Golden Week in Korea (28.04.-06.05.)

On Saturday afternoon, we finally headed to the airport after I desperately (but successfully) tried to stuff clothes for over a week into my backpack. The ride to Kansai Airport (KIX) is relatively expensive, over 1000 yen, but luckily it went smoothly and we arrived at the airport on time. We had also planned some extra time, as there was supposed to be a lot going on at KIX during Golden Week, but there was hardly any queue at our counter, so check-in was quite relaxed, especially since nobody was thoroughly searched this time. Our flight was at 20:40 and the small purple plane looked really cute on the illuminated runway. I was lucky to have a window seat and while the other four group members had already fallen asleep before take-off, I was busy the whole flight, pressing my nose against the window and looking at Japan and Korea from above, relieved to see that the Koreans apparently drive on the right side of the road. When we arrived in Seoul, we wanted to withdraw some money first, and then we felt pretty rich with all the 1000 won bills, which are only worth about 70 cents each, but hey! Then we took the metro on our way to our AirBnB apartment, although at first we had the wrong address and almost broke into a community hall of a small church by mistake, but we eventually found the right house.

The next day we started exploring Seoul, the capital of South Korea. We were lucky with the weather and it was sunny and warm. We walked around the city and experienced the big city atmosphere. Skyscrapers with light shows, blinking signs, major roads, and the noise from them as well as music from all corners and shops were everywhere in the city. Seoul is a bit hilly, so in the afternoon we sweated quite a bit when we climbed up to Seoul Tower, but we were rewarded with a great view of the city, although it was a bit obscured by the smog, but that didn't diminish our joy. Back down in the city, we had to refuel after all those steps, and we chose a Korean barbecue restaurant that specializes in rice dishes. The grill plates are built into the table, so we could watch our food sizzle away. The waiter turned the meat and added rice to the meat/vegetable mix, diligently stirring it. We wondered if he only did that because we didn't know how to grill or if they always do it that way. In the end, I observed that it is apparently part of the service, which relieved me quite a bit. The food was great, initially quite spicy for my sensitive palate, but really delicious. Overall, we ate incredibly well in Korea, everything I had was unbelievably good. After that, we explored a bit more of the city and immediately spotted a store with a huge plush teddy bear, which is the mascot of 'Line' (messenger), so of course we had to check it out. When we were done there, a friend discovered a raccoon café that he absolutely wanted to go to, and the others were also excited, so I let myself be persuaded, even though everything in me resisted supporting such cafes, but I have to admit, the cats, meerkats, raccoons, and even wallabies were really cute, and they even had an animal-only area where they could retreat. When we came out, it was already dark and we could admire the brightly lit streets filled with people in all their glory.

The next day we went to the palace, which is surrounded by a beautiful park and many smaller houses with artistically decorated walls. Everything here is in shades of red and green, which makes it even more majestic. Then we strolled around the city a bit and took a break by the river. Four fifths of the group wanted to go home and take a nap before we went to the party district, but I didn't feel like taking a break, so I went out alone and was a bit worried about getting completely lost since we didn't have internet in Korea and I only had a rough map. Well, of course I got lost. But that's how I stumbled upon other neighborhoods where Koreans go for a beer and some food after work. I actually had quite a bit of fun taking turns and seeing where I would end up, without having to consider the group. I found my way back just in time and rejoined the others three and a half hours later to go eat something and have a drink. I had a watermelon wheat beer, which actually had a somewhat artificial (who would have thought) watermelon flavor, but it was quite satisfying, although the food was far better than the beer.

The following day we went to the national park for hiking. The trail was sometimes really challenging, but that's exactly what I enjoyed so much. We climbed all the way up to the top of the mountain and its rock formations, and were able to overlook the national park and a part of Seoul, although the view was a bit obscured here as well. In the evening, we took the train to the southeastern side of the river, just to have been to Gangnam. However, it didn't look much different from the lively neighborhoods in the center.

The next day was already the transit day, so we only had half a day left, which we used to visit the National Museum. There were also some interesting exhibits, although a large part of the collection consisted of jars and vessels from various eras that all started to look the same to me at some point, so I was not unhappy about not having too much time in the museum, as we had to go to the train station relatively soon. The high-speed train to Busan was very comfortable and we were all very happy about the two-hour break during which we listened to music, slept, and had a little time for ourselves. Our accommodation in Busan was a hostel, and maybe as big as the smallest room (for one person) in the AirBNB. So much for alone time.

We wanted to spend the first day in Busan at the beach, so we started walking, uphill, downhill, mostly uphill, and arrived at the beautiful and rugged cliff coasts. The water had a Caribbean-looking turquoise color, the wind made my eyes tear up, and the holiday feeling was at its peak. In the evening, we had record-worthy good pizza, the first one I had since I left Germany. The city center is cozier and more relaxed than Seoul and somehow more inviting. But I suspect that it was simply because Busan is smaller and receives fewer tourists than Seoul. We also climbed up Busan Tower in the dark, after I expressed my annoyance in Seoul about not seeing the city from above in the dark, and lo and behold, the others liked it too.

On the second day, we went to the other side of the coast to the skywalk, an observation platform with a transparent floor, where I almost lost my balance due to the strong wind. The area there is so beautiful that we lingered there for quite a while, climbing around the cliffs in a daring way and enjoying the stiff sea breeze and the sun. The next stop was the cultural monument, which houses a cemetery for victims of the Korean War, as well as the cultural center, which was closed at the time of our visit.

The last day took us to the beach in Busan, where the Holi Festival took place. As good as Korean food is, the Koreans' taste in music is a disaster, which is why we ultimately didn't participate in the Holi Festival. Then we went to the largest shopping mall in the world (no guarantees for this information), which I would have preferred to skip, as it was incredibly expensive and crowded, and had nothing special to offer (except getting completely lost). In the evening, we treated ourselves to an all-you-can-drink buffet, where I got to know numerous new cocktails and long drinks, before going back to the hostel to enjoy a relaxing four hours of sleep before we had to leave for the airport.

All in all, I really enjoyed the trip to Korea. It was definitely fun to travel in a group with people I hadn't known for very long, but I have to say that I didn't fit into the group's way of traveling, as I'm more of a type who likes to get up early and see as much of the country as possible, while the others wanted to sleep until half past eleven and sometimes do things that could also be done in Osaka. So I definitely would have made a day trip to a temple complex instead of visiting a silly shopping center that made me long for the exit as soon as I entered, but well. I didn't expect Korea and Japan to be so different from each other. Korea is built differently, somewhat chaotic and dirtier (especially the sewers have a very strong smell), and there are more people who clearly rebel against society, which I like. It is also not taboo here to flirt in public with your partner. Nevertheless, I am now quite exhausted and need to recover during the week at university, because who knows where we will go on the weekend. ;)