At the beginning of November, a few of my crazy futbol (soccer) friends and I jumped on a plane and flew to Gwangju, South Korea. It is a southern city in South Korea. In fact it is the 6th largest city in the country. Once we arrived (25 minute flight), we got on the subway and headed into the city. We spent a while walking around trying to pick the best area to find a hotel. We were lucky enough o have a Lonely Planet with us (one of the best guide books ever). The guide book directed us to the art area of the city. It was said to have the best shopping and night life as well. For a group of 20 something year olds, these things are important! Our hotel ended up being smack dab in the middle of the chaos of the city. There were shops, restaurants, bars, and clubs all within walking distance! We were set.
The rest of the day was spent looking at art exhibits and one city temple. They were doing mosaics on the walls lining the streets. It was so interesting to see the artists actually putting them together and creating the art. We walked into what is typically an everyday market but for the month it was turned into an art gallery! This event occurs every two years in Gwangju. All of the booths had artists selling and displaying their work. The artists varied in style and ages. I was surprised by how many young artists there were. Some were even elementary school students trying to sell their art! Like most art galleries, the prices were a little steep for me. I went home empty handed but had a great time soaking it all in. I also stepped into a shop where these older women were making fresh kimchi. **
** For those of you that do not know what kimchi is, it is a spicy fermented cabbage. Google it :)
The kimchi looked really good and I had never had it in this form before. So my friend Tim and I decided to have a try (See picture). It was by far the spiciest kimchi I have ever had! Time loves spicy kimichi but even this was too hot for his taste buds! I think that our mouths were on fire for the next 20-30 minutes! ha ha ha. That is what we get!
We ventured to the Memorial Park of Gwangju's Student's Independence Movement. This park is a remembrance of the movement that began in 1929 where students boycotted classes under Japanese rule because there was discriminatory education. This eventually led to the independence movement in which many of the students participated. During this time there were many riots and hundreds almost a thousand people were killed in the on going of these riots. There is a memorial cemetery as well, but we were not able to make it there.
Now what? More wandering. It is sometimes the best way to find things. You never know what you will com across on these types of adventures. We walked down to the river. There was actually a running/walking track that followed the river. It was really neat. Then we walked to this huge arch that led us to this hill. The trees were all bright fall colors and beautiful. I just had to know what was at the top of this enormous hill. So Tim, Stu and I hiked to the top! Low and behold it was an amazing park. There were all these hand made benches and statues. Even a small cemetery. The park was high up enough that it had a decent view of parts of the city below. It was truly beautiful. We sat in a pavilion and ate fresh oranges that I had bough with me from Jeju. **Note** Jeju is said to have some of the best oranges int he WORLD!!**
After all that art and culture, it was time for a break. What better of a place for a break then Starbucks! Ha ha ha. My friends that I travel with now have this on going joke that no matter what city we go to, if there is a Starbucks, I will somehow find it and work it into our travel plans to make a pit stop. Well I indeed found the bright green Mermaid Sign :) We sat and had a coffee. This Starbucks had an enclosed patio that was on the third floor and we could sit out there and watch the hustle and bustle of the street traffic below. It was a perfect resting spot to catch our second wind before dinner at an Outback Steakhouse and a night on the town!
The next morning we were up early. Some of us, including me, had maybe 2-3 hours of sleep. But hey we are young right? I cannot do this forever so I take advantage of it while I can! Luckily we were able to grab Starbucks and even a Krispy Creme doughnut before heading on the bus! We had an hour and a half bus ride to take us to watch the Jeju United Soccer team play their final match of the season in Gwangyang. We had special shirts made for this trip and everything (see Picture). The front of the shirts say "Highting" in Korean which is actually a mixed word that means fighting but they pronounce it "Highting". I have no idea why.
"We Are Jeju" was our most often used chant! Being the cheerleader at heart, I had no voice by the end of the game. We were actually the only people that came from Jeju to watch the match. Lucky for us, we had our loudest cheerleaders there. So I am pretty sure we were still heard! The game was a draw 0-0. Oh well there is always next season!
After the game we took an hour taxi ride to the smallest airport I have ever been to. There was one gate!! The flight was still only 30 minutes, and then back to Jeju. Home sweet home. I have been here long enough that when i get back from a trip somewhere and return to the island, I have that "at home feeling". I always take a deep breath of fresh air and say "It's good to be home!" I think that we do have the cleanest air in South Korea!
Tim, Stu and I went for dinner after the flight. Stu always likes to go to dinner when we get back from a trip to wrap up the weekend and talk about the memories that we made. Funny stories, I can't believe you did that things, etc! It was a short but sweet trip!
