Starbucks in Busan, Christmas Morning
Originally uploaded by heatherandjoel.
This was the only place in town that wasn’t playing a pop-rock version of our favorite songs. Can you read the chalkboard? Of course you can’t! That’s Korean script, or Hangul.
We’d had this illusion that we could recreate Christmas in our apartment in Ulsan, or that we could chase it down in Seoul, or that there was somewhere we could go in Korea where they’d understand everything we’d said and get our jokes and sell us great coffee for a reasonable price. When we realized that wasn’t going to happen, we went to Busan.
For those of you who’ve been following our travels, Busan is where we spent Chuseok, Korea’s biggest holiday, in October. It’s South Korea’s second-largest city, often compared with San Francisco, and the home of the biggest spa in Asia. We saved the spa experience for Christmas day itself, just in case this is the most interesting Christmas we ever have. The first night, December 23, we started at the familiar Haeundae, “Korea’s Waikiki,” and then we explored the city.
Anyone who’s lived in our part of California probably shares our passion for Mexican food. We yearn for it less here in Korea than in Europe, since Korean food supplies that spice we adore! But Korean food, save a few fatty meat dishes, is lean as ever; sometimes you miss that tummy-full-o-burrito feeling. This is why we were delighted to learn that Haeundae–the beach funland a $3 train ride from our downtown–has its own Mexican restaurant! It’s called Taco Chili Chili, and its Mexican-savvy Korean owner makes burritos, tacos, fajitas and more at a little counter-service place a few blocks from the beach. Lodians in the know might imagine it as Happy Burro in Korea. We’re so lucky!!!
So anyway, we went to the Mexican place on Saturday night and then tried to walk to Gwangalli Beach, the more-Korean beach to the north of Haeundae, separated, notably, by the 2005 APEC Summit building and the Chosun Westin, where G.W. Bush hung out during said summit. We hiked all around there in the moonlight after the burritos, then worked off the cheese by walking to the next beach–something we’ll never do again. We made it, finally, but we couldn’t find a jjimjilbang to sleep in, so we took the subway to downtown Busan, where we found food and drink, love motels and a version of Christmas fun.
Our old friends and dear family know we get a kick out of Las Vegas kitsch. Here in Korea, we’ve found something that’s somehow truer to that aesthetic: Love motels. It was explained to us like this: In Korea, generations live together in tight quarters, and couples–married included–often need a place to be alone together. For $30-$60, they can get a California King, big-screen TV, and all the videos they can watch (Hollywood new releases included!). We were lucky enough to score an in-room sauna, too. We watched The Island and part of The Brothers Grimm, but we fell asleep in the middle of the second, victims of soju screwdrivers.
On Christmas Eve we indulged ourselves in Starbucks, a sauna, dinner at a “Latin” restaurant (not as authentic as Taco Chili Chili) and a pressed rice-in-sauce second dinner that might remind you of Asian gnocci. We had some beer and ended up at what we think was a Russian-inspired “hostess bar,” where you pay an extra dollar for the drinks and beautiful women stand behind the counter, telling you you’re good looking and making polite conversation. This was, of course, kind of uncomfortable, and it made us down our Long Island and Cafri (Korean beer) faster than we would’ve liked. We’re still not sure what that place was–that’s the weird thing about Korea: Some people truly are curious and enamored with Westerners, so we’re often served with a level of adoration that would seem totally excessive at home. Still, we’ve heard stories about innocent guys getting stuck “buying” a $20 a drink for their waitresses at certain places, and we didn’t know that code word for “oops!,” so we just gulped, paid and ran to Wa Bar, the Korean version of Chili’s. Joel smoked his long-sought cigar (a Cuban for $13… we aren’t sure of the ethical implications, but when in Rome…) and we finished out the night. This morning we woke up at Love Motel #2, where we got a deal but no hot water. No matter–we were headed to the biggest spa in Asia!
Instead of sharing pumpkin pie with the folks this Christmas, I tried not to giggle when a plump, naked Korean lady jammed my hand into her stomach as she scraped every extra bit of skin off my body, spread cucumber mud on my face, washed my hair and slapped me down with oil. Twenty bucks total, and she even bowed at the end. It was wonderful. Mine was the only white face under the giant, light-filled, Romanesque dome. The kids squealed with horror/delight as I strolled through their grotto, which reminded me of Splash Mountain at Disneyland. Then, dizzy with heat and weak from the slapping, I put on the cultlike one-size-fits-all pajamas and met Joel in the common area, where he snored in the oxygen room and we ate bibimbap and ice cream and tried to escape the kids but couldn’t.
Now we’re back home, and Joel’s watching a movie he’s already seen as I write this, because I don’t want to go to sleep and let Christmas end. I didn’t think I’d feel so sentimental, but I really, really wish I was there with all of you right now. It’s 11 a.m. Christmas day there–4 a.m. here, on what I suppose is December 26. I wish we were with you, singing the songs and telling the same old jokes. Making cookies, complaining about something. Ah, good times.
Enjoy it all, guys. We’ll be there with you next time. Go buy a big jar of Safeway Chipotle Salsa and eat it with a spoon. Oh, I’m so jealous!!!
Merry Christmas!!! XOXO!!! Heather (and Joel)
Well, we missed the 12:15 train–not surprising, I’m sure, to those who know us well. It was okay, though–gave us a chance to record a few holiday videos! Click on the “Video Gallery” link to see them! (YouTube is processing them now… it may take a few moments for them to be available.)
The next train comes at 4, so we’re off to Starbucks for a holiday coffee!
As they say here in Korea, enjoy the Christmas!!!
Love, Heather and Joel
We’re running to catch the train to Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city. We were thinking of trying for Seoul, but all the trains are booked! Christmas is party-time for Koreans…
We’ll upload some videos and pictures when we get back Monday night, which will be YOUR Christmas morning!
Have fun, everyone!
Love, Heather and Joel
43
Joel-
It’s Saturday, so Heather and I decided to take a little walk in the woods. Behind our apartments we discovered a series of trails that make their way over forested mountains. They’re very well kept and cover many miles. There are lots of places to stop and look out over the city through the trees. You can even spot the remains of gun emplacements left over from the Korean War.
If you ever go on a hike in Korea, you’ll immediately notice large mounds of earth usually about two meters in diameter. Most often you find them in forested areas sometimes in groups of two or three. They’re graves and some are quite new and well-maintained! I haven’t found out a lot specifics about burial practices, but I imagine that, combined with the apparent absence of formal, Western-style cemetaries, these barrows are the traditional form of interrment. The children in my classes tell me that the common practice is to visit the graves on Cheosuk, pay homage, and make offerings of soju. Many of the mounds appear to have some kind of flat stone surface on one side: I think this is where the soju goes. Korea’s ancestor worship religion was powerful until the arrival of Buddhism around 200-300 AD, so I think this is a hold-over practice. I’ve seen the mounds in the forests, in parks, next to roads, and around farms. The dead are definitely a noticeable part of life!
We crossed over the mountains, walked up the river, and crossed a bridge finding ourselves in Seong-yam-dong (the old downtown). This is a place full of tiny shops and restaurants where you can get just about any kind of knock-off product. Their’s Gucci handbags for 6,000 Won (about $6), several Walt Disney DVD rooms (which people rent for Hollywood movies and sex), and even a CNN singing room (which people rent for bad singing and sex). We did a little Christmas shopping, had a cup of coffee at the new three-story Starbucks (with its own enclosed smoking porch), and watched some guys working on installing another lighted canopy. The streets here are very small, so, taking a cue from old Las Vegas, they’ve installed lighted barrel-vaulted canopies. They’re pretty exciting at night and they keep the rain out so people can keep shopping.
Christmas is quite a big deal here. We weren’t expecting this, but from what I hear it has really caught fire in recent years. I sing Christmas carols with the kids (many of which they already know), the department stores are decked out, and Ulsan Grand Park has an entire section devoted to “Christmas Land.” They even covered the windmill with lights! Seong-yam-dong has one of those little Christmas stores with strange Santa and Jesus figurines. Just like home! One of my students bragged that he and his father had cut down a real Christmas tree on top of a mountain.
After a little shopping we decided to have some Bul-dak (hot chicken). Now for everyone worried about avian flu, keep in mind the number of people killed in South Korea and the United States by the bird flu epidemic in the last 10 years: exactly zero (that’s from CNN). Now consider the number of moving vehicle fatalities in the same period on America’s highways. Suddenly I’m a lot less worried about my chicken and a lot more worried about taxi drivers! But seriously, only a few birds tested positive, every chicken and duck in the entire area was destroyed, and even birds with the disease are fine to eat if you cook the meat for over five minutes (which everyone should be doing anyway).
If you are a foreigner and you try to order the bul-dak in Korea, your waiter will give you all kinds of warnings. “Are you sure?” he asks with a pained and worried expression. You let him know that you love the hot chicken, that you were weened on it, that you are the American hot chicken-eating champion, but still he will eye you suspiciously as he trudges off with your order. When the order arrives and you dive in, he keeps his eye on you; after all, being a bul-dak waiter carries with it a sobering burden of responsibility. “It sometimes kills people!” swear my students. The chicken we enjoyed today at Lim’s Chicken Franchise was top-notch. Our lips were swollen (”Hot Chicken: The Poor Girl’s Collagen”) and our noses clear. It’s a strange combination a mild-sweetness and mind-numbing heat that keeps you coming back until the bowl is spotless and your eyes bloodshot. It’s seriously the hottest thing I’ve eaten next to a habanero pepper, but much more delicious! If you eat it with some cold kim-chee and cabbage salad with thousand island dressing you can manage the pain. Just don’t make any sudden moves for a water glass! Your waiter will grin smugly and motion to the waitress. “Way-gooks,” he mutters under his breath, “in way over their heads. Don’t they know it sometimes kills people?”
