Kamsahamnida, South Korea!

October, 2024

Hello, or better yet, 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) from South Korea! 

Looking around, we have entered into a completely alternate universe as we explore the immaculate city, massive sky scrappers, overly efficient transportation grids and the cleanest public toilets I have ever seen. Toto, we are NOT in Malawi anymore… we are in…. SOUTH KOREA. 

From the half-paved dirt roads of Malawi to the skyscrapers of Seoul, we are now worlds away, but first, let me backtrack a bit…

A few weeks ago, Gabe and I took another life pivot and after a wonderful year in Malawi, set off for our next adventure around the globe. We put our bags into storage in Israel and packed only what we could carry on our backs (shoutout to Gabe for doing the heavy lifting!). In the next 4 months we will be traveling across 7 countries, experiencing new parts of the world, opening our minds and our mouths to new cultures, cuisines, traditions, world views and learnings. A modern day “eat, pray, love” if you will, with the largest emphasis on the eat. We are here and we are ready to take it all in! 

SOUTH KOREA  

Our first stop on the globe trot is, South Korea, a country that has always fascinated me. To get into the zone, I started reading the amazing book “Nothing to Envy” which recounts the unbelievable stories of 5 North Koreans, their lives, and what pushed them to leave everything behind to defect to South Korea. Simultaneously, I watched the series Panchiko, a beautiful story about a South Korean girl who due to an internal scandal was forced to immigrate to Japan and rebuild her life. The story highlights the struggles that many South Koreans faced in Japan and the deep desire to not let go of their Korean roots. Both stories helped me draw some historical understanding of South Korea and how it has become the powerhouse it is today. With the 13th largest economy by GDP and 4th largest in Asia, the economy has grown rapidly since the 1980s! 

Now, a glimpse into our experience. As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog post, South Korea feels like a world away from where we came from and below I have highlighted some of our observations, most interesting experiences and learnings. 

1. EFFICIENCY LEVEL 110% (talk about a tech savvy nation)  

What amazed us most about South Korea, was the sheer organized nature that is so engrained into the fabric of society. No one is pushy, people stand and wait patiently in organized lines. Even to get onto the subway people form a single file and enter the subway car one at a time. In Israel, forget it and in Malawi, good luck for you to even find a subway.  

The streets are clean and no one is hustling to sell you anything. I rarely felt that we were being ripped off or taken for a muzungu (“foreigner”) ride like we have felt in other countries. Water is given out for free in every restaurant, hotel, park and train station and there is almost full coverage of free WiFi across the cities. Everyone is hooked to their phones and stays super connected to technology. 

The crime rate across South Korea is very low and there are CCTV security cameras ALL over the country. We passed cameras wherever we went, up in the mountains on hikes, in the city streets, within each building we entered and in places that we were surprised cameras could even reach. There is a feeling of “surveillance” around the country and I’m not sure how I feel about that, but what I will say is I felt incredibly safe walking around South Korea at any hour of the day and night. 

Now, let’s get to the good stuff and talk about the toilets. The bathrooms were always immaculately clean, filled with different soaps, shampoos, lotions, conditioners and my favorite… talk about tech savvy… the smart toilets! These smart toilets have all sorts of gadgets that you never knew you might want or need during your bathroom experience… warming and cooling features, jets, fans to nurture your behind, you name it! I think we have only scratched the surface when it comes to smart toilets but I heard that in Japan the experience is even more luxurious so bring jt on, Japan, we are ready to be pampered. 

Something that I also found to be very sweet was that the bathrooms cater to those of all ages and heights. I came across one instance where a public bathroom had “mother- child” bathroom stalls with two toilets fitted for an adult and a child in the same stall to use together. They have really thought of it all. 

2. FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD 

As a woman married to an absolute “foodie”, food is a very important part of our travels to any new destination. The first thing that Gabe does when entering a new city is to look for all of the best eats in our vicinity, and trust me, somehow we try them all. Personally, Asian food, no matter from which country, has always been my cuisine of choice, so being in Korea was heaven for me. The food culture is truly out of this world and we tried so many unique flavors, soups, dumplings, pickled dishes, sauces, sea creatures and more.

The first notable thing that we discovered is that food in Korea is very “in and out". You come, you get seated, you order (usually on some sort of screen or tablet where you don’t have to speak to a human), the food comes quickly and steaming hot, you eat, you don’t talk, you leave full to the brim and another 100 people come in after you. They have gotten the flow down to a science, how to get people in and out as quickly as possible so that the next group can carry on with their day. At one of our favorite soup and dumpling restaurants in Seoul they must have seated over 100 different people in 20 minutes, not to mention, the biggest phenomenon was that the restaurant had robots rolling around delivering steaming hot plates of noodles and dumplings to the hungry guests. Honestly, I could not stop laughing as the robots glided past me, restaurant tech at its finest.

Next big thing: Kimchi is king in Korea. We tried so many different delicious kimchis and learnt that kimchi is one of the most important staples to any Korean meal. Our guide shared that Koreans have a separate fridge in their house set aside for Kimchi and kimchi alone. I mean, if you don’t have a second kimchi fridge, you are basically a social pariah I might need to invest in one when I get home because I am now a true kimchi connoisseur. 

But…the craziest food experience that we had hands down was our trip to the Jagalchi Fish Market in Busan. This is the largest sea food market in all of Korea, and let me tell you, Koreans don’t mess around when it comes to sea food. 

The market is adorned with rows and rows of live fish and seafood tanks, crawling with everything and anything you can ever imagine living in the sea. I had to google half of the creatures that we passed as we moved through the over 100 stalls to see all that the market had to offer. From the freshest fish, to massive king crabs the size of two of your heads, to tanks full of live eels, squids, octopus, giant lobsters, clams, sea urchins, snails, shells of all shapes and sizes with different sea slugs, sea cucumber, abalone, the list goes on and on and ON. I was in complete amazement, a bit of shock and honestly a lot of awe as I saw all of the different delicacies within the Korean cuisine, many of which I was too scared to try myself. Gabe on the other hand, was born ready for this day. 

What makes this market so unique is that you can buy whatever you want live from the first floor and then your fish seller sends you upstairs with a basket full of your bounty to the small local restaurants that kill, clean and cook your selection within minutes. We made our selection (well, mostly Gabe made his selection ) and took our basket of unknowns upstairs for the experience to begin…and wow, was it an experience I will never forget. My eyes and my stomach will never be the same. 

3. NATURAL BEAUTY

Korea has a wealth of natural beauty and we had the opportunity to enjoy the amazing landscapes and scenery. After some days in the city, we flew to the famous “Jeju Island” which is a volcanic island covered in deep dark volcanic rock, aka pumice stone central! We rented a car and drove the coast of the island, stopping at freezing cold waterfalls, climbing to the top of temples, hiking to various view points and rugged views of the ocean hitting the volcanic rocks below our feet. 

4. RICH HISTORY 

During our time in South Korea, I learnt about the history of the country and what led to the North and South Korea divide in 1948. At the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily split the Korean peninsula to oversee the withdrawal of Japanese forces. The Soviet Union was supposed to temporarily occupy the North and the United States, the South, however, this division became a permanent split due to the Cold War tensions between the two superpowers. In effect, the establishment of separate governments in each region unfolded, with North Korea becoming communist and South Korea becoming pro-Western. Soon after, the Korean War broke out internally dividing families across borders until today. The hands of outside countries shaping the history for millions in the region. 

We had the opportunity to take a tour of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) which is now the border between North and South Korea, essentially a “no man’s land”. This strip is heavily surveillanced and acts as a buffer between the two countries. 

It was evident by seeing the advancements of South Korea that since the divide from the once unified country, both countries have gone in two very different directions. South Korea being the 13th largest economy by GDP and North Korea the 135th. 

What was really striking to me was that during the Korean War, people fled to different parts of the country and many prisoners of war were taken from the south and never returned to their side. If part of your family was in South Korea and the other in North Korea after the war, you could no longer see or communicate with them, divided until this day. Our South Korean guide took us to a landmark at the DMZ called the “Separated Area” where both countries have arranged select “organized family reunions.” These events do not happen often but when they take place they are highly planned and survalanced. Our guide shared that South Koreans pray for a unified Korea and for the day that they will be reunited with their loved ones. He also said, “North Koreans desire to be unified as one country again.” I couldn’t understand how he could possibly know if this was the case as there is no open and available interacts allowed between either side. I asked him “how do you know this is what they want?” He said, “this is what I feel in my heart.” 

You have to imagine that citizens that have stayed for 70+ years under a communist regime have very different desires than a now westernized country that has taken a massive modern jump. 

I read the testimonies and stories of many North Korean defectors who against very challenging odds were able to seek refuge in South Korea. Life for them has not been easy, readapting to an entirely new modern world. What I found incredibly interesting was that when North Koreans starting finding ways to escape to South Korea, the South Korean government had to creative a robust immersive program for any defector to successfully assimilate into the new culture. In order to create this 3 month program for defectors they studied various historical models, one included schools created in Israel for newly arrived Jews from the Soviet Union and North Africa, people who exercised their right to return to the Jewish state. South Korea had a similar model for North Koreans who find a way to return to the state. They have created a sociological model to help these citizens adjust, teach them about democracy, and teach them what America's role was in the Korean War. This comes as a massive shock for North Koreans who have been taught something entirely different their entire lives. What I also found interesting, is similar to Israel, when North Koreans seek refuge in South Korea they get a “start up package” of $20,000 to support the start of their new lives. 

It is remarkable to live under certain conditions your entire life and then have the bravery to rediscover who you are in a new world that offers endless possibilities. Defectors get lost in it all. 

5. SPALAND & GLAMOUR 

Skin care is serious in South Korea. Sunblock must be with you at all times and applied hourly… said our tour guide in Seoul. 

I previously mentioned that people have an extra fridge for their Kimchi, well, they also have an extra fridge for their skin care products….power cuts ain’t no issue in South K! We passed stores upon stores of products, with all types of serums, snail mucin and gold flakes to lather your face with. The experience started out as overwhelming, like two kids in a candy store, Gabe and I moved from aisle to aisle googling all of the products to age us like queens and make our faces as soft as a baby's bum. We didn’t understand half of what we saw and ended up leaving with a stack of one-use face masks …. which Gabe now swears by! 

After doing some research, I went back to brave the chaotic stores again. Although I didn’t commit to the snail mucin, I did buy myself a joseon cleanser, facial gel and moisturizer. It’s been 3 weeks since I’ve started my new facial regime and I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty fabulous. 

So that is a wrap on South Korea for now! All in all, our weeks were an incredible kick-start to our trip. Kamsahamnida (감사합니다 thank you), SK for igniting our adventure with dumplings galore.

Next stop, Japan!