서울 (Seoul)

Dynamic Korea! Ubiquitous Dream! Sumptuous Excitement! Harmonious Vitality! Happy Sojourn! Enjoy Video Now!

Exactly.

This is my simple collection of random WTF moments of this “alien” living in Seoul. I’ll probably update this a few times each month and supplement with pictures and the occasional video. I figure the folks I sent this to would be more interested in “lost in translation” moments than the boring tidbits of a weekly journal. (BTW, if you don’t understand what WTF stands for, look it up on Wikipedia or use your imag-e-na-she-own). Today’s installment will be a little dryer than normal just because I’m still getting everyone up to speed and introducing Seoul to y’all. More fun posts to follow, so deal with boring post #1, punk-a-lopes.

With over 23 million in the metro area, Seoul (literally “capital” in Korean) is a packed city, but not that big land wise. Yes, traffic is nasty, but since it’s small, it’s really no worse than Chicago. Besides, the subway and bus system is better than anything we have in the States, including New York. There are 1,000 ft green mountains in and around Seoul, but the city itself is fairly flat - unfortunately, 75% of the time those mountains trap a smoggy haze so you can’t see the distant ones, but when it’s clear, it’s somewhat picturesque.

There is a significant lack of park area in Seoul, thanks to its rapid development, but that should change as the US Army moves a massive base out of the center of Seoul in 2008. Seoul’s 30 miles from the DRPK (er, North Korea), 30 miles from Yellow Sea (the west coast), and has a massive brown river (think Mississippi wide) running through the center of it.

The city is big enough to have multiple downtown areas and a ton of different neighborhood feels – quiet suburban hills , US college-like bars, hyper clubs open past sunrise, ultra trendy lounges, and a million vibrant areas in between.

However, the city, outside 1-2 areas, is VERY homogenous (1% of Seoul, the most diverse city in Korea is non-Koreans) – and the selection of western food is limited to Burger King, KFC, TGI Friday’s, and Outback Steakhouses . With just under 50% of Korea’s population, over 25 universities, government and all the major conglomerates (“chaebols” like Hyundai, Daewoo, Samsung, and LG) based in Seoul – it is the CENTER of Korean business, culture, education, and government. Oh and in case you haven’t been swept up in it - the “Korean Wave” (Hallyu) or cultural influence of music pop stars and soap opera actors, has swept up much of China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore – the stars here are hugely popular in Asia and the city is VERY trendy – clothes and appearance are probably the single most important thing for Koreans (plastic surgery is big here). You might see 1-2 of these pop stars get marketed in the US soon, since there are plans to pursue that market. Here’s a video of one the hottest female stars here, a Korean Brittney Spears – Lee Hyori – “10 Minutes” – the title of this track is the amount of time she needs to seduce you…..



Ok, that’s enough of a post for today. I’ll follow up with another post in a few. Til then, enjoy this commercial for soju (Korean vodka) – there’s a series of these running on TV now – the main girl is just getting hammered all the time: