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So, I'm in Pohang S. Korea right now. I'm working here til the end of the month, then I'm probably getting a couple days off in Seoul before I fly home. Anyone been here before? Any recommendations for food/museums/cool cultural sites to check out?
Right now it's cold. Really, really cold.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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Yeah, sure. Check out this map of the subway system.
Find the light blue line, #4, running up and down the middle. Near the center is the subway station Samgakji - there is a huge military museum there. The grounds are full of old and newish vehicles. This is my #1 tourist recommendation.
The subway station Itaewon, which is two stops east of Samgakji, has a wide variety of food: African and east Asian to the west of the subway exits, British, Italian, Indian and American to the east. Or maybe it's the other way around. One side is classy, one side is skanky
If you want to buy tourist stuff, go to the market area called Insadong. There is lots of very good food there, though it can be a little pricey.
I assume you're with people who know the country in Pohang? Get them to introduce you to the food. There is some really delicious stuff there.
Are you a drinker?
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The only thing I really know about Korea is that they make some fine movies there. Would love to visit some day.
Posts: 891 | Registered: Feb 2010
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Got out in town for the first time Friday night (it's Sunday here), none of us speak Korean so we went to Munduk and walked around til we found a little mom & pop restaurant and ate there. It was pretty good - we couldn't read the menu but I used google translate on my phone to tell them to surprise us. It ended up being this huge (like, we only finished half of it) bowl of sausage and raman soup, a bowl of rice, and lots of cool little sides. They also brought us coca-colas, which is a nice gesture I suppose.
Yesterday me and a friend spent all day walking around River Walk (a really awesome shopping district) and had lunch at a great little place that had a picture menu. I got breaded chicken stuffed with cheese and lobster, she had some sort of chicken and tofu stew, and we had gyoza (Mandu?) and rice and mushrooms too. The shopping is really good - I got a new hat and a pair of shoes. Last night we finally got a local guy to take us out, and we went to a fantastic restaurant where they grilled meat on little grills in the center of our table and brought like 20 sides. Again, lots more food than all of us could drink combined.
A few observations: -The food is excellent and far, far cheaper than anywhere in the US. Dinner the first night and lunch the next day both cost about $8 total. The really fancy place last night was about $15. (that includes 2 beers, too) -Stop lights and lanes are more suggestions than rules. This country has possibly the craziest drivers I've ever seen -Like in Japan, it's considered rude to tip in a restaurant. The cabbies on the other hand have *no* problem with getting tipped, and will even tell you if you haven't tipped them enough. -Compared to every other Asian country I've been to, the culture here seems very similar to America. The people aren't overtly rude, and they do stare at us, but they don't treat us any differently because we're American. They don't try and speak English and it's pretty difficult to find any signs or menus in English (outside of American companies). This is actually quite refreshing. I always feel awkward travelling to other countries only to find that everything is set up to cater to English speakers. Here, people expect you to speak Korean, and don't really care if you can't. It's nice.
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Pohang. At Camp Mujuk currently. Munduk is a little SW of the airport. Not sure about River Walk, just know it's a 20 minute cab ride.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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You should clearly visit capital of true Korea, Pyongyang, where you can see best monuments to true president for life of the Kims and see happiest most united pure people of the might of Juche. Listen to song and swell with pride of Dear Leader's wisdom in leading the people to unity in robust potato production. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_HYLlXmptsPosts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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went out in Itaewon our first night here, had a good time, got more than a little intoxicated. (if my previous post isn't a good indication)
Yesterday I went to the Korean War memorial/museum in Itaewon and spent the entire morning walking around. Got a lot of great pictures (the place is absolutely beautiful), I'll upload them and post a few here whenever I get back. It's a pretty big culture shock to see how much Korean culture is shaped by that war, and by the constant threat from the north. There are gas masks in the subway station in case of a CBRN attack, along with friendly instruction videos with a smiling young woman on how to don and clear said masks.
After the museum I took the subway with a friend to the main financial district (the name escapes me), and we went to his favorite sushi/sashimi restaurant. I have to say I'm absolutely in love with the food here - it was probably the best lunch I've ever eaten. (though eating so much raw food did bad things to my intestines later) everything was fresh caught from early that morning, and the preperation and service knocks the socks off of anything I've seen in the states.
On our way back to Itaewon an old man (he was 85) approached us smiling and waving. He spoke no English, but my friend speaks Korean and he interpreted for us. He said he noticed our haircuts and asked if we were in the military (we don't wear uniforms), to which we replied "yes, we're Marines." He seemed very happy and shook our hands and stood next to us on the train and talked for awhile.
His family lived in the north when the war began, and they spent most of the war hiding. After the Marines pushed north to the Chosin Reservoir, they rescued him and his mother and brought them back south. 1 other family member eventually made his way into Russia. He hasn't heard from the rest of his family since then, and doesn't know if they're alive or dead. As soon as he had the chance, he joined the ROK Marine Corps and served for 25 years. He married and his son went on to serve as an officer in the ROK Marines.
Throughout his story he kept stopping to shake our hands and say "thank you! thank you!", and when he got to his stop on the subway, he got off and began crying as he waved goodbye, and then saluted us.
It was a profoundly strange and uncomfortable and powerful experience. Back home people occassinally say "thank you for your service!" (which also makes me feel uncomfortable), but for the most part that's just empty words. Something they say because it's expected, or patriotic, or just polite. Few of them know the sorts of things I've done or experienced, and fewer care. We've managed to professionalize and segment warfighting to such a degree that we have the luxury as a society to more or less ignore it. What percentage of Americans wake up in the morning and actively think about the fact that we're at war? How many even know what war is really like? How many have experienced it?
We went out again last night, took the subway to Gangnam (where there is probably more women with plastic surgery than I've ever seen in my life) and went bar hopping. Ended up in in a Kareoke Bar where an Englishman bought me 6 drinks and sang some truly awful music with me. Today I've mostly been chilling and shopping, bought a few more presents for my family and mailed them back.
It's been one hell of a month.
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You seem to have a local guide, so if you're interested in clubs, go to Hongdae. You'll find a lot of places with $10 cover charges, but it's pretty wild.
The financial district you were in might have been Yeoido.
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