South Korea- Part 1

A view of the city of Busan.

 It has been about 9 years since I've been out of the country and when my girlfriend moved to Busan, Korea to teach english I was excited at the opportunity to explore this part of the world. Excited but nervous at the fact that I would be traveling alone to places where english isn't the dominant language. I would soon learn that pointing and smiling will get you far in any country. My journey would begin in Washington D.C. to stop in L.A. and then off to Beijing, China and finally to Busan, Korea.

 Getting off the plane in Busan I soon realized that I would be the obvious minority receiving stare after stare from passing citizens. Being the foreigner in a country where 99% of the population is of Korean ethnicity you could say that my blonde hair and blue eyes would catch some attention. It was humbling to be the outsider but in a way I liked the feeling of being out of place. Koreans though are one of the most friendly and hospitable people making me feel quite safe and welcome.

Waiting for the metro in D.C.

Beijing Airport.

Flying into Busan

Haeundae Fish Market. 

The first night I got there we walked to dinner and along the way we stopped by the Haeundae fish market. These markets have everything from live fish, dried fish, fruits, vegetables, seaweed and plenty of other things to look at. Later in the week we went to an even bigger one(I'll have a post for that soon)

Our first night we ate Galbi(BBQ) and it was amazing! Cooking beef and veggies over hot coals and wrapping it in mint or lettuce leaf was one of the best meals I've had. Cooking meals in front of you seemed to be the thing as most restaurants did this in one form or another.

Lauren getting into some Galbi(Korean BBQ)

The outside seating at our first dinner spot. The guy on the left was our server(notice him texting)

The next day I came to work with Lauren and I was fortunate enough to come during Chuseok which from what I gathered on Wiki is a harvest festival where Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food. But I was excited because all the kids got dressed up in traditional outfits called Hambok's.

One of the teachers lent Lauren and I these outfits. They were called "hanbok's" which are the traditional wedding attire.

Lunch at one of the many amazing restaurants. They served shabu-shabu which is where you cook thin meat and veggies in a broth.

Stay tuned as I have plenty more to share!!!