After a tiring 1st day in Korea, we decided to sleep a bit longer.
We were staying in Jiyul's parents' place, and I decided to start by mentioning a few things that are unique to Korean apartments. Then we will visit the friends and a hotel.
It was cold again, but we were getting used to it.
Table of Content
- Korean Appartments
- The Way to Seoul
- Meeting Friends
- DoubleTree by Hilton
- Vietnamese Pho
- YouTube Video
- Relevant Links
- Conclusion
Korean Appartments
What's different from Canada?
I wanted to share a few observations regarding Korean apartments and how they are different from what I have seen in Canada, Russia and other countries.
Bath and Shower
The first interesting thing was the fact that I couldn't see a bath in many Korean apartments. It's either because Koreans just don't like to waste their time lying down there, or maybe saving money on water bills. I also know that some Koreans, including my wife, consider bathing to be a dirtier way of cleaning (if I can put it that way) than taking a shower.
Another thing was that there is no special separation for the shower space, and the water just pours down onto the floor into the drainage hole.
Not that I miss baths that much, but it was just interesting to me.
High-Tech Bidets
The parents' apartment where I stayed, and many other places, including public places, featured high-tech bidets, which I had rarely seen in Canada (maybe only once, at a place owned by a Korean).
I have heard that this is very common in Japan as well, and it's great for hygiene. I have also heard that it's not allowed to be installed in some Canadian condos for some technical reasons.
In practice, when you have some new cool features in your toilet, you would try to use them, because why not, and I personally got used to them fairly quickly. I don't really miss them here in Canada, and I wouldn't buy a special toilet just for that, but if offered for free, I would use it.
Balconees
Many balconies are combined (merged) with the main room space, which is great for many reasons. They are almost always 100% covered, and some feature heated floors, which makes them useful in winter. In Canada, you can't really use a balcony in a high-rise during cold months, which is most of the year in Canada, so I often felt like it was a wasted space.
That being said, I have seen some Koreans use those balconies for storage and as an addition to the freezer in the winter months, which is closer to the soviet union style of usage.
Heated Floors
I guess you could have heated floors in Canada, and I have seen quite a lot of them in Russia, but it's still an option and uncommon. In Korea, heated floors are very common, if not mandatory. This is interesting because this is not a modern invention. Heated floors in Korea date back over 2,000 years, so for them, it's an integral part of the home.
I get used to heated floors quickly and really miss them in Canada because you can walk barefoot and feel warm, it feels more cozy this way. You can also sleep almost on the floor, which was the reason why Koreans actually had them in the first place, I think, as they like to eat and sleep close to the floor.
The Way to Seoul
Going to the city again
The plan for today was to meet another Jiyul's friend in Seoul, Sunok.
We are bringing big bags of gifts for everyone
Meeting Friends
Korean Hospitality
They kindly invited us to their place, showed us how they live, and then we had a meal with Makgeolli, Korean rice wine. This was the first time I tried Makgeolli, and I really liked it. It's very easy to drink, which is a dangerous quality in an alcoholic beverage.
Jiyul's friend, Sunok, made all this food herself, which was very impressive.
I also had a chance to look at their apartment.
They are really good people, and I appreciate the hospitality.
In general, at least in my experience, I find Koreans to be hard-working, organized, focused, smart and caring people (not in an altruistic way, but caring for "their people"). These are the exact opposite qualities of a typical young Russian guy, who I was. I am learning from my wife and all her friends and parents. They were also very proud of their kid, who was doing really well in school.
I brought some Russian gifts too (Matryoshka dolls)
The plan for the next day was to visit the Namsan Seoul Tower (N Seoul Tower), so for us not to go back to Yeoju at night and then come back to Seoul the next day, they ordered a hotel, and not a cheap one. A huge thanks again to Sunok and her husband. They even drove us there.
DoubleTree by Hilton
A Fancy Hotel
The official name of the hotel is DoubleTree by Hilton Seoul Pangyo, and as it indicates, it's located in Pangyo, a modern high-tech planned district in Seongnam city.
The room had big windows, so we could see part of the city and a bit of nature.
The most interesting part of this hotel was the special "Korean Hotel Breakfast", which is a very fancy buffet with millions of options, but as it's breakfast and happened the next day, I will talk about it in the next post.
For our dinner, we decided to go to a Vietnamese Pho place with another friend (who we met first, Eun-nyong Chang).
Vietnamese Pho
Canadian vs Korean Pho
We love Vietnamese Pho and have tried most of them in Mississauga and Oakville.
Somehow, for me, it feels like a soul food, even though I have no relation to Vietnam. I guess it's something about this soup that unites my wife's and my tastes. We also surprisingly like Egyptian food. These two were our go-to options, especially after we had a fight or an argument.
The Pho there was delicious, but it was a bit different from what we used to have in Canada.
Hey there
It's hard to pinpoint what exactly was different there, we still enjoyed it, but I felt like the way they make it in Canada is better for me personally. In the video, we mention that Korean Pho here was less salty, but in Canada, the quality of meat and the amount of salt really differ from place to place. In any case, it was good, and we happily went to sleep after that, after a short walk.
Almost forgot, there was no Sriracha sauce there, but these days it's even hard to find in Canada.
YouTube Video
See more in the video
Relevant Links
What was mentioned in the article
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel: https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/selsedi-doubletree-seoul-pangyo/
Conclusion
Final Thoughts
This was still quite a busy day for me, where I was shown a spacious Korean apartment, tried another Korean home-made meal with Makgeolli at a friend's place, and ended up in a fancy hotel at the end. Tomorrow we will explore the Namsan Seoul Tower.
Lastly, I wanted to note that all my days in this trip were planned, mostly by Jiyul's friend, so we had almost no free time. I was a bit resistant to that at first, but it's the nature of such family trip, so I did my best to appreciate the fact that I was taken care of, driven everywhere and mostly paid for.
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