A while back I started a series I like to call Asia in Threes. OK, this series actually started in December of 2005 and quickly died with my scanner. Now I have a new scanner. Though I don’t like the slow, manual method of scanning, I do like looking through the pictures again. So off we go to look at the next three pictures.
A cold welcome
It was cold in the Republic of Korea, otherwise known as South Korea or, my favorite, RoK (”rock”). We shivered all the way to our destination, riding rumbling Daewoo buses. Daewoo is a brand that I only knew from some free T.V. my parents once received with a car purchase. I had some inkling that they made cars as well.
The word “Daewoo” remained in our RoK lexicon throughout our stay on the peninsula. Soon we were forming our own twisted versions of common songs, as if we were riding the bus to a summer day camp. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was our tune of the moment, having just come down from the high of an old-fashioned, American Christmas. “Daewoo buses” were definitely gifted in our version of the song.
Our first night’s stay was at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, though I’m unsure exactly what city we were in. It may sound unique that we slept at a Lutheran seminary in South Korea, but it probably isn’t. Surprising to all of us, the South Korean population is 25% Christian. I imagine the U.S. military presence had something to do with this.
The students were on break, so the dorms were ours. Unfortunately, the seminary had a heating problem and we froze our buns off all night. It probably wasn’t the best way to start a trip in a foreign land, but at least we had each other.
In the morning we were treated to a breakfast including a lot of traditional foods. Another rude awakening, as this was my single biggest fear for the whole trip. Eating. To this point in my life, I had never even eaten at a Chinese buffet. Not that anything my American palette would have drawn me to would compare to real, traditional Asian cuisine. This particular meal offered enough for me to fill my stomach, however.
Pre-dawn found us back on the Daewoo buses, riding toward Taegu and our military home for the next several days. This trip allowed us to visit a rest stop and browse the aisles of a South Korean convenience store. I selected the most innocuous candy I could find. But my friend, Tom, choose a different path.
I believe most of the students on our weeks-long trip to Asia lost weight. I certainly did. Tom gained weight on this trip. He tried everything, including the on-the-go delicacy of dried squid, pictured above.
On this particular stop we found some more company names that rang a bell. It was clear that a few companies absolutely dominated the South Korean landscape. For instance, the vending machines at the rest stop were all clearly labeled “Goldstar,” which you would know today as LG. (LG is the abbreviation for “Lucky Geumseong,” translated as “Lucky Venus” or, in other words, “Lucky Goldstar”.) We also saw advertisements for Samsung Insurance.
At last we arrived back on American soil, in the form of Camp Henry. We had recreational activities available to us. We had a dedicated military guide of suspect morals. And we had discipline. I was yelled at by a sergeant for leaving our line to go eat at the base’s Popeye’s Chicken. Apparently I hadn’t asked permission to make the trip.
We stayed four to a room at the military sports facility on base. Above, Deke and Tom are watching some South Korean TV. Note they are not wearing their winter jackets. Thanks, American taxpayers! We mostly stuck around the MTV Korea and CNN International stations. Soon we would be watching something that struck closer to home on the Korean tube. But that will have to wait for another day…
Technorati Tags: South Korea
