Street Meat

So yesterday was the Korean Village trip. It was really, really neat. Basically, the village was a compilation of old-style houses that had been disassembled and transported from their original cities, and then reassembled in the village. Aside from the houses, there was also spectacular landscaping. We witnessed a traditional folk dance being performed, as well as tight-rope walking and an acrobatic feat that involved two slender women propelling each other 20 feet in the air using a see-saw. As an added bonus, I was able to put my 5 semesters of French study to work; I ran into a group of people from France who were on vacation visiting Korea for 10 days.

After coming home from the village, some friends and I went out for a night on the town. Seoul is an overwhelming city, even in our minuscule corner of it. We headed towards a nearby strip of bars that we had heard about, and when we got there, we were assaulted by what can only be described as the most awe-inspiring display of neon signs I will ever see. Imagine Las Vegas on enough steroids to warrant Congressional investigation and you might get an idea of what this little section of town looked like. We visited a total of 4 bars, which probably constituted about 0.2% of the bars in the area. And the best thing about these bars is their prices -- I spent a total of about 12 dollars all night, which covered drinks at all 4 bars and food.

Also lining the streets everywhere in Seoul are tiny street vendors. The majority of these vendors sell quick and tasty meat snacks. Tonight I actually tried one, a sort of Korean-style corn dog, and it was the best corn dog I have ever had. And it wasn't just the price (1 dollar) that gave it that distinction. My fellow EPIK teacher Eddie, who has spent the past 3 years teaching English in Japan, calls it "street meat". It's all extremely cheap and very popular, and in a city as large as Daegu, it should be almost accessible there as it is here.