Seouled Out!!!

Last weekend I traveled to this nation's capital and residence (including Greater Seoul) of a quarter of the country's population for my co-worker's birthday party. The heavily populated city is ranked second in population in the world when it's metro area is taken in to account. So you would think it would feel as such to this son of a part time farmer (this is my moniker if I ever run for office). Oddly enough, it didn't feel big to the extent one would think.

Have I become accustomed to cities so quickly that one much bigger than mine doesn't feel so different? In any case, I really felt like I was still in Daejeon, but just with more people on the streets (and MEXICAN FOOD!). This familiarity of the city is also a testament to its similarity to Daejeon, and I'm guessing the majority of S.Korean cities. Considering that North and South Korea together are roughly the size of Minnesota, I suppose it's like the differences between a small Minnesotan city and Minneapolis-St.Paul.

Though my party instincts were fully dormant (I packed it in at 12:30, my apologies), it was good to see the hordes of people in Seoul. One of the bars we patronized was called Zen Bar and the scene inside was absolutely odd. Sometimes Korea really catches me off guard. Nearly the entire time we were there a video screen with Destiny's Child (are they even still together?) played one of their concerts. Of course this didn't have anything to do with the music the DJ was spinning, but for some reason it was the sole video that played that night. Occasionally (every ten songs) "Crazy, Beautiful" would be played by the DJ to add to the D.C. overload.

Sunday was spent the Itaewon section of Seoul, which is basically like International Town, or Little World. Instead of having sections--Little America, Wee Canada, Tiny Nigeria, they are all in one spot. Yanks, Canucks, Africans, and Arabs were all part of the mishmash contained in the area. Though I couldn't convince anyone in our group to go to an African restaurant for lunch, I fully intend to go to one when I make my return (as well as another Mexican restaurant!).

Above: Itaewon- Where you can see a McDonald's, Starbucks, and an All-American Diner right next to each other.