Seoul - Oppa Gangnam Style

Return to sender 📮

The night was short. Despite tiredness, I fell asleep at half past two. It was over by 7, no more sleep. Well, maybe I can relax a bit during the massage.

I'm on my way. It's Sunday, the sun is shining at 22° and clear sky. I have to hurry so I won't be late, take the bus. In a country where addresses are based on districts, there are of course no street names like 'Main St.' or 'Town Hall Square'. Consequently, the bus stops are named differently. They can be municipal facilities, schools, train stations, churches, malls, or cafes. It has its advantages and disadvantages. If you don't know your way around, orientation is doomed to fail. If you get lost here, a few rules of thumb can still help:

- If you walk away from the city center, the house numbers increase.

- From the city center, even house numbers are on the right, odd ones on the left.

Honking is a constant presence here, especially on the bus. In half an hour of bus ride, there is more honking than in three weeks in Japan. I have a theory. Yup, the same old story about mindfulness. If you're not focused, someone else has to fill the focus gap; in this case, with the car horn. The statistics also suggest it; South Korea has three times more traffic fatalities per capita than Japan. Interestingly, Japan is on the same level as Germany. Unexpected. 🤔

Kneading 💆‍♂️

It was probably the best massage I've ever received. Not because we only communicated through laughter. 😁 Not because physical contact is a basic human need. But also because the good lady knew a few tricks that deeply impressed me. And I chose the cheapest massage. I am impressed. It lifts my mood, leaving the salon in a cheerful state.

Since I ended up in the shopping district anyway, I might as well do that. I see a Lotte Market, this time it's the 'Lotte Young Plaza'. 'Sounds fancy, I'll go in.' No more reasons needed, not even a plan for what I actually want. I go in, take the first escalator and end up in a small 5 * 5 meter area that has been waiting for me all this time. Fragrances! Am I finally completing a mission today? I grab the first scent, Black Cherry. Bingo! I try others, but none can beat the first scent. Finally found my home base scent. And all for 4 euros. It's the usual; either I search forever, or it's a perfect find. I think that even more when I look around the Young Plaza. Otherwise, only clothes.

Yummy! 🤩

I enter the fully-grown Lotte Mart Department Store and think to myself when browsing the floor plan: 'Shit. These are eight floors full of first and last names like Louis Vuitton and Giorgio Armani.' But just like everyone else, this store also has a food court in the basement. And what a food court it is..

As I walk through the aisles, I feel like a little child in a candy store. Probably because I'm walking through aisles full of cookies. I can't resist and take three new friends with me. Matcha, Apple-Cinnamon, and another extraordinary one. Apple-Cinnamon won't see the next sunrise.

For lunch today, inspired by the massage, I think to myself: 'Treat yourself!' It's Donkatsu Special Loin + Fried Shrimp and a Gangnam Black. I don't even have a clue what it is. But I'm not disappointed. Well, if you have no expectations, you can't be disappointed either. 😁

This food court is totally to my taste. I could eat here all day, always something different. All directions are covered. And once again, German names. For whatever reason.

Twitching Carp 🐟

After lunch, I decide to make one last try for the Switch adapter and then visit the e-Sports studio. The former will challenge me immensely.
After a honk concert on the bus ride, I arrive at the Electronic Mall. I realize that it's, of course, something different than what I imagined. 11 floors, all filled with electronics. Okay, maybe I can find something here.

I take the escalator, look around floor by floor. My old system speaks up again, shuts down, wants to protect my inner child. Why? The introvert in me doesn't get along with the many individual vendor stands, randomly mixed with thematic focuses on each floor.
Floors 1 - 4 are still uninteresting, albeit spooky. Covered, abandoned stands and areas. No customers, only vendors sitting on their phones here and there. They are uninteresting areas to me, but I feel an inner restlessness rising.
Floor 5, computer spare parts, I feel the tingling and the inner resistance.
Floor 6, mobile phones. Okay, that's it. My system takes control, it wants to get out of here. Oh well, it's not that important anyway. My legs carry me down to floor 5, where suddenly my 'Fuck it!' switch flips.

'Maybe you won't find anything again, maybe you'll have to communicate with hand and foot, how bad can it be?'

I enter the next escalator, this time going up again. Before I change my mind, I head straight to the 9th floor, the gaming section. I feel warm, which has nothing to do with my fast pace. I can already see the escalator to 8 ½, what gaming means, consoles, and anime figures.
Suddenly, I see other customers too.
I take a walk, here and there my system twitches like a fish in a boat, on the verge of jumping out into the familiar and protective water, out of this new situation.

When I see exactly what I have been vainly searching for for two weeks, the fish stops twitching and surrenders to its fate. I make triple sure it's the right adapter, my system deserves this certainty. Happy, enriched with an important self-chosen experience, and probably also 1-2 cm taller, I leave the building and move on to my last stop for today. 😀

Street-Sightseeing 📷

When I arrive at the e-Sports studio of afreecaTV, everything is closed, unlit, and no one is around. It's a pity, but I didn't necessarily expect to find anything here today. It's generally difficult to find information about this studio, let alone a website. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I tried, and I leave the building with a good feeling. At least I have seen the magical place and caught a bit of the dusty magic that I only knew from the internet. Countless hours have given me funny and exciting moments through my favorite commentators, so this is fine.

I decide to walk home for an hour. First, I pass one of the countless malls, this time it's the CEOX Mall. And what do I see there? Gangnam Style! There is a complete statue dedicated to this song; the song is playing on repeat next to it. Tourists stand in front of it, laughing and dancing.

Grinning, I put on exactly this music and dance away. The random function then brings 'Axel F - Crazy Frog' into my ears. Oh yes, innocent times... Ding! Ding! 🐸🛵😁

As I navigate back to my accommodation with KakaoMap, I try something out. I switch to one of the CCTVs and watch myself crossing an intersection. It's... unique.

Mission #3 🛕

On the way back to my accommodation, I pass a large temple. I hadn't even noticed it, guaranteed by some tourist sites. I take a brief look around, about to leave again when a catchphrase hits me 'Buddhist Goods Store'.
I go in, what could it hurt. Inside, I come out again, after scent and the Switch adapter, with a third mission accomplished. A bracelet for the left arm.
When I exit, I take a look at the external buildings of the temple complex. I'm not even remotely drawn into the complex. It has this slightly dilapidated feeling here too.
It's somehow more colorful and painted than the complexes in Japan, whether Shinto or Buddhist. And it's more dilapidated. The combination is slightly off-putting to me.
The torii gates were all well maintained, the complexes were carefully taken care of.

Closing Sound 🔉

It's 7 p.m., I come home. The battery is completely empty, no time to charge. Everything is winding down. My phone is in the same state. It was a successful day. To conclude, I treat myself to one of my three new friends, Mr. Apple Cinnamon, and the latest episode of 'VFX Artists React'.
Why am I mentioning this? 4 minutes of it reach me on so many levels...

https://youtu.be/QiF5oQtHnyA?t=510