Yesterday was my first free day in Korea. Originally I was planning on just hanging out around the campus working on my essay and doing some s
hopping near the campus. But, one of the Korean students came to my room on Friday night and asked if I would like to come to Busan because it is his hometown and he would like to show it to me. So I decided to go.
hopping near the campus. But, one of the Korean students came to my room on Friday night and asked if I would like to come to Busan because it is his hometown and he would like to show it to me. So I decided to go.The Korean who asked me (Vandercamp is his English name) and my roommate went with a group of students on Friday night and I went with another group on Saturday.
This started out as the most frustrating day since I arrived and ended with some of the most beautiful sights and some good laughs.
The frustration stems from the difference b
etween our culture and the Korean one. We come from a very individualistic society and the Korean society is very group oriented. It was insisted that we go with some Korean students (which is fine with me as it makes things much easier.) We were told on Friday that the bus picked us up right in front of the university and only cost less than $2. When we were ready to go, we had to take taxis to the bus stop downtown and then the bus was $6 (not a big deal but still???) When we arrived in Busan we took the subway to a mall (every step of the way we had to give our money to the girl in charge and then she would buy each ticket individually, very painful). We went for lunch and she wanted everyone to go to the same place but we eventually broke up into 3 groups and met back in an hour. I went to one of those sushi places that has a little conveyor belt with dishes going in circles. There are different coloured plates that correspond to the price of the sushi and you just take what you want. I accidentally took a display piece that shows you what you can order and was trying to take it out of the basket with my chopsticks and wondering what was wrong when the chef told me. Doh! Good thing there were some Koreans there to help translate!
etween our culture and the Korean one. We come from a very individualistic society and the Korean society is very group oriented. It was insisted that we go with some Korean students (which is fine with me as it makes things much easier.) We were told on Friday that the bus picked us up right in front of the university and only cost less than $2. When we were ready to go, we had to take taxis to the bus stop downtown and then the bus was $6 (not a big deal but still???) When we arrived in Busan we took the subway to a mall (every step of the way we had to give our money to the girl in charge and then she would buy each ticket individually, very painful). We went for lunch and she wanted everyone to go to the same place but we eventually broke up into 3 groups and met back in an hour. I went to one of those sushi places that has a little conveyor belt with dishes going in circles. There are different coloured plates that correspond to the price of the sushi and you just take what you want. I accidentally took a display piece that shows you what you can order and was trying to take it out of the basket with my chopsticks and wondering what was wrong when the chef told me. Doh! Good thing there were some Koreans there to help translate!Afterwards we went back to the mall. This mall had the longest corridor I have ever seen anywhere. Actually 2 side by side with little shops on e
ither side. I walked down one way for about 15 minutes and it still went as far as I could see. I kind of felt like I was in a Flintstones cartoon though. Everything was the same - women's shop, women' shop women's shop, men's shop, women's shop women's shop, women's shop, camera shop, women's shop, women's shop, women's shop, electronics shop and repeat. After 15 minutes I had my fill, after all I can go to a mall at home and there are no stores here that I can buy a shirt that fits. I ran into my roommate with one of the girls who was chaperoning us and they said after this we were going to a different mall. That made me a little sour. I realize some people wanted to shop but I wanted to see something. I as politely as I could said that I wanted to go to the art gallery and I could find my own way since it was right near a subway stop. The conversation was kind of like maybe if we change the subject he will forget about it. I was not happy but didn't say much because the girl in charge was pretty stressed and I knew she was doing what she thought was right. After hanging out in the mall for another hour plus my roommate told me him and I could go to the gallery and meet up with the others after.
ither side. I walked down one way for about 15 minutes and it still went as far as I could see. I kind of felt like I was in a Flintstones cartoon though. Everything was the same - women's shop, women' shop women's shop, men's shop, women's shop women's shop, women's shop, camera shop, women's shop, women's shop, women's shop, electronics shop and repeat. After 15 minutes I had my fill, after all I can go to a mall at home and there are no stores here that I can buy a shirt that fits. I ran into my roommate with one of the girls who was chaperoning us and they said after this we were going to a different mall. That made me a little sour. I realize some people wanted to shop but I wanted to see something. I as politely as I could said that I wanted to go to the art gallery and I could find my own way since it was right near a subway stop. The conversation was kind of like maybe if we change the subject he will forget about it. I was not happy but didn't say much because the girl in charge was pretty stressed and I knew she was doing what she thought was right. After hanging out in the mall for another hour plus my roommate told me him and I could go to the gallery and meet up with the others after. We only had an hour once we got there but that was enough time to see things there and made my day alot better. The gallery we went to was the Busan Museum of Art and they had several exhibitions on. it was nice to get somewhere quiet and relaxing if only for 45 minutes. I don't think my roommate had as good of a time as me but he said he was just tired because he was out late with some of the other students that went to Busan on Friday night.
Afterwards we went to a new mall that is the world's
largest mall. It has 9 floors and there is a rooftop garden that is quite beautiful and has great views of the city. After walking around a bit we went to the food court for dinner. At the food court, you order at a central kiosk which sends your order to the place you want. Your number eventually comes up on a television screen and you pick up your order. In the food court, I finally met up with Vandercamp and he asked if I was interested in taking a harbour cruise to see the lights of the city. Once all the students were reassembled at the meeting point we took a poll and there were 9 people who wanted to go on the cruise. The rest headed back for Ulsan and we made the 15 minute walk to the boat launch. We walked along the beach and there were thousand
s of people on the beach and in the beachfront bars and restaurants. It was very lively. The cruise was a great way to end the
largest mall. It has 9 floors and there is a rooftop garden that is quite beautiful and has great views of the city. After walking around a bit we went to the food court for dinner. At the food court, you order at a central kiosk which sends your order to the place you want. Your number eventually comes up on a television screen and you pick up your order. In the food court, I finally met up with Vandercamp and he asked if I was interested in taking a harbour cruise to see the lights of the city. Once all the students were reassembled at the meeting point we took a poll and there were 9 people who wanted to go on the cruise. The rest headed back for Ulsan and we made the 15 minute walk to the boat launch. We walked along the beach and there were thousand
s of people on the beach and in the beachfront bars and restaurants. It was very lively. The cruise was a great way to end the day. Ulsan is a beautiful city with large brightly lit buildings that surround numerous small dark mountains. It is very beautiful at night. Out boat only had about 20-30 people on it so there was alot of room to move around and enjoy the view.
Afterwards we made the hour trip back to Ulsan (unfortunately we missed the bus by 5 minutes and had to wait 45 minutes for the next one) and were back at the dorms shortly after 1 AM.
Today has been relaxing so far. I have chatted with Rebecca and got my laundry caught up. I am going to wander out for lunch shortly and then should probably start on my essay pretty quick. Tomorrow morning we head to Seoul for 4 days for sightseeing. I am looking forward to seeing more of the countryside during the trip and will be sure to take more pictures. I will likely not bring my laptop so I will not update again until the end of the week. I also posted more pictures on my facebook page if anyone is interested (I can only post 5 pictures at a time here).
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Take care all.
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