Kamsahamnida

Because I was there to attend a wedding and didn't expect to have much time to roam around for sightseeing, Seoul became the first vacation I've taken without doing any research beforehand. Despite the fast spread of Korean films, drama series and songs throughout Asia, I've just never really been interested in the Korean culture. I'm not big on Kimchi nor Rain. The only Korean thing I can say I truly appreciate is their chopsticks. Maybe it was because of my lack of expectations that the trip ended up being such a wonderful experience.

Not the ice cream

As with any other of my trips, food played a major role in my visit to Seoul. The abundance of street food there is comparable to Taipei. I've lost track of the amount of sundae (vermicelli sausages with pig intestines inside) and tteokbokki (rice cake in spicy sauce) I'd eaten over the four days. Some vendors had better recipes than others. My favorite was the tteokbokki I had on the first day, which was cooked in a sauce that tasted like a thicker, spicy version of Campbell's alphabet soup. The restaurant meals were also very memorable, from the humble noodles, dumplings and pancakes to a full-blown seafood feast; from barbeque pork belly wrapped in lettuce to live octopus dipped in sesame seed oil. A drawback was that a lot of the food there is spicier than I can take. I must've eaten more chili powder on this trip than in my entire life up to last week.

"Ye!"

To my disappointment, the bride and groom chose to have a church wedding instead of a traditional Korean one. As good as the couple looked in their tux and white gown, their mothers in hanbok stole the spotlight. The ceremony was different from other church weddings I've seen in that there was a lot of bowing; that a 40-member choir, a conductor and a band were present, that two professional singers gave a performance in the middle of the ceremony, and that the pastor talked a lot—though I might've only gotten that impression because I understood none of it except for the occasional "Amen" and groom's ecstatic "ye" (Korean for "yes"). Everything else was short and sweet. Group photos were taken inside the church, and then one with all the relatives was done on the staircase outside. Guests were then led to the church's cafeteria for a buffet-style meal. There was no fancy reception, no toast, no games, no kissing.

Matchmaking

I've always known that all Asians are anal about traditions, but I hadn't realized that the South Koreans could be more conservative than the Chinese. Arranged marriage may not be as common now but matchmaking services are still very popular. The groom (a Korean American) and the bride (a local South Korean who's spent a few years studying in the US) were introduced through a matchmaking service earlier in the year. They communicated mostly via e-mail. The girl then took a short vacation to the states to meet the guy in person (anything more than a single short visit would've "devalued" the girl, according to her parents). They had but a few dates before their parents decided they should get married.

…And matchmaking

Arriving at Yongsan-ku we were looking for a good strip club to bring the groom to. But words were going around that we wouldn't be able to find any since cops have recently been busting these illegal businesses left and right. We finally settled for a Korean club in the basement of a hotel. A man can go in a Korean club and "book" any of the girls he sees inside, a waiter would then drag the girl over and encourage "communication", while they pour each other shots of whiskey or scotch. Interestingly, these girls do not work for the club, nor are they there to make money off anyone; they themselves are patrons who pay good money to get in. What the waiters hope to get are big tips off the men for introducing girls to them; what the men hope to get are young single girls to drink with and possibly bring to a hotel room upstairs (in which case the waiter gets an even bigger tip); and what the girls hope to get are free booze and, simply, the chance to meet young single men. Apparently, it's inappropriate for young singles to interact with members of the opposite sex and it's often necessary that some kind of a middleman initiates things. While those nearing the ripe age for marriage could pay professional matchmakers to do that, teenagers could only resort to these booking clubs and rely on the waiters.

What ends up happening sometimes though is that the men are neither young nor single, or they get too touchy and piss the girls off. A girl is free to excuse herself from the table if she dislikes the man/men for any reason; she can also refuse to be dragged around by the waiters, but few actually do. Because I had gone with a group that included men and we had a private karaoke room, I was immune from being booked. But every time I went outside to the bathroom or the dance floor, I risked getting kidnapped by waiters. As we were in the private room we couldn't see the girls outside, so instead of pointing out specific girls to book, our waiter just brought in girls from time to time. I'd been told that some girls could end up doing some crazy things in these booking clubs, but the ones that came into our room didn't do anything more than drinking, exchanging shallow conversations in broken English, and singing half a song. The waiter had warned us that some girls just dislike foreigners. I'd say we had about 10 girls in and out of our room throughout the night. Half of them tried to be a good sport and stuck around for a few minutes. Others clearly didn't want to be in our room and didn't take long before walking out of it.

Interesting stuff.

Oh, and we saw some Free Hugs people around a shopping district. I can never be sure whether they are soliciting or offering though.