Seoul airport, my first solo trip to an Asian country. Moving in the immigration line, I repeat the same two words again and again: “annyeong haseyo” (hello), “gamsa hamnida” (thank you). I can do this. My attention shifts to the people surrounding me and to the signs in an alphabet I cannot begin to understand. What’s the word for “hello” again?
***
“International” taxis (meaning: with English-speaking drivers) are probably twice the price of regular cabs but the ability to communicate with the driver and the certainty of being dropped off at the right hotel are priceless. The size and energy of this indescribably big city are starting to hit me. In the 90-minute ride from the airport to the hotel I watch as the urban landscape unfolds: an ocean of skyscrapers. Ten million people live here. A number the human mind can’t quite grasp.
***
Déjà vu: this hotel room could be located in Paris or New York. Within an hour I am showered, changed, and checking email. No time to forget that I am here on a business trip. Message from Jack (my boss): we are going out to dinner with our local coworker. I really feel like ordering room service and curling up in bed, but my “dedicated employee” persona is in control, I am not strong enough to say no.
***
Many (many) slices of barbecue beef, several bottles of beer and soju later, Jack and I tell our host DK that this beef is absolutely delicious but we physically can’t eat any more of it. Invisible yet efficient waitresses have been bringing a new family-size portion of meat every time we were about to finish ours. “Are you ready for the noodles?” asks DK with a candid smile. Jack and I look at each other like two ignorant foreigners, suddenly realizing that we’ve been pigging out on the first course of the meal.
My head is spinning and I’m about to fall asleep but still put up my good follower face on as we head to a bar for a nightcap. Enter the Fourth Dimension: a sports bar, exactly like you would find in the US (except located deep in the belly of a giant skyscraper in Seoul), where large TV screens are broadcasting baseball games. The Koreans, much like the Japanese, got bitten by the baseball bug after the close interaction they had with the Americans fighting wars together. God only knows what they like about this sport. I find baseball just as exciting as cricket, except the British sport still carries the aura of mysterious rules that no one was ever able to explain to me. Add the jetlag and the exhaustion of a 10-hour flight: baseball is probably the last thing that can stop me from falling asleep. For a moment I wake up with a hint of excitement when I notice that the Giants are playing. “Go Giants!”… then I realize what would have been obvious if I was not exhausted, drunk and jetlagged: these are local teams in Korea, even though they have the same names as US baseball teams. Duh!
***
Jack and I timed our trip perfectly: after a hard day at work in the office we now have an entire week-end to enjoy Seoul as tourists. As we get ready to head back to the hotel on Friday evening, our host DK wishes us a good week-end… but his boss tells us “DK will take care of you on Sunday”. Jack and I accept the offer with a bit of embarrassment. DK smiles and nods as his Sunday family plans get crushed. I make a mental note that if one day my boss does this to me I must have the strength to tell him to go fuck himself – or least to make up a decent excuse.
***
How do I feel about hanging out naked with my boss and my newly met coworker? Too late, we are at the “Dragon Hill” spa and bathhouse. Uncomfortable silence as we soak in the scalding hot bath. Nervous chuckles as we get out of the water in a public display of private parts. No one dares to look directly at the others’ weaponry but it’s all about side vision. Big laughter as we jump into the cold pool. Imagine the feeling of your body being instantly frozen and your heart stopping at the same time. All you can do to express yourself is scream and laugh like a kid… then do it again. The ice is broken.
***
How did I let Jack and DK drag me into a War Memorial? I hate weapons, I consider most military folks as grown-up bullies, and I have serious issues justifying war in general. I drag my feet as we walk through the various exhibits designed to pump-up the national pride of South Korea citizens and remind them of the numerous attacks and constant threat of their North Korea neighbors. Then I see it: the giant “Statue of two brothers” during the 1994 Korean War. The elder brother, an officer from the South, is embracing his younger brother, a soldier from the North. The earth cracks open between them. Truth and Humanity. Love, pain and sorrow. I cry silently and attempt to hide my tears.
***
Seoul tower, a 777ft building culminating at 1,574ft above sea level. Breathtaking views of high-rise buildings as far as the eye can see. Near the top: a myriad of intertwined locks form different shapes (even Christmas trees). Each lock symbolizes a couple’s relationship. Lovers come to the tower to attach the lock and throw away the key. The legend says that they will remain together as long as the lock remains tied. A very old-fashioned and romantic tradition in this ultra-modern megalopolis.
***
Forty eight hours later, I am on my way back to the airport. I can’t wait to go home but I barely had enough time here to dip my toe into this city’s culture and lifestyle. In a bold move to claim that I am no longer a stupid tourist, I follow DK’s advice and take the bus to the airport. It’s faster and cheaper. Bus drivers keep each other informed of live traffic by radio messages – it works better than GPS. Countless skyscrapers fly through the window of the “limo bus”. Goodbye Seoul, until we meet again…
Cedric, 4/24/11
(trip to Seoul in October 2010)
A great read Cedric! You have done well to allow the inner human nature to break the epidermal layer. Your comments on Asian culture resonate very well with my travels to Japan. There paradoxes abound in these eastern cultures; what impresses me most, is the attention given to relationships, whether brotherly or the intimate/ romantic. Looking forward to more. . . Nick