Adventures in Geoje-do!

My friends and I decided to mix it up and go to another city to see what it had to offer. We chose to go to Geoje-do, an island near Busan. A bridge was just completed sometime last month, so we were able to take a 14 dollar round trip via bus instead of a 40 dollar ferry ride. The trip was only about an hour and a half and we got there and back fairly easy. While there, we went to an abandoned amusement park that closed down several years ago. We wanted to see it for ourselves, take some pictures and get creeped out. Read more about the park and what happened there:

http://www.nileguide.com/blog/2010/08/28/8-abandoned-theme-parks-abroad-open-for-exploration/

Anyway, we asked around and eventually got directions to it. After walking up monstrous hills and asking for a little more help, we found the entrance and "snuck in."

Upon entering, we stopped immediately in our tracks when we saw other people there. It was at this point we began to fear for our lives when we saw these people were also holding guns. I decided to turn around and forget about the entire thing, but Kavita (the girl who went in first with me) started to talk to the seemingly nice gentlemen. Turns out, it was just a giant game of tag with BB guns. They were more than willing to stop what they were doing for a while to let us explore and they even wanted to stop and pose for pictures with us.

It was bizarre walking through the park which has been left to mother nature's mercy. Trees have started to grow around the rides and the paths are barely walkable. I don't know how much of the story is accurate, but it was still fun to walk around. It's strange that it has been left for abandonment, seeing as it's not far from town (once we knew where it was, it was easy to see from different parts of the city). It would be interesting to return to Okpo Land in 10 years to see what kind of shape it's in.

Day trippin'

Our school had the day off yesterday. I'm not sure if it had to do with the college entrance exams many students took (comparable to the ACTs or SATs) but I'm not one to complain about a day off. Took a trip to the city of Gyungju, the old capital of Korea. It was only about an hour away and was really cheap to get to by bus. I'm told this entire city is a world heritage site, or some of it at least. It was so pretty with the trees changing colors and provided a nice getaway from Busan, if only for a small time.

Those aren't hills, but tombs.

A lot of couples took bike rides during the afternoon.

The weather and the changing trees were beautiful.

A day in the life

I decided I would try to give everyone a little peek into what life in South Korea actually consists of. I'm always finding things that are specific to Korea, but I haven't documented them for everyone to read yet. So here they are.

-I've been asked what my blood type is by several Koreans. When I say I have absolutely no idea they look at me as if I grew a second head. They're shocked. I guess a blood type tells a lot about a person, so I usually just make an answer up.

-I really can't explain to you the noises you'll hear in Korea. I think my favorite, and one I find most bizarre, is the war-like propaganda I'll randomly hear coming from fruit stands. I'm not kidding. You walk by a little stand in the back of a van selling something like herbs or fruit and there will be a bizarre voice yelling something from a loud speaker. It really is difficult to explain. One friend told me about a comic he read in which two people were walking by this bizarre event. One friend asked what was going on and the other said, "Either the nazis are invading or nectarines are on sale." And it's so true.

-Socks. There are entire tables dedicated to selling socks at various markets here in Busan and I've heard they are a popular gift to give.

-It's totally normal for hospital patients here to leave the hospital for a little bit and roam the streets, gown on and IV drip attached. I've seen patients in restaurants, stores, taking walks. It's just no big deal.

-Service. People here really will do their best to always make sure you're accommodated and comfortable. From my short time in the country, I see that they really do aim to please. My best example of service comes from a man working at a 7/11 right outside my apartment. I go in the store frequently to buy all sorts of items: water, food, candy, beer. One time I went in and the bar code on an item didn't work right, so he gave me a free energy drink for my "time wasted," which was about 4 seconds. Another time I went in to buy just a bottle of soju, so he gave me a bag of potato chips for free, because he didn't want me to get sick. He's the best.

There are so many other things I have noticed about the culture and people, I could go on for days. I make it a point to jot down these observations so I can write about them, share them, remember them. This is just a small chapter in what could be a book about, "Why Korea is so Awesome."