Seoul, South Korea
I had the chance to step into this wonderful smog filled city for a brief visit last Spring. This was my first stop on my Asian backpacking adventure, and it sure was a culture shock. I had never been to Asia before South Korea, and my first night in town my buddy brought me to a Jimjibang. For those unfamiliar, a Jimjibang is a Korean Bath house where you can go for a night to sleep, soak in baths, or try out some of their exotic spa rooms. Although the baths a separated male and female, you still bath in the nude with strangers...which was awkward at first. But after about five minutes, I just threw up my hands and said c'est la vie, time to assimilate, and hopped into a bath with 5 elder Korean women. Once you're done bathing, they give you "spa clothes" to wear around on the other co-ed floors to go into the spa rooms. These outfits were a bright orange unisex shirt and shorts, very cute. I think the oddest part of the experience for me was the fact of how causal the building was. People came and went throughout the night, and everyone just slept on the ground wherever. I definitely recommend trying it out if you're ever in the Seoul neighborhood and wanting to experience true Korean culture.
Another thing I'd recommend trying in South Korea is pajeon. This is a Korean pancake that is stuffed with chives, onions, octopus, and basically whatever else the cook decides. I unfortunately do not speak Korean, so for the most part I just went with the flow. Being the rif-rat my buddy and I are, we had to seek out the most authentic pajeon place we could find on a dime. We traveled all through the city following a poor cell signal, down the street into an alley, and literally ducked under a sheet hanging over the door and into this quaint little restaurant, where we found the owner fast asleep on the floor. Immediately we knew we hit the jackpot. To get to our table we went through the tiny kitchen and were seated on the ground. Our little chef/sever (tiny Korean elderly woman) was able to seat us and cook the best pajeon in Seoul. We paired it with makgeolli, Korean rice wine, and ate our way into food coma. At the end of the meal we just laid on the heated floors for a good ten minutes to digest. We were the only customers there, so no-one minded.
Although my time was brief, Korea was packed with amazing food and culture and I can't wait to return!
