Home to 20 million people, Seoul represents the best of Asia: clean, high-tech, convenient, and modern, all while preserving its own unique culture. It is quirky and sophisticated by turns, with a wide array of architecture and public art. Moreover, though the city is busy and bustling, it never feels frenzied or overcrowded. This is remarkable when you consider that the far more overwhelming metropolises of New York and Tokyo host populations of 8 and 13 million, respectively. I went to Korea fairly ignorant of its history or culture, save for its status as one of the Asian economic tigers and the ubiquity of kimchi and metal chopsticks. My Japanese coworkers commented before my departure that three days was a very short time to spend in Seoul. "I know," I replied, "But I figure it will be a lot like Japan." I was so, so wrong.
LAL may have put it best: "The Japanese are tolerant; Koreans are welcoming." We were approached by numerous locals of all ages, each of whom spoke excellent, nearly unaccented English and simply wanted to know more about our story and how we were enjoying our trip. "Welcome to South Korea! You are very welcome here!" said an older man to us on the subway on day 1. More than one restaurant presented us with complimentary food, and people happily gave us directions or offered recommendations for food and activities. I confess there were times when we all wished aloud that we lived in Seoul, though we love Japan and recognize that every place poses its own challenges, Seoul included. Still, we savored the variety of foods offered (I was staggered to come across two kebab carts and a hot dog stand in a three block radius), the artistic and sometimes subversive graffiti, the funky shops, the diverse faces, Caucasian, Indian, and black. We were shocked by the PDA; couples holding hands or kissing, hugging and nuzzling and linking arms, and friends (girls) walking hand-in-hand down the street. We noticed very few elderly people; everyone everywhere seemed to be young, so young, dressed like hipsters and wearing large glasses. While Japanese youths can be fairly androgynous looking, there was no mistaking the Korean genders. The men are tall and broad-shouldered (I understood why one student told me very specifically that she wanted a Korean boyfriend- so handsome!), and the women, while mostly petite, occasionally are rather rounded and chubby. Several Korean couples were dressed in matching clothes; most often shoes, but also hats, sweatshirts, shirts, etc. Paul, who lived in Korea for several years, told us that it's very popular for Korean couples to buy matching underwear, called manties and panties. A premium is placed on personal appearance in general in Korea; people throughout Asia travel there specifically for various treatments, whether spa dates or plastic surgery. According to the grannies, you can't be a (successful) politician in Korea if you're ugly, so a number of politicos have had at least some work done.
Then there was the military presence. Just a few days before we left Japan, North Korea fired a rocket that landed somewhere off the coast of the Philippines. Their neighbors of course found this alarming, and we weren't sure what the atmosphere would be like once we arrived. Seoul felt relaxed, but there were reminders of the war everywhere: soldiers in uniform on the trains and at the various tourist sites (including what appeared to be an entire regiment on a field trip to the War Museum), guards carrying automatic weapons, and even LEGO knockoffs of figures in uniform with anti-aircraft missiles and AK-47s.
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| LEGO gumball machine |
However, the most sobering sight was the cases of gas masks located at every subway stop. London eschews trash bins in the subway for fear of IRA bombs, the US stepped up security on public transport following 9/11, and I'm sure many other countries have instituted similar measures, but I've never seen anything like this. I wonder if the South Koreans feel as though the war is constantly looming over them, or if they are able to ignore images like this because it's so normal for them.
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| Gas mask station, Seoul subway |
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| Gas mask tutorial |
THE WAR MUSEUM
Our first day in Seoul was hampered by the weather. Ice and slush were still pooling on the ground after a snowstorm the week before, and the skies were dark and rainy. However, this made for perfect museum-going weather, so we trooped (splashed) our way over to the War Museum.
The building is impressive; a huge granite structure with memorials to the Korean war (frankly, these looked rather Communist to me, with flag-waving youths, trailed by soldiers, the elderly and infirm, and women and children).
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| Korean War Memorial |
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| Front entrance of the museum |
The exhibits were really well curated too; very visual, and at times interactive and dramatic. There was a great deal of information presented, including analysis of how different events during the conflict had shaped the outcome. Overall, it was a project to be proud of in terms of the balance between aesthetics and informativeness. And yet...it was the most jingoistic place I have ever been. When you walk in the front entrance and make your way towards the exhibits, one of the first things you see is a brightly lit photo booth of two small islands. You can pose and make it look as though you're standing there. What is controversial about the islands is the fact that these are the Dokdo Islands (called the Takeshima Islands in Japan), and the two countries have been arguing over their sovereignty for years, though the Japanese control them currently. The accompanying plaque makes no reference to this dispute; it simply identifies them as South Korean territory. A surprise given how many Japanese tourists flock to South Korea (albeit for shopping and eating; I doubt they are frequenting the War Museum).
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| Dokdo or Takeshima Islands, depending on who you ask |
Moreover, the historical narrative of the museum is profoundly biased against the North Koreans (no surprise there), but with very little explanation of their perspective or rationale, or what possible role South Korea might have played in triggering certain actions. The South Koreans, on the other hand, are portrayed as resilient victims of the vicious northern aggression...who for some reason are still passionate about reuniting the two countries into one Korea. The more I learned about the war through South Korea's eyes, and the atrocities of the north, the less I understood why they would want to make nice with these apparent barbarians. It's like a domestic abuse victim who just wants to go home to their spouse after being hospitalized.
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| "Punish the Invaders and Achieve National Reunification!"...but why? |
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