When I decided to move to Korea I knew it would be hard to say good-bye to my family and that I would not get to see them for a long time. So when my parents decided to come and visit I was more than thrilled! They booked their tickets in February and the countdown began. May 4th couldn’t have come soon enough. I had a countdown in my classrooms counting the days until they would be in Korea and I talked about them every day in class.
Finally, May 4th arrived! They were arriving while I was at school so I sent them directions on how to get to my place by bus. I was excepting them to arrive in Migeum around 6:30, which would give me time to go home quick, drop off my bag, and go wait by the bus stop. I was more than thrilled when I rounded the corner and saw my dad’s head towering over all the other Koreans. I ran as fast as I could and practically jumped into my dad’s arms! My arms weren’t big enough; I wanted to wrap myself around both of them! Surprisingly I didn’t cry as much as I thought I was going to, I think I was just too excited to see them! We gathered their things and headed off to their home for the next week. They stayed in my apartment while they were here and I stayed with Jared for the week. It was great for them to have a place they could go to and relax that wasn’t a hotel.
After they dropped off their stuff, we headed over to Jared’s so I could drop off all the things that they brought for me! I think one of their suitcases was entirely for me and was pretty much a Target store in a suitcase!
After I unpacked my goodies, we headed out for their first Korean meal. Now, I could have been kind and took them to something mild and not so Korean, I decided to have them dive right in. We went to one of my favorite restaurants for one of my favorite Korean meals, Kimchi Jeon Gol. It is quite spicy but they were both troopers and tried it. I think it was a bit too spicy for them, especially as the first meal, but they enjoyed it. Since Jared and I frequent this restaurant, they know us pretty well and were excited to see my mom and dad there. While we were eating one of the men that work there came over and gave us some drinks to try. They were all some sort of soju (the equivalent of vodka) mixed with different juices. This was of course free because in Korea, service is something that happens regularly. The drinks were good, the food was good, and when we were done we headed up to Jared’s so they could relax while they waited for Jared to get home from work.
It was great to be able to sit and talk to my parents face to face and not on a computer screen. We could actually have a normal conversation and not one that gets interrupted every 10 minutes because the connection goes bad. It was also great for them to get to met Jared. He got home from work we chatted for a little while longer, until mom was falling asleep on the couch, and I walked them back to their home for the next week.
The next morning couldn’t come soon enough. I was so excited that they were there; it was hard to fall asleep. The morning came sooner than I thought and before I knew it, I was over at their place getting ready for the days to come. The plan for the day was to walk around Miegum in the morning, then head off to Suwon to walk the fortress wall, and then leave for Gyeongju from Suwon. It was great to show them where I hang out and where I run every morning. The weather was perfect and as we walked along the path we stopped for more than a few pictures. We made it back to my place around mid-day, loaded the car, and set off for Suwon.
We spent about 2-3 hours walking the fortress wall in Suwon. It was a perfect day to climb the wall, the sky was clear and the views were great. They got a wonderful view of the city and what most cities in Korea look like. I was trying not to wear them out too much, Suwon fortress wall can be quite exhausting and I knew the next few days were going to bring much more walking. But they were troopers and made it most of the way around the wall. We ended up cutting a bit off the wall walk and walked through the city. It was really cool to see the homes the wall is surrounding and to see the old buildings next to the new ones.
We made it back to the car around 4:45 and decided to hit the road for Gyeongju. It is quite a drive down there and we wanted to be driving in day light so mom and dad could see the scenery and so we didn’t get there too late. The drive was nice with minimal traffic and the mountains were great. We stopped for dinner around 7 o’clock and mom and dad got to have Korean BBQ. This is a great meal of BBQ’d meat cut into small pieces and wrapped in lettuce leafs. Mix in some samjang sauce and plenty of veggies and that is Korean BBQ. They really enjoyed it, probably because it wasn’t as spicy as some other meals, and they got to use their hands and not their chopsticks!
After dinner we got back on the road and finished the drive to Gyeongju. We arrived around 9:30 and had no trouble finding our hotel. Once in our rooms, we had a few night caps and called it a night. Friday we got up early and headed out to see the sights of Gyeongju. Since Gyeongju has so much history, there is a lot to see. We started the day up in the mountains to see the giant granite Buddha statue carved into the mountain. After that, we shot down to the Bulguksa Temple. This temple was originally built in 528 but it has been rebuilt and renovated many times since then. It is also home to two of the most significant pagodas in Korea. It was a lot of fun walking around, taking pictures, and acting like dorks (as Eichtens do when we are together). After the temple, we were a bit hungry so we headed for lunch. Gyeongju is famous for their Ssam Bap. This is a meal that consists of many sides, lettuce wraps, rice, and sauces. You pretty much take a bit of the sides, some rice, put it on a lettuce leaf, dip it in some sauce and eat. It is really good and not too spicy.
After lunch we set off for the grass tombs. These tombs are where they used to bury royalty and those who were important during the dynasties. Now the tombs aren’t just normal tombs, they are huge hills! And they are scattered all around the city. The important people were all grouped together and apparently the more important you were, the bigger your hill was. Once we were done there, we continued our walk on to Anapji Pond. This was a pond created for the Silla Dynasty so they could enjoy all its beauty. It is a gorgeous place with the traditional Korean palace and temple houses, along with the foundation of the original buildings. It is even better at night because everything is lit up. We didn’t spend too much time there during the day because it was a bit chilly and we knew we were going back after dinner.
Also, mom and dad had to rest before dinner, and of course we needed to have a few cocktails before dinner. After a quick rest and the cocktails, we headed out to find some dinner. Jared and I had been in Gyeongju the previous November and we had found a really good Dak Doritang restaurant. We were hell bent on finding the restaurant again but it meant a bit of aimless wandering around the back streets, trying to remember where we ate. Mom and dad were losing faith quickly and I was starting to think the restaurant had closed. Jared, on the other hand, was set on finding the restaurant. He set off by himself and in less than 5 minutes had found it. I was very happy he had found it and that mom and dad got to have a delicious meal. They really enjoyed it, although it was spicy, and we had a great dinner.
After dinner we headed to Anapji Pond so we could see it in all its night time glory. It was well worth going back for and mom and dad understood why it is so much better at night. We had a great night walking the city, talking, and just enjoying each other’s company. We made it back to the hotel around 10:30, had a quick nightcap, and called it a night.
The next morning we were in no rush to get out of town. We had seen pretty much everything we went to see in Gyeongju so we spent the morning relaxing, having coffee, and just chatting about life. It was fun to hear Jared and my parents compare “war stories” about their travels and the many different, sometimes scary, experiences they had. Jared recalling 12 hour train trips across the Middle East and mom and dad remembering packed bus trips to Pakistan, every story a bit more dodgy than the last but extremely interesting.
Around 11:30 we decided to get a move on. Jared was taking the train back because he had a wedding to get to, but mom and dad and I were headed to Danyang to see the caves. We dropped Jared off at the train station and were on our way around 1 o’clock. It was about a 2 and a half hour drive but it was a gorgeous day and we got a great view of the Korean country side. Around 3:30 we arrived in Danyang and found the caves. I had been to Danyang a few times before on a bike but never to just visit. It was nice to be able to do some sightseeing for a change.
The caves were really cool and something completely different for mom and dad to see. The caves were about 450 million years old and it was really interesting being inside them and trying to figure out how they built stairs in them so we could walk around. After the cave tour, we decided to head home. I took the scenic route home so they could see where I bike when I bike to Danyang. It was fun to be able to share so much of my life with them when they were here. The drive home was nice and relatively painless. We ran into a bit of traffic in Seoul but that is expected.
We got back to Bundang and mom and dad were hungry for some non-Korean food so I took them to Travelers, a bar I hang out at. It was opened by a Canadian and it’s a great place for foreigners to hangout. And they have western food! We went and had salads and a few drinks and met back up with Jared there. We were all pretty tired so we didn’t last long, and around 11 we headed home to call it a night. We had a big day of walking around Seoul in front of us so we had to get our sleep.
