Ambiguously Asian

It's been awhile since I've had to sit in the middle seat on an airplane. I forgot how much it sucks.
....
As I lean down to store my bag under the seat in front of me, I see a set of hot pink toenails protruding into my personal air space -- just a few inches from my nose.

I sit back into my seat and look over at the owner of the hot pink toenails. She in turn looks at me with a curiously hopeful expression. "Vietnam," she chirps.

At this point, some people would probably be asking, "Vietnam? What does this middle aged woman with the heavy eyeliner mean? Is this plane going to Vietnam? Have you ever been to Vietnam? Do you speak Vietnamese?"

Don't worry. I got this. I know what she means to say : "Are you Vietnamese?"

I shake my head and reply, "Korean."
She instantly becomes disinterested in me, and resumes crunching on her apple.
....

I get that sort of question a lot from other Asians. I'm not sure what it is about my features, but many Asians always seem surprised when I tell them I'm Korean. I know that my last name often throws people off because "Log" isn't a common Korean surname, but I also encounter complete strangers who start speaking to me in Japanese, Mandarin, or Vietnamese.

Sometimes it seems that my Korean ethnicity is even less apparent in the Motherland. I remember one instance when I was walking down a street in Apgu when a man rolled down the taxi window and asked me for directions in Japanese.

On another occassion, while shopping in Seoul, Cyndi once overhead a woman say to her son with her hand pointed in my direction, "That's Japanese style." It's sort of funny that she considered my outfit "Japanese style" since everything I had been wearing was purchased in Korea.

I suppose my thin eyebrows and penchant for wearing flats or slippers are a dead give-away of my foreignness.

As long as I don't get any fake Chinese thrown at me (Ching chong chong ching) I am not offended by these misidentifications. I find it curious, is all.

...
One more note about my air-neigbhor from Vietnam-- as evidenced by her one word question, she barely knew any English. Hence, I was unexpextedly designated as her personal emissary. When she jiggled her cup of ice in front of my face, I knew that meant I was supposed to ask the flight attendant for more water. When she pointed vigorously at the lamp over my head, it meant that she wanted me to turn on the overhead light for her. When the flight attendant asked her, "Pasta or sandwich" she immediately turned to me. Unfortunatley, I didn't know how to explain "pasta" through gestures, but she figured it out by looking over at the gentleman across the aisle from her. On top of all that, the lady even got me to take down her baggage from the overhead compartment.

That lady sure is resourceful. Or, maybe I'm just a chump... We "Vietnam" got to stick together.

Chuncheon

My mom desperately wanted to get out of Seoul (I don't blame her) and visit a more shigol area. Thanks to the help of my cousin we decided to take a day trip to 춘천 (Chuncheon), the capital of Gangwon Province.

You can get to Chuncheon by car, bus, or train. Heng told me that a 고속 bus would be the quickest option from Bundang, so we caught a bus from the Yaptap bus terminal. About an hour and half-long nap later, we were in Chuncheon (Bus Terminal).















At first, Chuncheon looked a lot like Seoul, only less people, less litter, and less traffic. It was quite nice. We picked up a map from the Tourist Info Center, then with Heng's helpful instructions, headed out to find the bus to Soyang Dam. Unfortunately, people gave us conflicting directions so it took us a while to find the bus stop for the #11 bus to Soyang Dam.

We waited at the bus stop for a little bit, staring at the "Pumpkin" Night Club, but we started to get a little antsy, so we hopped in a cab. The driver said that it would only take 10 minutes, but I think the drive took about about 15 minutes.














The Soyang Dam was an interesting sight. I tried to take a picture, but our taxi driver aka Speed Racer flew up the mountain (I think he was trying to get there in 10 minutes). I didn't even have time to take out my camera.

This picture of the lake (and mom & I) will have to suffice.














Once at Soyang Dam, we were able to take a boat to 청평사잘 (Cheongpyeongsa Temple). I wish my dongsaeng Doogal were with us, but I don't think she would have enjoyed the boat ride. It was short, but quite choppy.

I know this sounds very childish, but the boat ride made my feel like Big Bird in China. Since I usually worked on Saturdays, I never really made an effort to explore the world outside of Seoul. It's easy to mistake Seoul as a representative for all of Korea. I'm not a nature person per se, but I do miss being surrounded by trees and water that weren't planted by a Mayor aspiring to be President. The boat ride on Soyang Lake was a refreshing reminder of Korea's lush, green beauty. I regret not exploring more of the countryside. I must make a point to do so in the future.















Chuncheon is known for its dalk galbi (Spicy marinated chicken) and mak (noodle soup), but we had 감자부침 (potato pancake), 도토리묵 (acorn jelly), and 더덕구이 (some kind of grilled root). Even though there wasn't any gogi, the meal was so tasty, like something your Korean grandmother would make.

도토리묵 (dotori muk) & 감자부침 (gamja buchim)














더덕구이 (deodeok gui)














There are so many food stalls selling absolutely the same thing, so I asked my mom, "How do they make money?"

My mom replied simply, "Luck."














It's a weekday and just before the Chuseok weekend, so tourist traffic was quite low. Apparently, it's quite busy on the weekends. I hope so. Look at those lonely stalls.

We were going to hike up to the temple, but my mom was wearing inappropriate shoes and was not feeling up to the 30 minute hike. Hence, no pictures of the temple. You'll have to use your imagination. Think of something Buddhist.

I finally decided to join the youtube bandwagon, so you can check out some scenic footage from our boat ride. I apologize in advance for the Blair Witch moments. I don't have very steady hands.

We only had the time to look around Soyang Lake, but there is a myriad of activities and landmarks around Chuncheon. You could definitely spend a couple of days looking around the city. Chuncheon is probably most famous for 나미섬 (Nami Island). Yes, you too can walk along the same foot paths as the illustrious Bae Young Joon aka Yon-sama. Chuncheon is also the home of the Gangwon Drama Gallery. It is a Japanese ajumma's Disneyland.

In addition to natural landmarks like Soyang Dam, Mt. Samaksan, and Deunseon Waterfall, you may also want to check out Munbae Village, a traditional folk village, Animation Museum, Chuncheon Shooting Range, Jade Palace, Chuncheon Coffee Theme Park, Yu-Jeong Literature Village, and MBC Children's Museum. You can also golf during the spring, ski during the winter, and paraglide in the summer.

I have not explored any of these attractions for myself, but they definitely sound interesting. I am especially intrigued by something called the "Song Monument of I feel like living in Gangchon" (강존에살고싶네노래비). I swear, I did not make that up. That's how it's listed on the map.

Chuncheon also plays host to a lot of big festivals including the Chuncheon International Play Festival (October), Chuncheon Puppet Festival (August), Chuncheon Mime Festival (May), and the Chuncheon MTB Race. According to the brochure, the Mime Festival is a 5-day event. That sounds...disturbing.

While in Chuncheon, at the very least, you must pick up the English Tour map. It has all sorts of interesting tidbits, including this blurb for the Chuncheon Preserve.














Not sure if you can see it clearly, but the caption reads, "Where you can enjoy with your family." The accompanying photo features a group of hunters smiling in front of bloody bird carcasses.

I'd rather hang out with the mimes, thank you very much.

Please don't punch the bus driver.

Now I know why bus drivers these days need those little protective enclosures.

Today, the man seated directly behind me got up from his seat and said loudly to the bus driver, "Ajusshi, is this bus going to Woosung Apartments?"

Uh oh, I think to myself, does he mean Woosung Apartments in Kagnam? We are heading on the freeway towards Bundang. Wrong way, dude.

The driver says over his shoulder, "You mean Woosung Apartments in Bundang or Kangnam?"

Uh oh...

The ajusshi behind me steps away from his seat and stomps towards the driver. "What do you mean!?!" He shouts. "I asked you TWO times already! You said this bus goes to Woosung Apartments!"

(TIP: When confronting a Korean, always take a defensive tone. Regardless if you're right or wrong.)

The driver says sharply , "When you said 'Woosung Apartments' I thought you meant the one in Bundang. How was I supposed to know you meant Kangnam?"

The ajusshi becomes even more irate and starts to encroach into the driver's personal space.
Then, he starts railing on the driver for giving him the wrong information. Of course the driver is all, dude it's not my fault. This repetitive exchange continues on for at least another twenty seconds, only with each iteration, their voices grow louder. (My ears are still ringing.)

Meanwhile, I (precariously seated directly behind the driver) begin to sink into my seat. It appears that the ajusshi is going to punch the driver at any moment. I selfishly think, please, God, don't let my last moment on earth be spent in a Bundang Express bus during rush hour traffic.

Both the raging passenger and driver continue bellowing, typical ajusshi style. Suddenly, their roars are interrupted by amused laughter. The ajumma to my left says in a sweet voice, "Ajusshi, the front of the bus clearly says Bundang."

Oh snap.

The ajusshi abruptly turns around and starts directing his fire at the audacious ajumma. "How was I supposed to know? I'm not familiar with this bus system." Yada yada yada.

The woman says with great politeness, "Ajusshi, why are you getting mad at me?"

(That ajumma is so my hero. There are so many times I wish I had the cojones (so to speak) to say to a rampaging ajusshi, "Why are you getting mad at moi?")

The ajusshi simply ignores her comment and goes back to yelling into my ear, I mean, yelling at the driver.

After a few more seconds of futile rage, the passenger settles in his seat and resigns himself to muttering behind my back.

Eventually, as we began to near Imae-chon, the ajusshi says to the driver in a pouty, yet polite voice, "How long would it take for me to get back to Kangnam?"

The driver replies in kind, with a reluctantly polite tone.

It was like listening to two little chastened boys converse after a big row on the playground.

Not sure if the bus driver misinformed him or not, but I honestly felt for the ajusshi. It seriously sucks to realize you're on the wrong bus when you're half way to Bundang. I've been there, man.

I just wish he hadn't been so belligerent. Can't a girl just listen to some Justin Nozuka in peace?

Non-Beef Related Protest in Myeondong

Two weekends ago, on our way home from Myeongdong, our bus was temporarily waylaid by a crowd of protesters. I assumed that the crowd was an extension of the protests in Kwanghwamun, but it appears that these folks had a different agenda.

I'm not clear on their purpose, but a man held a flag that read "남북공동선언 실천연대." At least, that's what I think it said. Neither Cyndi nor I know what the phrase means. Cyndi says it has something to do with North & South.

I entered the phrase into Babel Fish (I know, I know. Don't ever trust Babel Fish translations). According to Babel Fish, the text means, "June 15 Joint Declaration practical regiment." I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the translation is quite off.

I will have to ask Heng about the meaning of the phrase, but in the mean time, you can check out a brief clip of the protests for yourself.

Seoul Taxi Drivers: Equal Opportunity Meanies

If you read my post about taxi drivers, you know that I have a grudge against the overbearing ajusshis that purport to be of service. I had always thought the ajusshis were picking on me because I was a gyopo, but it turns out that taxi ajusshis are liable to lecture anyone -- foreigners and Koreans alike.

My Korean teacher told me that she is often being lectured by taxi drivers. One evening she caught a cab around 2 AM, and the driver scolded her for going home so late. He also barked at her, "Who were those guys you were with? What kind of young woman runs around late at night like that?"

She responded [in Korean], "Ajusshi, even my mother doesn't say anything to me. She knows that I am coming home late...I would like to ride in silence, please. Thank you." Then she promptly popped in her earphones.

The Taiwanese woman in my Korean class also had a stressful experience. She needed to get to the Taiwanese embassy to take care of some important paperwork. That's when the taxi driver, whose brother-in-law is Chinese, launched into a diatribe on how she should just acknowledge that she is Chinese and go to the Chinese embassy. My classmate tried to explain in her limited Korean that yes, she was ethnically Chinese, but she HAD TO GO TO THE TAIWANESE EMBASSY. The Chinese embassy simply would not be able to process her paperwork. The driver was immediately rankled, thinking that my classmate was making a socio-political statement. The woman was just trying to get her visa, for goodness sake.

I can certainly empathize with my teacher and my classmate. I don't wish anyone to encounter such a confrontation during a simple taxi rider. At the same time, it makes me feel a little better to know that the taxi ajusshis are non-discriminatory when it comes to their lectures.

I understand that driving around Seoul for hours on end can take it's toll on your mental and physical healthy, and I understand that many, if not most, taxi drivers are not so exasperating.

I still wish though, that Seoul taxi ajusshis wouldn't feel so responsible for my enlightenment.

If the taxi driver asks, I'm Japanese-Canadian

I usually try to avoid taking a taxi on my own, because inevitably I'll receive some form of lecture on how I need to learn Korean.

As soon as I open my mouth, the driver immediately knows that I'm not a native Korean. The first question is usually, "Are you Japanese?" When I reveal that no, I am from America, the ensuing conversation usually leads to fact that I'm ethnically Korean.

Of course, the driver will then ask me why my Korean is so awful. Then, in my limited Korean, I'll try to justify (to this complete stranger) my limited knowledge of the mother tongue. Ultimately, I leave shame-faced, with a stinging reminder that I must improve my Korean.

Though the tone of driver may range from well-intentioned to patronizing, I usually leave the cab feeling sheepish and disappointed in myself. :(

This is why I've decided to stop admitting that I'm Korean. I'm just going to speak completely in English. English will definitely squelch any possibility of dialogue (or in my experience, driver's monologue). I usually try to speak Korean for the driver's convenience, but I will do this no more. I will speak in long-winded sentences and make YOU feel uncomfortable and ignorant, Mr. Know-it-all Taxi Ajusshi!

Also, given the current hullabaloo over the importation of U.S. beef it's become imprudent to mention my nationality as well. Utter the words, "I am American" and it's likely that some irate taxi driver will launch into an impassioned lecture about the terrors of American beef.

That's what happened this weekend. Heng, Cyndi, and I caught a cab in Kangnam, and it was possibly one of the longest cab rides of my life. Before I go into the details, I should note that not all taxi drivers are like our driver. Korean taxi drivers can be very opinionated, but this man was particularly extreme. As Heng told me, "Ignore everything that man said. He is very uneducated." That's for sure.

When the driver heard Cyndi and I speaking in English, he immediately launched into red alert. When he learned that we are Korean, he immediately asked us why we weren't speaking in Korean. "You're in Korea. Why aren't you speaking in Korean?" he barked.

As I cowered silently in the backseat, Heng promptly responded, "They were born in America, so they speak in English." The man did not like this answer. He then launched into some rant about American pushing diseased beef on Korea, eventually concluding with the fact that America is violent and unsafe. (Yeah, much unlike the situation in the taxi).

I hate having this discrepancy between my speaking and listening skills. I understood the bulk of what the taxi driver was saying, but lacked the ability to respond. For example, when he asked us, isn't it true that there are protective barriers between the driver and passengers in most American taxis?", I wanted to respond, "Not in all cabs, but I sure wish we had one in this cab." Instead, I just directed some "stink eye" at the back of his head, while Cyndi politely answered his question.

Ignorant b.s. is universal. I'll find it at every point between the Motherland and the Homeland, but it's particularly frustrating when I'm defenseless and unable to respond to such hogwash. I would have loved to politely respond to his remarks, but my stock phrases of 괜찮아요 and 아니요 simply wouldn't have cut it this time.

Though these opinionated taxi drivers will forever be burned into my memory, I must note that I've also experienced a number of non-threatening drivers. These drivers should MYOB and drive in silence. Frankly, I rather have a driver who is distracted by the Korean drama streaming on his GPS system, than an attentive driver who tries to converse with me.

Though I am not a fan of their conversation skills, I will admit to one thing that I admire (and fear) about Korean taxi drivers. Foreigners are often worrying about getting swindled by a taxi driver who will take them on a roundabout route. I've never had to worry about a driver trying to extend the ride in an effort to raise the fare. In my experience, Korean drivers try to get to the final destination as quickly as possible. They run red lights, switch lanes like a maniac, and make crazy turns because they are VERY impatient. Their road rage may be frightening, but they can drive from Bundang to Kangnam in under fifteen minutes.

The Subway Nightmare Before Christmas

I refuse to spend New Year's Eve in Seoul. I spent Christmas in Seoul, and it was way too crowded. Check out the video at the end of the post to see what I mean. Also, I'm tired. I spent most of my day (and evening) teaching. I know, poor me.

I can't believe it's already the new year. I didn't even get a chance to tell you about our Christmas festivities!

Since Tim and Daniel Henney were busy, Cyndi and I spent Christmas day with the lovely Ms. Bo. We buffeted it up Itaewon at a place called Toque Diner. Toque featured a nice Christmas "brunch," which included mashed potatoes and turkey. It wasn't as awesome as deep fried turkey, but the spread satisfied my turkey craving.



























































I'm starting to feel like all holidays in Korea are whittled down to be some variation of Valentine's Day. Back home, Christmas was about spending the holidays with all your loved ones. From what I've observed, Christmas in Seoul is not so much about family, as it is about romancing your significant other.

Thanks a lot, Motherland, for making single twenty-somethings feel like losers on Christmas Day :)

After our filling turkey brunch, we headed over to City Hall, which is apparently the place to be on Christmas. Unfortunately, thousands upon thousands of folks had the same idea.

I'm not claustrophobic, but I was a bit frightened when we started to make our way through the subway station. You'll just have to watch the following video to witness the chaos for yourself. As a born-and-raised American, the word "lawsuit" kept running through my head as I tried to prevent myself from being trampled by old ladies and giddy sixteen-year-olds.

Traveling to Busan

Cyndi and I are back in Busan (southern part of Korea) visiting Cyndi's paternal relatives for the Chuseok holiday. During Chuseok, family members gather together to pay tribute to their ancestors, and more historically, celebrate the fullest moon of the year.

Chuseok is reportedly the worst time to travel, as most Seoulites head down south to visit their families. We experienced the chaos first hand. In fact, we almost didn't even make it to Busan.

There are several ways to travel to Busan: car, bus, plane, or KTX, an express train. Weighing price, convenience, and price, the KTX proved to be the most desirable option. With the help of Hyeyoung, we managed to procure tickets well in advance. As you can imagine, tickets are in high demand at this time of the year.

Our train was scheduled to depart Seoul Station at 6 pm. Seoul Station is quite aways (is that the right expression?) from Bundang, so we took the subway to Kangnam, where we then, caught a ride with Hyeyoung's cool friend, EK. Unfortunately, we encountered a whole lot of traffic. The minutes quickly ticked by as EK valiantly weaved through crazy taxis and buses. We arrived in the vicinity of Seoul Station around 5:45 pm. But as our luck would have it, the normal u-turn lanes were blocked off, so what would normally take a couple of minutes took nearly ten minutes. I think we may have passed Seoul Station a couple of times, but given the traffic and the crazy Korean road system, it was impossible to get to the station without having to run, frogger-style, through what seemed like ten lanes of traffic.

By some miracle, we managed to make it to Seoul Station a few minutes before 6:00 pm. That's when Cyndi, Hyeyoung, and I had to book it! We ran up several flights of stairs, laden with our baggage and various pieces of Hyeyoung & Joon's wedding hanboks. The station was swarming with people, but Hyeyoung managed to quickly read the board and figure out that our train was at Platform 4. We ran like madwomen to platform 4, and almost cried when we saw the crowd of people waiting for the train. After a few seconds of relief, we realized that this was too good to be true. It was several minutes past the scheduled departure time. Hyeyoung inquired with the train attendant, and learned that our train was scheduled for Platform 3. WTF?

We ran up and down two flights of stairs to get to the next platform. Hyeyoung reached the bottom of the stairs just as our train came speeding past the platform! As my sister would say, it sucked monkey. The train was actually running a few mintues behind, but we had wasted those precious minutes at the wrong platform!

If you think we had it bad, you should have seen this Canadian dude. He and his friends were traveling to Busan together to see the sights. Unfortunately, the doors closed just as he was about to step onto the train. (I'm not sure if that's accurate, but that's what he told us). It was really sad to see this non-Korean guy, frozen in disbelief. As he dejectedly followed us on the escalator, he cried, "어떻게?" ("What am I going to do...?) With the help of HY and his big 외국인 eyes, he managed to get the last remaining seat on the next train. We, however, had to take an alternate route on two separate trains, including an older, smelly train that was filled with trash and empty beer cans from the previous passengers. I could handle the funky smell, but it took all that I had to ignore the trash. It just really grossed me out.

We left Seoul at 10 pm, and arrived in Busan around five hours later. Had we made our original train, the trip would have only taken two hours.

Since we had a few hours to kill until our new train schedule, EK kindly came back for us and took us to Itaewon for some tacos at Taco Chili Chili. The burritos only vaguely resemble Mexican food, but I suppose it's close enough if you're dying for a burrito. Afterwards, we walked around the corner to a cozy little cafe called T8, where I had a delicious bowl of "chocolate soup," a bowl of expresso and hot chocolate, so good that it was almost worth missing the train -- almost. I will post a photo once I get back home.