KKorean Odyssey

When we Last saw our hero, Lee, he was in the ancient Silla capital of Gyeongju, in the south of the country, near Pusan. Lee had already been spent five days in this nation of 50 million people, the world’s 10th largest economy, and, though he knew they were there, he had still not yet seen a Krispy Kreme. Will Lee find that sugary treat before he has to return to the Kremeless land of China? Now, for the exciting conclusion of the KKorean Odyssey:

Hey Yall
I left Gyeongju and went to a city called Daegu, where I had to transfer on his way to Sokcho and Seuranksan National Park. Nothing interesting in Daegu, but while I was trying to find the right bus station, I saw a women hurrying off to work. As she scurried down the subway stairs, I noticed she was wearing Krispy Kreme uniform. Before I could ask here where the Krispy Kreme was, I was accosted by a Korean Jehovah’s Witness, handing me “The Watchtower.” Before I could get away, the girl in the uniform had disappeared.
Sokcho, the place I was going to, is a small city on the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, too small to have a Krispy Kreme. Sokcho is quite close to North Korea. In fact, it was a part of North Korea before 1950, but it became part of South Korea in the deadly back and forth that costs the lives of millions of Americans and Chinese at the end of the Korean war. While there, I went to hike in Seuraksan National Park.
Originally, I wanted to hike to the top of the mountain and sleep in a shelter in the park, but it was raining, so they actually closed most of the park. Instead of climbing a mountain, I climbed into a gorge and then climbed a smaller mountain. The park was really pretty, mostly made up of a series of prominent granite mountains surging out of the Sea of Japan.
When I started the hike, I meet up with these two local taxi drivers who also happened to be hiking the same route. They couldn’t speak much (any) English, so we had to communicate through charades. Nevertheless, they were really cool and let me share in their lunch (kimchi and rice) while the cold rain sprinkled down on us.
That night, because I couldn’t sleep on the mountain, I decided to stay in a Jjimjibang. A Jjimjibang is kind of like a spa or a sauna attached to a clubhouse. When you arrive, men and women are separated into two different locker rooms. Here, you strip down butt naked and put your things in a locker. Then, you go into the main room which is filled with showers, several jacuzzis, an ice pool and a couple of saunas. I would sit in one jacuzzi for ten minutes, then jump into a hotter one for another ten minutes. The trick though, is to go from there to the ice pool, which is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving your body totally numb (and comfortable) after a minute or so. Then it’s back into the hot jacuzzi.
After about half an hour I would pop out of the pool room back to my locker, put on the pajamas they provide and go into the common area, where men and women can come together, watch tv, play games, sit in the common saunas, go online or sleep. It’s here that I would lay down on a mat in the middle of the floor and get some sleep. The next morning I would get up, do the jacuzzi thing all over again, and then head out to do some sightseeing. The pools and the place to stay cost about $6 for the whole night, so the way I looked at it, it was a cheap hotel with an awesome bath.
But before I could go sightseeing, I wanted to try to get to a Krispy Kreme. I had found one on the map, just outside of Sinchon Subway Station. Just two more days left in Seoul, so I decided to try and hit the hot now then. I bought a ticket for Sincheon Station, traveled about 45 minutes, changing trains twice, but when I got to Sincheon I couldn’t find the KK. I asked someone, they looked on my map and informed me that I was at the wrong station. I had gone to Sincheon Station, the KK was at Sinchon. Damn Dipthongs!
Despondent, I regrouped, eating breakfast at a bakery and deciding to take the subway to the southern suburbs of Seoul to see a giant fort. On subways, people regularly come by and try to sell things, sometimes the crazy people just come and yell, only to leave a minute or two later. This time, an old lady came in, yelling and waving a book. I thought she was another crazy, so I tried to mind my own business. When she was done yelling, she came up, stopped just in front of me and shook my hand, saying in English, “thank you.”
As she went into the next car to yell again, I realized the book she was waving was the Bible. I was a little disturbed that she thanked me. I guess she thought that, because I was white, she owed me something for bringing Christianity to Korea. That’s not particularly good for Korean Christianity if they still think its that white man religion.
The next morning was my last day in Korea. I double checked to make sure that I was going to the right station. I bought my ticket, and in fifteen minutes, I was at the right station. But, when I got to where it was supposed to be on the map, it wasn’t there. I asked around, but no one seemed to know where it was. I walked across the street, anxious, but then I noticed a sign for Coffee and Doughnuts.
Found it!
I bought half a dozen, for $7 (more than my accommodations the previous night). At first, she just grabbed them from the pile of glazed doughnuts, but I quickly let her know that I wanted the hot ones. After I scarfed down the six doughnuts, I went and did the only healthy thing you could do after eating KK: I climbed a mountain.
Korea was a pretty cool place. I was surprised at how much it was like Japan, where I had spent a summer in 2005. I meet a lot of cool people, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, American. Also, during my ten days of travel, I spent a grand total $30 on accommodations because I stayed in these Jjimjibangs, airports, or at the dorm of a Chinese friend. Pretty good for a country where a cheap motel costs about $30.
Best,
Lee
'He will tell you history and no lies.'" Book 3, line 24, Homer’s Odyssey