Seoul Farewell

I'm back!  Can you believe a year has already passed since my trip with Mom?  I have had two posts about last year's trip to South Korea sitting around in "draft format" for nearly a year. It's true, I never brought closure to my reports on the big trip.  What can I say?  I arrived home to my family, my job and life's day-to-day. Better late than never?

Daegu Selfie with Mom and Aunt

Because it's been a year, this post is surely missing some of the details I had hoped to share with you, but here's my effort to bring some closure to that trip. 

If you recall, my last dispatch was about the trip to Daegu to see my mother's two brothers. I spent one night in Deagu, left my mom there with her brothers, and headed back to Seoul.  Mom would spend another three weeks in South Korea.

I was tired. I knew getting off the train in Seoul I would be heading right into an evening out with my three cousins, Hye-Jeong, Hye-Joo, and Amy. I was simultaneously excited about making the most of my last evening in South Korea and mentally and physically exhausted from my whirlwind travels. Reuniting with family members you haven't seen in decades, visiting a country in which you don't speak the language, and traveling from Seoul to Jeju to Seoul to Deagu and back to Seoul in a week's time is not for the faint of heart.

On the train, I entertained myself looking at a Korean version of In Style magazine.  Remember what I said about make-up in Korea?  In Style, purchased at a train station book shop, came with free make-up samples!

Hye-Jeong met me at the train station in Seoul and immediately whisked me off to meet my other two cousins for some shopping!  We headed straight for Itaewon, which has long had a reputation for being popular with military men (i.e. red light district) and for generally being expat-friendly. In recent years, Itaewon has become an increasingly trendy neighborhood, filled with all kinds of shops, bars, restaurants.  Below, you can see us having fun in a market selling traditional and touristy Korean goods and souvenirs.

Strolling Itaewon

Thai food for my last dinner in Seoul!

We had a delicious dinner at My Thai China, near the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon.  The owner is a famous Korean actor, Hong Suk-Chun, who made headlines in South Korea when he came out in 2000.  Now a very successful restaurateur, he said, on coming out, “I received e-mails with death threats. My career was over, and I didn’t leave the house for a month."

But, my farewell evening didn't end with dinner!  From dinner, we headed to a hotel with a lobby/lounge featuring an amazing view of Seoul, the Grand Hyatt.  I didn't capture a quality picture of the evening view (click the previous link for a glimpse); below is the also very impressive main entrance.

Hye-Joeng's husband, Mr. Park, joined the four us for drinks and dessert, an amazing and delicious bing soo. Bing soo is a dessert made with shaved ice, sweet beans, condensed milk and fruit.  Sound odd? You've got to try it!  Apparently, bing soo recently set off a luxury dessert trend in Seoul!

Bing Soo at the Grand Hyatt