Korea 2016
This webpage describes my vacation in the Republic of Korea from 18–28 September 2016. I was determined to go to South Africa this fall, after my wonderful experience there a year ago August, but as this summer progressed and I soon had to make a financial and temporal commitment to a destination, I realized I missed Korea so much that I had to return to northeast Asia. This might seem crazy, ten vacations to the same country in fourteen years, but I am so happy and comfortable in Korea, with its capital that has so many things I love keeping busy with, that the decision, after ruminating over it for a day or two, was easy. Now one could argue it's time to move on when you're cozy with something, that it's time to step outside your proverbial comfort zone. Well, because of my age and that I have traveled around the world to a great extent, that unless I'm in a location where I am in physical danger (i.e., some places in the U.S.), I'm never outside my comfort zone. That's the truth. Why not, then, return to the country whose people I respect above all others, where I can hear great musicians playing music I love, where I can fill my senses with as much art as they'll hold, where I can get such a kick out the precious babies and toddlers, and where I can admire those pulchritudinous women who have no earthly equal?
So here I am, back in Korea for what almost certainly will not be my last trip here.
(By the way, I wish I could take credit for the picture on top of this page but I can't; I found it online. Although it's undoubtedly photoshopped, it does represent perfectly how I think about Seoul.)
So here I am, back in Korea for what almost certainly will not be my last trip here.
(By the way, I wish I could take credit for the picture on top of this page but I can't; I found it online. Although it's undoubtedly photoshopped, it does represent perfectly how I think about Seoul.)
What's become one of the highlights of my Korean vacations is watching baseball games at Jamsil stadium, home to both the Doosan Bears and the LG Twins. Tickets are inexpensive and the games are usually entertaining, with the players not quite being the quality of their Major League counterparts but still solid.
I think most baseball fans agree that professional games in the U.S. take too long to complete: three hours, fifteen minutes being common and many go beyond that. And so much of that time is filled with the batters stepping out of the box adjusting their hitting gloves or pitchers slowing the game down in their own way. Korean professional baseball (KBO) suffers some of that as well but what keeps the games so much fun is what's happening in the stands, mostly on the home team side but also on the visitors'.
I can think of no sport or other form of popular entertainment that can compare to the singing and chanting and pounding of thunder-sticks that takes place in the stands of a KBO game. And when the home team is winning or rallying, the volume of the cheering, the singing in unison by thousands of rabid fans, and the beat of those inflatable bats is so inspiring and oddly touching that you can't help get carried away by this human tsunami. My words are woefully inadequate in capturing even the bare essence of this phenomenon—and the pictures below don't come close either. The late Harry Carey's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch was less than a dirge placed next to the performance of the Koreans, who start from the earliest innings and don't stop until the last out. To fully appreciate what I'm trying to convey you need to attend a KBO game and witness it for yourself, even if you're not a baseball fan.
This trip I saw two Doosan games, with the home team winning both, the first against the Samsung Lions in a close match, and the second, a slaughter, against the KT Wiz. The Bears won the championship last year and are well on their way to repeating in 2016.
I think most baseball fans agree that professional games in the U.S. take too long to complete: three hours, fifteen minutes being common and many go beyond that. And so much of that time is filled with the batters stepping out of the box adjusting their hitting gloves or pitchers slowing the game down in their own way. Korean professional baseball (KBO) suffers some of that as well but what keeps the games so much fun is what's happening in the stands, mostly on the home team side but also on the visitors'.
I can think of no sport or other form of popular entertainment that can compare to the singing and chanting and pounding of thunder-sticks that takes place in the stands of a KBO game. And when the home team is winning or rallying, the volume of the cheering, the singing in unison by thousands of rabid fans, and the beat of those inflatable bats is so inspiring and oddly touching that you can't help get carried away by this human tsunami. My words are woefully inadequate in capturing even the bare essence of this phenomenon—and the pictures below don't come close either. The late Harry Carey's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch was less than a dirge placed next to the performance of the Koreans, who start from the earliest innings and don't stop until the last out. To fully appreciate what I'm trying to convey you need to attend a KBO game and witness it for yourself, even if you're not a baseball fan.
This trip I saw two Doosan games, with the home team winning both, the first against the Samsung Lions in a close match, and the second, a slaughter, against the KT Wiz. The Bears won the championship last year and are well on their way to repeating in 2016.
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Though it doesn't show up well in the next five photos, thousands of Doosan Bears fans are shining their cell phones' "flashlight"
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My name in Hangeul
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I work for a Swiss company, Bühler, that makes industrial food processing equipment. We have well over 10,000 employees and a presence in 140 countries, including Korea. The woman I report to suggested I stop by the office in Seoul if I had time. Not only could I not think of a reason to do so, I wondered why I hadn't taken the time on one of my previous trips to stop in and say "hello." So that's what I did on Thursday morning.
I've been in the Songpa district many times, as that's where the Jamsil baseball stadium is located. Most of the sites associated with the 1988 Olympic Games are here, also. Buhler's office is located southeast of these, on the tenth floor of an office building in a mammoth "life" hub called Garden Five. I say "life" because in addition to the office buildings Garden Five has sprawling apartment complexes, giant indoor shopping malls, parks, light industry, and recreation areas. It was impressive, to say the least—a desirable part of town to live in for those who like city life.
Inside the office I met Sammy, who's a regional manager, and Eric, an engineer. (Their business cards have both their Korean given name, a chosen Western given name, and their surname.) I spoke with Eric for about twenty minutes, discussing the company, our common technology, Korea and why I love it so much, and how I was occupying my time in the city on this trip. He was gracious, as all Koreans are with guests. I now know two more locals, two more colleagues, and spent time in a part of Seoul that was new to me.
A good way to occupy a couple of hours.
I've been in the Songpa district many times, as that's where the Jamsil baseball stadium is located. Most of the sites associated with the 1988 Olympic Games are here, also. Buhler's office is located southeast of these, on the tenth floor of an office building in a mammoth "life" hub called Garden Five. I say "life" because in addition to the office buildings Garden Five has sprawling apartment complexes, giant indoor shopping malls, parks, light industry, and recreation areas. It was impressive, to say the least—a desirable part of town to live in for those who like city life.
Inside the office I met Sammy, who's a regional manager, and Eric, an engineer. (Their business cards have both their Korean given name, a chosen Western given name, and their surname.) I spoke with Eric for about twenty minutes, discussing the company, our common technology, Korea and why I love it so much, and how I was occupying my time in the city on this trip. He was gracious, as all Koreans are with guests. I now know two more locals, two more colleagues, and spent time in a part of Seoul that was new to me.
A good way to occupy a couple of hours.
Songpa area of Seoul
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One of the Garden Five Works buildings in Songpa-gu
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On of the Garden Five Works buildings in Songpa-gu
Bühler Seoul
Bühler Seoul
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In the atrium of one of the Garden Five Works buildings
Bühler Seoul
With engineer Eric
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On five of my last six trips to Korea I spent all my time in Seoul; on my first three vacations here I did travel around the country and enjoyed the places I visited. But the capital city is what I love most about Korea. Having said that I took part of a day on Saturday and visited Suwon, the capital of Gyeonggi province, about twenty miles south of Seoul. Suwon has a population of 1.2 million, has eleven universities, and is home to Samsung's research and development center. The KBO team KT Wiz is based in Suwon, and cellist Han-na Chang, who's represented generously in my music library, hails from Suwon. The photos below are the parts of the city I saw during my walkabout there. I'm happy I took the half-day to see Suwon, as it was modern, clean, and quiet, but on the basis of of my short time bumming around I probably won't rush back to see it again.
Gyeonggi Arts Center
I'm not sure of the Grace Kelly connection here
Suwon
Suwon
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Gyeonggi Arts Center
Suwon
Suwon
Suwon
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Another highlight of my visits to Seoul, even more than the outrageous baseball games, is attending concerts, usually at the Seoul Arts Center, any day of the week. This trip my goal was make three, but a last-minute invitation by the proprietor of an art gallery at which I've spent mucho dinero over the years made it four. The first concert was cello recital by Min-Ji Kim, who played Beethoven, Britten, Hindemith, Brahms. The second, a freebie, by invitation only, was a performance by a tenor, baritone, and soprano, singing excerpts from operas. This concert was above the Tong-In Gallery with a small audience that included the American, New Zealand, and Japanese ambassadors to Korea. After the show, while guests were mingling about, I met the Japanese ambassador and his wife, greeting them in their language, startling them for a moment. They were both polite and restrained, I can't deny, but, evil I often am regarding the Rising Sun, I couldn't help but think "Why you so-and-so, showing your face in this wonderful country after your nation's historical barbarity to it." Happily, the thought passed quickly. The next performance, a little later that same Saturday night, was a recital by soprano Cristina Park, who also sang excerpts from operas. Then finally, two evenings later, a concert for solo violin by Cho-Yoon Jung, who played the three Bach sonatas. All of these musicians were spectacular beyond words, local artists with world-class talent and skill.
I think I mentioned this in one of my other Korean picture sets on this site, but I don't think there's anywhere else in the world where for US$20 I can listen to musicians of the highest caliber from a fifth row center seat virtually whenever I want to. Yet another reason to love the Land of the Morning Calm.
I think I mentioned this in one of my other Korean picture sets on this site, but I don't think there's anywhere else in the world where for US$20 I can listen to musicians of the highest caliber from a fifth row center seat virtually whenever I want to. Yet another reason to love the Land of the Morning Calm.
Pointing to Kukkiwon
After the recital at the Tong-In Gallery. The soprano is in red.
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Seoul Arts Center lookin' good on a Sunday afternoon
Gangnam at night
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The updated and now fabulous main tourist information center in downtown Seoul. Yeah, yeah, I know you're thinking, "What's with this guy, it's just an information center?" No, Grasshopper, it used to be "just" an information center; now it's more like a museum.
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Incredible Seoul
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Incredible Seoul
By way of contrast, and I don't mean to disparage Ecuador, where I had a wonderful vacation this past August, but I did not see a vertical surface in Quito that did not have graffiti scrawled on it. Cities in western Europe are similarly plagued. Seoul-proper has a population of 10.3 million; the metro, about 25 million. I have yet to see one square millimeter of graffiti not only in Seoul but anywhere in Korea.
A 2016 estimate says the Republic of Korea has 50.8 million people. I like to think I have 50.8 million friends there because of how kind and thoughtful are the locals. But in the traditional sense of the word friend I suppose I really have just one, Kyong-Oh, shown in the photo below after our lunch at a stomach-friendly restaurant. I first met Kyong-Oh in 2003, on my initial trip to Korea, when she was working in the business center at the Renaissance Hotel. She helped me with directions to the main bus terminal, to a grocery store, and with sending back to the U.S. several books I had bought, lightening my suitcase load for the trip home. When I first saw her I almost fell over, thinking she was probably the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. (And Korea is overflowing with overwhelmingly beautiful women.) Yet she was as modest and sweet as she was gorgeous. Two years later when I made my second trip to Korea and stayed at the Renaissance for half of my Seoul-time, I found she was still in the business center...and somehow she remembered me. Well, with each of the next eight trips over eleven years, I've visited with Kyong-Oh, catching up on our lives—she has a husband and son—and discussing what's happening in Korea. After Belle-Essence bought the Renaissance, Kyong-Oh got frustrated with her position there—including time before the acquisition, she went from the business center to being Chef Coordinator to working in marketing—and has retired. But as we were able to meet this year for lunch I'm certain we'll be able to do the same in 2017.
With Kyong-Oh
The Seoul Renaissance Hotel, where I've stayed for almost all my visits to the capital, changed hands earlier this calendar year to the Belle-Essence, as I mentioned in the paragraph above. I have such wonderful memories of the Marriott property, from the staff, the ideal location, the fitness center, and the overwhelming breakfast, that I was relieved to see that the transition to the new owners was seamless. But...two days after I checked out, the Belle-Essence closed. According the Kyong-Oh and those at the hotel, the structure will be demolished and developers will build a commercial center that might include a boutique hotel. If that does happen and it's open next fall, then that is an option as a place for me to stay; however, I might seek out another property altogether, one where I can apply my reward points.
The last days of Belle-Essence, formerly the Renaissance
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Assuming I return next year, which is a good bet, I'll probably stay at the J.W. Marriott in Central City
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Those with whom I enjoy a personal relationship or who have looked at any of the Korean pages on this website know how close to my heart is the Republic of Korea. I daresay I probably love it more than I do Hong Kong. But I'm not the only one who's been touched by this country and its people. In her book about her amazing father, Orson Welles, Chris Welles Feder (no relation...ha, ha) recalls a letter she wrote to a friend in Chicago about her experience in Korea when she was there with her husband in 1958. I couldn't say it better.
Whenever Norman and I are invited into a Korean home, we can't help feeling that we have been admitted
into a more evolved civilization. In all my life I have never felt such warmth and respect for a people as a
whole.
If I could afford to live in Seoul—it's expensive—and be able to keep my firearms, then I would, without hesitation, move and spend the rest of my life there. We all know that no place is perfect, and Korea has some challenges it needs to work out, but taking into account all attributes of a country and a people–and I can say this because I will never run for public office—I think it's Korea, in the twenty-first century, that is the greatest nation on earth.
Whenever Norman and I are invited into a Korean home, we can't help feeling that we have been admitted
into a more evolved civilization. In all my life I have never felt such warmth and respect for a people as a
whole.
If I could afford to live in Seoul—it's expensive—and be able to keep my firearms, then I would, without hesitation, move and spend the rest of my life there. We all know that no place is perfect, and Korea has some challenges it needs to work out, but taking into account all attributes of a country and a people–and I can say this because I will never run for public office—I think it's Korea, in the twenty-first century, that is the greatest nation on earth.