Adventures in Social Studies

Come on Bronx!!!

My thoughts while exploring this wonderful city:

1. For being such a young country (1954) they really have a lot of pride and a culture built on respect.

2. I think that people in Korea value freedom much more than we do in America… Maybe because they fought for it themselves. I know we fought for our freedom, but no one is still living from that war. Many Koreans pre-date their war for independence.

3. Kids are kids no matter where you are… One thing that Korean kids have that many American kids don’t, a sense of pride and respect for education and authority.

4. There is a sense of unity amongst Koreans… In America I think we pride ourselves more on our heritage rather than our current affliations… Heritage is important, but does it outweigh being a citizen of the Unites States of America?

Answer this kiddos:

1. Why is King Se-Jong so famous?
2. What is Korea’s pride and joy?
3. What naval contribution did the Koreans make?

After waiting a bit at the airport and getting random stares from all the locals, Seth finally arrived and we boarded the number 3300 bus to Ilsan. The trip to Ilsan was about 40 minutes and Seth and I just caught up as I gawked at the Korean Metropolis. My first impressions are that it is very busy here day and night. Many people are out in the streets at all hours .

Galbi

When Seth and I returned to his apartment I quickly dropped my stuff off and we went across the street to dinner. For dinner we had Galbi, which is a form of Korean BBQ. We went to a beef galbi place and started to cook our own dinner almost as soon as we sat down. The servers here sprint from table to table, and best of all tipping isn’t customary. There is also a call button at every table just incase you need anything. With our beef we received unlimited lettuce wraps, onions and peppers, mashed potatoes, and of course Kim Chi.

Nore-bang!

After Dinner we met up with some of Seth’s friends and hung out at a restaurant for about an hour until we decided to go to a Nore-bang, or Korean Karoake. It is much different than our Karoake. In a Nore-bang you and your friends rent a room sing your hearts out. They had both American and Korean songs and it didn’t take me long to belt out Creep by Radiohead at the top of my lungs, thank you Rockband.

It was getting pretty late after Nore-bang so we decided to call it a night…

Downtown Ilsan

So I just landed in Korea and everything went very smoothly. The flight took 12 hours and I was able to read a little of my book, work on some of my masters homework, and watch 4 movies. Singapore Airlines was very nice and eventhough I was in economy class I recieved 3 meals, unlimited drinks, and my very own entertainment center with movies, tv shows, and even video games.
The first thing I noticed after landing is that I was much bigger than everyone and everything is designed for a shorter type of person. A very close second realization is that the Korean culture is always in a hurry. After getting through customs I visited the currency exchange to get some
Korean Won. After handing over 100 precious American dollars the lady behind the glass handed me a pile of green bills that look like play money, a handful of coins, and of course a friendly Korean smile.
I am now waiting for Seth to emerge from the crowd of unfamiliar faces to lead me on an adventure of a lifetime.

Korea + 1 hour