby octopuses (octopi?) but some things you would recognize from cheap Chinese restaurants like fried rice dishes.
Bibimbap: like a Korean-version, fried rice dish (all of this is on top of rice), fried egg, carrots, sprouts, and some other veggies and is probably a safe bet for one of your first Korean foods!
Kimbap: like a Korean-version sushi roll, one of my personal favorites.
Kimchi chigae: a Korean kimchi soup that I think is a GREAT introduction to kimchi, if you haven't tried it before. It's only a tad spicy. From memory, it has chopped cabbage, sometimes tofu, and if you put a lot of rice in it, it cools it down: temperature and spiciness.
That should be enough to make sure you don't starve when you get there.
We visited several Korean markets and bought the cutest little-kid clothes for some friends and family. I recommend getting these as gifts: hanbook (formal clothes) and ajumma pants (casual pants).
Korean markets are very exciting and it's very useful to have a Korean speaker with you to make sure you're getting a fair price. We found our piece of art in one of a string of stores and it's currently in Regan's office.
This hike was ridiculous. Like, I think off-trail would have been easier than the trail. The trail was kind of like they assembled all of the rocks and boulders and strung them along the ground, winding up the mountain and demanded you walk on it.
Exhibit A:
We did this hike with Regan's brother and wife (who by the way, was 6 months pregnant at the time) and they forged ahead. No idea how. I was literally grateful for every step that granted me footing.
It was beautiful going through patches of sunshine and shade and you're walking through an uphill forest, basically, so you can see wildlife. At one point, there was a patch of bamboo. There were birds twittering and people were exceptionally pleasant. Everyone in Korea is so sweet and polite. Lots of smiling and head-nodding.
There's a time limit to this hike, everyone must be off of the mountain by sunset (probably because you would die if you tried to hike these boulders without light) so if you want to reach the summit, you must be at the halfway point by 1 pm. If not, turn around and enjoy the descent.
We stayed in the Queen Hotel, which is run by the most adorable Korean lady. The lobby has kids' artwork on the walls and there's a big design of a Queen of Hearts card on the wall. She was so incredibly sweet and gave us some good tips about where to walk and how to get to places!
I absolutely loved the feeling of safety as we walked around the streets, even at night. I thoroughly enjoyed riding the trains and getting to drive through "rural" places that still had 3-4-story buildings. I loved hearing Regan and his brother speak Korean and watching Korean people being caught by surprise and smiling. I especially loved practicing my extremely limited Korean and reading Korean characters off of everything. Bee-yoo-tiful place.
Saranghayo, Hankook!! (I love you, Korea)
