A Bathhouse, a New Guitar, and Seoul Reflections

Well, I have to apologize for having been so long in posting. Once my work officially began at my hogwan, I've found there isn't a whole lot of time for other things, especially now that Summer Intensive schedule has begun, which is just about as "intensive" as a schedule can get, I think, but it really is great. I actually love the fact that I am teaching ALL the time with no down time, because it makes the day go much more quickly, however tomorrow will be my first day of 8 teaching hours. That is a very long time, particularly on the vocal chords and the feet since it's 8 different classes, and I have to be very "on" for the kids. But I'm sure I will survive. If the Korean teachers can do it, this American teacher can, too!

I thought I might start with telling you about my bathhouse experience. Now, I realize that the term "bathhouse" has some seriously lewd connotations in the United States, and maybe everywhere else in the world for all I know, so let's refer to it as a jimjibang from now on. As far as I can tell, the jimjibang is a very Korean institution, and in every neighborhood everywhere in Korea, you will find them. For about $10 or less, you can spend the day or the evening at one of these places, usually open 24 hours (they even have sleeping rooms), and go in and out of therapeutic pools and sauna rooms, and pay a little extra for a massage or a body scrub. I went for the first time with Gina, my Korean friend, and will tell you about my experience. I will preface by saying that as always with Gina, I feel so fortunate to experience everything the Korean way, rather than the foreigner way. It's always so much more interesting to experience things like a local, and I'm so grateful that she's always excited to see things through my eyes.

So, we went when she got off of work, which was around 11pm, and only had to walk about two blocks to get to the nearest and biggest jimjibang in our neighborhood - I had never even known it was there! It was on the 7th and top floor of one of the buildings here, and when we entered we paid entry, took some towels and t-shirts and shorts from the front room, then went into the women's area. There we got our lockers, and disrobed. They don't do bathing suits at the jimjibang. It's "all natural". We took a towel and some one-use soap things you can pay for in the locker area, and we entered the pool/sauna area. These are women-only and men-only - intermingling between the sexes is only done in the communal areas and all wear t-shirts and shorts. We showered, then we sampled the pools. One was made entirely of wood, one was filled with Chinese herbs, all were of varying temperatures, some hot and some very cold. There were three different saunas, three different temperatures and styles. One was I guess a European sauna, with wood paneling, charcoal steam. Another had minerals completely covering the walls, and they were formed into beautiful murals. Gina said it was meant to be reminiscent of the inside of a cave. This one was by far the most sweat-inducing because it was very humid. The steam wasn't coming from a natural source, but was pumped in every few minutes and was very, very hot. The third was mud and wood, old school Korean. Gina said it reminded her of her grandmother's. I loved the pools, I loved the sauna.

I also loved our snack in the communal area of traditional jimjibang food - we had smoked eggs and this health drink that is thick and blended and tasted like the leftover milk in your bowl after you've eaten cereal. The smoked eggs were brown on the inside, but tasted quite good. The drink was delicious.

The plan then was to go to sleep, get the body scrub in the morning, and then go to work. With our t-shirts and shorts on, we went to the communal sleeping room, and laid down on the hardwood floor with very thin mats and little blocks to use as pillows. I was thinking, "I can do this... I can do this." We laid down, and after about 10 minutes, I thought, "I can't do this. I am not Korean enough for this." It was very hot. It was super loud - we had laid down near the only window and it was right by a freeway overpass. My hair was wet and I wanted a shower. I do not know how to sleep on a block. I tried for 2 more hours, and then at 3am I told Gina I had to go home. We had work the next morning, and I knew if I got no sleep, I would be miserable. So, I went home and slept, and all was well. Jimjibang's are lovely things, and I will definitely go back (I want that body scrub!) but I can't imagine that I will ever sleep in one.

Here is my newest toy! My guitar, handmade in Korea... well, maybe not "hand"made, but made nonetheless! Just got it today in Nagwon Arcade in Seoul, which you will see pictures of below. It is nearly impossible to find without some very good guidance because there's no signage anywhere. I found another blogger's site this morning VERY helpful as he gave step-by-step directions. This place has every musical instrument and accessory you can imagine, and it was really fun just to walk around. I couldn't help thinking how much my dad would love it, so I wanted to try and take enough pictures for him to experience it. Sadly, the pictures don't really do it justice, but I did try. And I am thrilled to have my guitar, and am thrilled at the approximately $120 price tag. (Thanks also to the bloggers who said to haggle! The gentleman at the story gave me an asking price of $200.)

Little bit of Konglish in the sign - "Close" until 11am. I was a super early riser this morning, and it's safe to say I beat the rush! I was there by 10:45am. You'll notice there are very few people in these pictures.

This is the little alleyway the web directions said to look for, then to go up the stairs. Thanks again for those step-by-step directions, mystery blog dude!

Yay for new friends! This is Pamela and Adam, and they're posing with me on the bridge crossing over to Suwon Station, which has a big mall. That night we ate dinner at Outback Steakhouse which is a large chain over here, though the menu is very different. And very expensive! I ordered a $25 ribeye that night that was probably 1/2 the size of an American Outback steak. But I still enjoyed every bite of it!
Pamela playing what appears to be a wicked game of Tetris at Suwon Station's arcade. It was massive, and this was one of the cheapy machines in the "old and ancient games" section.

These are some images from a night out with Gina in Seoul a few weeks back. Seoul is a magical mix of flashing lights that is just dense with people, particularly on a Friday night. Since Gina wanted to take me to see the nightlife, I noticed that every American I saw in this environment was loud and rude and drunk. I'm sure that can't be true of every American, but I just wish there would be some rowdy and obnoxious Swede, or something. I suppose that's less likely since there aren't a whole lot of Swedish army bases nearby. There's an area there called Itaewon where all the foreigners hang out, and without getting too deeply into it, it was pretty depressing. I have an even greater appreciation now for my city, which is not a small town by any means, but is small enough and far enough away from Seoul to be unsullied, yet close enough to be modern. Anyway, I digress...

Tarot card reader on the sidewalk. There are quite a few of them, and Gina tried to convince me to get a reading, but I have no interest in it. They can be had for about $3 to $5.

Both of these pictures are of a beautiful creek that runs for at least 2 miles right through Seoul. You can see that it's sort of "sunken", and is like a reprieve from the hustle and bustle. Gina told me the whole story of it's history, but since I can't remember every detail I don't want to embarrass myself. But, look! Pretty pictures! Anyway, we walked along this creek and talked for probably an hour and a half, and it was wonderful.

I wanted a picture of myself along one of these streets. I don't remember what section of Seoul we were in, but the streets were so narrow that they're now just for foot traffic and street vendors, and something about it seemed both majestic and quaint to me. You can see in this picture how bright everything is all the time from the signs - I think it was about midnight when we took this picture.

This is Gina ordering a couple of chicken skewers for us which are very popular street food here. You can usually order them in degrees of spiciness, and I've discovered that I like them at maximum spice. This particular vendor was very, very popular, and after having a skewer I could see why. Quite good.

So, I will begin this post with a toilet. Why not? This is one of those squatting toilets that is actually not too common here (at least in my experience) but when I encountered one in the Seoul subway, I had to document it. It was a beautiful and very clean bathroom, by the way, and I would imagine that this is a very convenient way to do one's business, apart from the potential of making a mess of one's shoes. Sorry to be graphic, but it's the nature of things. Anyway, when one thinks "subway bathroom", one thinks, "Oh, at all costs, go somewhere else," but in reality, most things in Korea are well-kept, if not "clean" by American standards. I mean that in the sense that people buy a lot of products to ensure that no germ will ever touch them, and I don't think people care overly much about that here. And it's the strangest thing, but everyone washes their hands, yet there is nothing to dry them off with. I had no idea what to do until I witnessed other women in the bathroom, and they have this sort of brilliant way of shaking their hands mostly dry, and then walking out like doctors about to perform surgery. I can't get used to it, though. And you can't ever rely on there being toilet paper in the bathroom. For whatever reason, that's considered "up to you" to figure out. So at work, I have a stash of toilet paper, and now carry tissues with me. Most restaurants and other public places will give you toilet paper upon request before going to the bathroom. They are very frugal with paper products here. Is it to protect the environment??? I need to ask Gina about that one...

But I have yet to see a trace of vandalism, or of anyone running off somewhere looking guilty. There are actually a lot of free-standing nautilus-type gym devices in the parks all around here, and in America, those things would be vandalised within minutes. Here, in Korea, they're available for anyone to use 24/7, and they're always in beautiful condition. It's very interesting.

Okay, but the rest of this blog is devoted to what happens before the squatting toilet. Yes, I'm referring to food!


This is my gorgeous and very dear friend Gina (whose Korean name I still can't pronounce or remember) who has been the greatest friend to me since I got here. Her English is impeccable, and she's travelled all over the world, so she knows what it feels like to be a stranger in a foreign place. She has been my "culinary sage" and a good friend. She's always game to take me to a eat something new, and she's very good at picking great places. This is a picture of us at one of the least adventurous places we've been to. We're eating what the Chinese call "black noodles", and this is the Korean version. It has some kind of bean paste, and it's mixed with this delicious fat, chewy noodle. It was a very good lunch, and Gina said this is the "Korean McDonald's" because it's so cheap (probably about $2.50 usd) and it's very filling. And it was delicious.



This, is the monolithic, 4 stories of everything you could ever possibly buy, "Home Plus". Apparently it's a British chain, and they're all over South Korea. This shot is taken from the bridge I cross from my apartment to get to "Home Plus". The best way I can describe it is 4 levels of 4 completely different Wal-Marts. I guess Wal-Mart actually tried to get into South Korea, but they were given the big fat "no". Probably because this place is so huge, so convenient, and so ubiquitous, Wal-Mart wouldn't stand a chance. Bottom floor is a food mart, with everything from "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf" to little dumplings and other Korean things that I don't recognize or understand yet. It's a world of smells down there, let me tell you.

These pictures are from the second floor which is the grocery department. It is massive and stocked with every pre-made thing you can imagine, mostly Korean, but lots of foreign/American things, too, but in the back of the store is all of the fresh stuff, including a bakery, a huge produce section, a huge fish section, a pork section, a beef section, a kimchi section... It's seriously insane. What I tried to capture here (and it was a little embarrassing - imagine going to Albertson's and seeing a tourist taking pictures of the produce) was the stuff that is so unlike a typical American grocery. I took pictures of things that I cannot identify. There are plenty of things in this department that I CAN identify, and those are the things I purchase. The rest I steer clear of out of sheer ignorance, not for lack of curiousity! Obviously I'm curious if I'm taking pictures.

This is something I absolutely adore here (and so does pretty much everyone else!) called "tdock-boh-kee", and I've no doubt killed the pronunciation. Anyway, I was thrilled that she happened to be making a batch when I walked by. You can see the finished product in the tray on the right, and basically what it is is rice finely ground and formed into a long sausage-like form, then sliced into scallop-sized pieces. It's then boiled, you can see her putting those pieces into the water, and possibly seared in a pan, then drenched in this amazingly spicy, incredibly delicious sauce. It's so wonderfully chewy, and the sauce is very hot and thick and flavorful. It's a favorite with adults and kids because it's just flat-out good. You can get it here, but you can also get it at many street vendors.

So, those of you who know me well know that I am a bit of a foodie, and nothing scares me. Though I'm no Anthony Bourdain and have never eaten the eyeballs and brains of a goat's head, I told myself before coming to Korea, "I'll try anything but dog," because in my naivete I thought dog would be sold everywhere and I'd have to do my best to avoid it. I've learned since coming here that although dog is eaten, it's usually in hidden, specialized restaurants, and not everyone does it. Some are staunchly opposed to it, while others have the belief that eating dog, especially during the hottest days of the summer, increases vitality and refreshes the body. It's usually served "family style" and you have to buy the entire dog, so you get the dog soup - which is quite pricey - and everyone eats it together. I've heard more men are "into it" than women are, and so far the only people who've told me they regularly enjoy it are men. I'm still relatively naive on the subject, though, having only been here a little less than a month.


Anyway, in my attempt to be fearless, and out of a desire to make something different than my usual ramen noodles and salad, I purchased a seafood and meat stew which is handpacked by the seafood department. It had clams, mussels, 3 baby octopus with their little round heads attached, 2 shrimp with all body parts attached, some kind of sea-dwelling creature that looked like a snail but wasn't, a little bit of beef, some zucchini, leeks, onions, cabbage, rice noodles, and two different sauces. It was also discounted, so I figured that was a good sign for one as poor as I. It was a monsoon day of rain, and I figured what better day for stew?

This is a picture of my absolute confidence that though I can't read the directions, I can still conquer the stew. How could it be that hard? Throw it all in a pot with the flavorings and see what happens. This next picture shows how incredibly short everything is in my apartment compared to me. Literally, my back hurts after cooking or doing dishes from having to hunch over like quasimodo. It's still worth it, though, to see what I can manage to do with my 2 hotplates, and no microwave. Or oven.


The rest of the pictures show you the stew on the boil, the presentation of my little meal, and the aftermath. The verdict? I don't like eating things with heads. I've always really liked octopus, and I tried one of the heads, but I really didn't enjoy it. The second octopus I decapitated, and the third octopus I threw away. I am ashamed to admit that though a lover of shrimp, I took no joy in removing it's head, antenna and little beady black eyes and all, and it robbed me of some of the joy of eating it. As for the snail-like sea-dweller, it was actually pretty tasty, but I was bothered that I didn't know what it was. The outside meat was white, and then when the rest is pulled out, it's partial brown meat, like the inside of a crab or a lobster. Its brothers are still residing in my refrigerator. I'm still deliberating as to whether I try them again or just be done with them. I was most excited by the mussels, the clams, and the beef. And am now, I find, just another squeamish American. But, I did think the seasonings were pretty drab. So maybe it's not all my fault. Take that, "Home Plus"! And I DID like the pig intestines filled with rice, so I think I'm still at least a little bit Korean.