Seoul Impressions

Starting last year, I had this unexplainable desire to visit Seoul. While surfing the net one day,  I came across an article on Seoul and saw pictures of its well-preserved palaces, charming hanoks (traditional Korean houses), and parks with cherry blossom trees, and immediately I was hooked.

My plans finally pushed through this year and I got to visit Seoul just at the tail-end of spring. I had known it to be a modern city, but because of the many places I checked out in the web, I had expected it to carry a charming old-world vibe. I also expected to see a city steeped in the traditional Korean culture, strongly manifested in its architecture and people’s daily living. These expectations though were far from the Seoul I encountered. The Seoul I saw was very modern, with its wide avenues, clustered buildings and many bridges. It was a busy city, though the pace was not as harried as Singapore or Hong Kong. It was a bustling metropolis with a highly industrialized and thriving economy. The Korean culture was unmistakably present, but its manifestation was not as what I expected. Its vibe was modern and dynamic, but proud and uniquely Korean.

This post is about my Seoul impressions – little bits and pieces I observed in Korea which for me, defined the Korea I experienced.

The Coffee Culture. 

Now I understand why there was a Korean TV series called “The Coffee Prince”.  In almost every two blocks or so, you can find a coffee shop. Mind you, it’s not the foreign-owned chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (though these were also present), but locally owned cafes. I particularly like small quaint ones which have warm wooden interiors and colorful flowers hanging in window boxes. I noticed that the usual menu was simply coffee, tea and pastries. No sandwiches, no salads. You simply go there for coffee / tea and dessert, and enjoy good conversation with the company you’re with.  

A cozy coffee shop in the second floor of an Insadong building

Tea Houses. 
I also loved the tea houses, which feature Korean teas but also serve coffee and Korean snacks. 

A newly opened tea house in Insadong

We came across one which was newly opened in a side street in Insadong. It was housed in a traditional hanok and you could choose if you wanted to sit the traditional Korean way (on the floor with a low table and some cushions) or the usual way (on a regular dining chair and table). The menu of teas were unfamiliar to me at first, having been used to Chinese and English teas. Words like jujube and citron sounded foreign and distinctly Korean. I ordered the jujube tea with cinnamon and it came in a small ceramic bowl with a teaspoon on the side. I loved it! The smell of cinnamon was so lovely and the warmth and the sweet taste of the tea felt so comforting, especially after walking around in the cold weather.

Having tea inside a traditional hanok. The jujube tea's sweet aroma paired well with soft tiny Korean biscuits.

Banchan or Korean Side Dishes. 

I think what makes every Korean meal an experience is the presence of their many side dishes. Even in the most inexpensive restaurant, there are free banchan. The minimum requirement, it seems, is to serve kimchi. But aside from kimchi, I discovered pickled yellow radish which had a tangy taste, shredded beef braised in a light soy sauce, and big fat green peppers which were crunchy and refreshing. Having your table filled with all sorts of plates and viands make each meal seem like a royal lauriat. I think you’ll never go hungry in Korea as long as you can afford a bowl of rice and all the free banchan you can get!

Banchan with a explosion of colors and flavors:
(clockwise from the top right) hot, spicy, sweet and tangy

A Graying Population. 

One thing which struck me as early as our first day was the relatively large number of senior citizens. They seemed to be everywhere – riding the subway, walking along the street, eating at McDonalds – often by themselves or at times with family.

This old man in particular caught my eye. He was sitting alone in a corner of McDonalds at 9 am. It was a weekday and the fast food chain was filled with office workers trying to grab a decent breakfast before work. He had an empty coffee cup in front of him and it seemed that he had nothing to do. Very soon, he was nodding off to sleep, sitting in the same spot. When awake, he just sat there, people watching – a still figure watching the busy world around him.

I'm wondering what thoughts run through his head as he sat there watching the world go by.

Cosmetic Shops. 

Beauty is the name of the game. There are so many cosmetic shops in Seoul. In Myeongdong alone, it seemed that there was one in every corner. They were more commonplace than the usual convenience store. They also give out so much freebies with each purchase! I felt like I was on a trick-or-treat run with all the beauty stash I was able to get.

Can you guess which are the freebies? I had to pay for only three items.

Made in Korea. 

Unlike in the Philippines where most stores are franchises of foreign-owned chains and all other stuff are made in China, my impression of the local economy of Korea was a thriving one. Almost everything seemed to be made in Korea or owned by Koreans. Nothing about colonial mentality here! I guess this is also why although modern, Korean culture is not heavily influenced by Western ways, but is really distinctively Korean. 

Related to this, I find Korean creativity very light, imaginative and with a sense of humor. Just look at this!

Fancy eating a snack that looks like sh*t? I found this in a stall in Ssamgigil.
It's actually made of a light dough filled with red bean filling (sort of like a stuffed pancake).