Where are Tinus and Barrie?

We’ve been in South Korea for a week now, and it’s safe to say we love it. We spent three days in Seoul and two in Jeonju. We still got three weeks to go, so let’s see if these first impressions hold up at the end.

The joy of museum visits

I had no particular idea of what museum experiences would be like, but I did not expect to be this inspired and impressed. From the excellent curatorial decisions, immersive videos to hands-on experiences: it’s fantastic to see the love, dedication and quality of exhibitions here.

At least, that goes for the new museums (say: built or fully revamped after about 2005). We definitely also visited a very old skool history museum that had me yawning from the first room.

In any case, the sheer beauty of many objects is enough to keep you entertained anyway.

I mean, high-fiving huts is how you make prehistory engaging for kids.

Me as King Teojo. This interactive was also used by a seemingly 90+ woman in a wheelchair.

Look at those cute embroidered beady eyes!

The not-so-great-old-skool history museum with the….slightly less immersive visual presentation.

The food, the bap and the umami

Yes, this paragraph title IS a very bad pun, thank you very much. It’s all I got, I am typing this on my phone on a bus, don’t judge me.

In any case, the food here is as expected absolutely incredible. It seems every other building houses at least three restaurants. They can be on the ground floor, but sometimes you have to ascend further for even more food heaven.

I like strong, bold tastes AND cheap meals, so South Korea has got me covered. A good kimchi stew costs about as much as a take-away coffee in the Netherlands. And you never get just the meal itself. No no, you need banchan, small side dishes with for instance various kinds of fermented or pickled veggies, or fish. I keep on sighing loudly from a deep content after every meal.

This was a fancy meal, in the bibimbap capital of Jeonju. For about 10 euro, I gorged myself on the most umami-filled feast of my life.

Scissors are common on Korean dinner tables. We cut our noodles and mystery (spinach?) kimchi with it. At this restaurant, the owner gave us extra dumplings, Coca Cola and cookies on the house.

Not all foods are great though. Western food is presented and prepared in ways that are mystifying to me. Then again, the same can probably be said about Korean food in the Netherlands.

Would you like some croissant with that butter? Seriously, there was a log of about 50 grams of butter in it.

I don’t even know what this is supposed to be.

Fire extinguisher obsession, other things I need to fully understand and random stuff

Every time you visit a new country, there are things that are unfamiliar, seemingly odd and giggle-inducing. Please let me know if you have a good explanation about anything below to cure my ignorance.

You can find fire extinguishers everywhere. In museums, in shops, in buses and just randomly in the streets. Never before have I visited a country that loves them as much.

I have seen —mostly somewhat older Koreans— nap about anywhere. Pictured behind me is a gentleman zonked out in the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. Also pictured: my jetlag face.

Apparently this is a statue of a children’s game. But….yeah….

We visited a cat cafe in Seoul. I wasn’t too happy about them letting in young children and allowing visitors to bribe cats with food for attention. But the cats seemed very relaxed and had a lot of places to get away from guests at least. Luckily I did not meet ‘Snack theft’ Haru, but I did encounter Geon-yi, the permanently confused British shorthair.

I’ll leave you with some random shots. We’ll be arriving in Gwangju shortly. Will report back soon!