Destination Daejeon

Saturday morning bright and early I met Dorrial and Amanda and we took the subway to the bus station in Busan. From there we took a 40 minute bus ride to Masan. This is where my friends from the flight (Nicole and Ross) currently live. They invited us to spend the weekend with them in their hometown from their teaching contract last year: Daejeon. The bus ride to Daejeon took an additional three hours, but the bus was fairly comfortable (apart from being scorching hot inside).

When we finally arrived in Daejeon Nicole and Ross were expert tour guides because they knew the city like the back of their hands. We started off at an old heritage site. There were quite a few of the old Korean style houses and a nice playing field for children. Here we met up with Ross’ friend Bart. Bart was taking a photography class and had an assignment where he had to incorporate random colour into a scene. He brought along strawberries and we began placing them in rocks and on trees etc. I got the idea then to skewer them on the bare branches of a tree and take pictures. While we were doing this we noticed that quite a few Koreans were watching us out of the corners of their eyes like “what are those crazy foreigners doing?!?” After we finished taking photos we left the strawberries on the branches thinking that it would be a nice snack for the birds. Well as soon as we walked away, a bunch of Koreans crowded around our decorated tree and began taking pictures too… it was so funny! I’m sure they had no idea why they were taking pictures—just that it was something crazy that a white person did, and that was reason enough.

A random observation about Daejeon was the reactions we received from local people. Daejeon is not a huge city (compared to Busan and Seoul) so they do not see as many white people. When we would walk around, kids and teens would come up to us shouting ‘hi’ and giving us high-fives. When we would make contact or respond to them, they would scream in delight. It was so weird—it felt like I was a celebrity just because I was white. They would follow us and take pictures with the group—very different from the group. I never understand why people said that you would feel very different being a white person until this weekend. People are not as crazy over foreigners in Busan because there are so many of us. It was definitely an experience!

After the heritage site, we went and had a delicious Korean lunch. I have found several dishes that I really enjoy. This one is a beef stew with bean sprouts, onions and mushrooms. Things here are served BOILING hot—Literally, they are served in a stone dish and it is heated so highly that it rapidly boils (with large bubbles) for about 5 minutes after they set it on your table. It’s very delicious but you have to wait a while before you can eat it.

Next came shopping—we went into quite a large mall with many different stores. One of the most interesting things was looking in the furniture department. They sell beds here that are completely solid (no mattress). Instead it is like stone that has a digital heater so it can be set to the desired temperature. Due to the fact that many Koreans prefer to sleep on the floor, this is a happy medium; it’s actually a bed, but it’s as hard as a floor. There were couches that had the same concept (see picture)—I don’t know how comfy that would be, but I guess if it’s how you were brought up it might just be the norm.

We also looked for shoes and Ross was kind enough to find a pair of crocs that he thought would fit me. Sizes are much smaller in Korea so it’s pretty exciting when you find something big!

We also went into an arcade where I tried a 4D ride—very exciting. And I shot my first pellet gun. Apparently I’ve got skills—I managed to get all but two targets in about 60 shots—it was very satisfying.

Later we went to the convenience store and bought some drinks. You can get a bottle of soju or rice wine (called Moccoli) from the convenience store for about a dollar—very cheap! We sat outside with a few more friends and chatted and drank on a picnic table.

In the evening we went to a hookah bar that was underground. It was like nothing I’ve seen before. There were no lights, it was purly lit by candles. In the centre of the room there was a rectangular pond of water that was illuminated by candles that were dripping over with wax. Every table had cushions around it and you would remove your shoes and sit on the floor. There was great music playing and we ordered fabulous tasting Peach Soju drinks.

After that, we headed to Yellow Cab which is a bar where a band would be playing. The members of the band were actually friends of Nicole and Ross. They were great! They played mainly covers but sounded excellent. It was very therapeutic to be in a place hearing music in English and being surrounded by people who look like you. It was a great night filled with drinks, music and dancing.

At about 3am we left the bar and headed to a new venue. THE NORIBANG!!! A noribang is a type of karaoke room that is privately rented out by a group of people. It is very popular in Korea and I’ve been told it’s loads of fun—this was my first time. We had a blast. Although we were slightly tired, it was a great experience. The room had a few couches a table and disco lights. The flat screen TV displayed the words to a song (there were thousands to choose from) and two people could sing in microphones while another could accent with a tambourine. At the end, the TV would tell you how ‘well’ you sang.

On the way out, it was crazy how much the streets were littered. Apparently every night, people throw thousands of advertisements around for various things and every morning, old ladies are paid to pick them up. Why? You might ask. Well the theory is that it creates jobs for the old ladies. If you ask me, it's a waste and a huge pollutant... but I'm here to observe, not to judge (at least that's what I've been trying to tell myself).

We stayed there until about 5am and then decided to call it quits—it was a thrilling first Noribang experience. Outside it was raining and we hadn’t booked anywhere to stay for the night. Because it was pretty much morning anyways we decided to head back to the bus station and take the first bus home. Once we got there however it was wet and cold. We made the decision to head to the nearest McDonalds for coffee and brekky—a great way to start the day!

After a very nutritious Egg McMuffin, we decided to take the train back to Busan. 5 hours later I was home—and very tired. I was happy it was Sunday and that I would get a chance to have a long afternoon nap. Overall it was an excellent weekend—many “Korean” experiences.