So today, I sojourned to Seoul. (And yes, I'm going to shoot for a record-breaking number of alliterations and terrible puns with that city's name for as long as I live here. You have been warned). It was a day full of adventure, culture, discovery, and erudite conversation.
I went up to visit with C, a friend from the U of C who is back in Korea to do his mandatory military service (in his case, as a spiffy interpreter of English for the air force). Poli Sci department, we are representing the family. I was shooting for a 2:00 pm arrival in Seoul, via KTX (high speed train), courtesy of my Christmas loot. Before I got ready, however, I got a call from my family, during which I was regaled with the full account of Christmas in Connecticut. It was lovely to hear from them, but it did put me about 37 minutes behind my intended schedule. Still, C was very chill about the whole thing, so I went off to the subway to Daejeon Station. The subway stop is on my way to work, no more than ten minutes' walk away, and I caught it going the right way very quickly. I even got off at the right stop and followed all the handy signs to the KTX terminal. Wanting to give myself a couple of minutes to grab a coffee bun and a latte, I bought a ticket for a train about ten minutes later. Coffee bun and latte in hand, I descended to my platform and sat about, waiting.
Now, my train was supposed to be at 13:48, on track 3, which shared a platform rightly enough with track 4. That platform is dedicated to Seoul trains (yes, I went there). There were announcements being made in Korean, and a train was there at 13:48 on track 4. I assumed, in my cowed foreigner way, the announcements were saying, "oh, and by the way, we put the KTX to Seoul on 4 instead of 3." I was wrong. That didn't stop me from getting on the wrong train. Even when confronted with a guy who looked very comfortable sitting in my seat. I found another - at the time - empty seat further down and thought nothing more of it than that it was more convenient for him to sit there with his friend because there were other available seats. Then the people actually sitting in the seat I was in came back from the dining car. They were very sorry that I had screwed up, and kept apologizing for having the right tickets. Eventually, after failing to explain there was a guy in the seat I thought I had, someone directed me to the conductor. She also apologized, as though it were somehow her fault that I had been such a KTX n00b. It turned out I had gotten on the slightly-not-so-fast train, which would still get me to Seoul, arriving at 15:31. The conductor even found me a seat a few cars away. C continued to be very cool about it all.
Whatever my own failings as a passenger, the train system in Korea, as in every place I've ridden trains outside the US, is impressively punctual and well-appointed. We pulled into Seoul Station at 15:31 as advertised, and after a couple of false starts having to do with the number of exits and where they were, C and I met up.
Having had more time than expected to think about it, I'd decided I wanted to see the historical sights. This was apparently the right choice, because my native guide ushered us through the subway system like a pro to Jongmyo, the royal ancestral shrine. On the way, C acquainted me with "the dark niches of Korean society." Also, we talked about work and fun stuff. C is also employed by a hagwon, though he gets to teach American history and... something else in English. It is good times, boys and girls.
So, Jongmyo! Once we figured out that indeed, we had to pay to get in, we got to walk around. I n00bed it up some more by walking on the archaic raised walkway, which turned out to be the spirit walk, so now I am going to be haunted. (I feel pretty okay about this, as all I would do in such a haunting is apologize for not being able to understand the spirit's spooky Korean). The buildings themselves are very impressive, stately and austere. They are very long, with rank on rank of wooden pillars, each holding up a perfectly symmetrical chunk of building (and symbolizing "the perpetuity of the royal lineage"). They front onto plazas, which make them all the more imposing. The Main Hall is designated National Treasure No. 227, and is where they hold "the most majestic court customs from Korea's last monarchy" (designated Intangible Cultural Property No. 56). Jongmyo occupies a whole set of two linked campuses, which are probably gorgeous in spring, but were a bit cold and drab in December. We moseyed around for a good enough while that I couldn't feel four of my fingers, and my toes had stopped speaking to me, claiming abuse.
Once we'd gone out of the first campus, over a pedestrian bridge spanning a highway, and into the other campus, a man came along to tell us they were closing (it was 5:30 in the afternoon). We tried to take the scenic route out, but it turned into a very scenic route indeed as we got yelled at when we went one way, and herded with the last few people in the place to retrace our steps, only to find a recently closed gate in our collective way. This was only an annoyance for C and me, but three of the people we'd run into had left their belongings in the lockers just inside the gate on the other side of the bridge, and were understandably concerned about retrieving them. They turned out to be visiting students from Indonesia, who spoke very nice English and with whom we chatted from campus 2 all the way back to the front entrance of campus 1, where everyone's belongings were successfully retrieved. We even exchanged email addresses so that if I should be in Busan, or she should be in Daejeon, my new friend L and I will get in touch.
After helping rescue errant backpacks, C and I went as fast as our frozen legs would carry us to a place with heat. We were hoping for the delicious and toasty bounty of Rotiboy, but alas, only Dunkin Donuts presented itself. Warm doughnuts and coffee, ho! C and I sat and chatted some more and made terribly geeky jokes (as is, I understand, the wont of U of C expats far from the alma materland). When the caffeine and the mocha-filled doughnuts ran dry, we braved the cold once more in search of more substantial food. We settled on soup and meat type things in a traditional Korean place, and after that, C was quite the gentleman, and took me all the way back to catch my 21:20 train back to Daejeon. Whew!
This time I got on the right train and everything, and then decided to treat myself to a taxi home, it being so unGodly cold. That was its own adventure, as I live on a tiny traffic capillary, seemingly unconnected to any useful vessels. The taxi driver was good-natured about it, and laughed when I apologized for the trouble I'd caused him. I was in the door between 22:30 and 23:00, and all was well. Happy Boxing Day!
"Alma materland": well-done, you linguist, you.
ReplyDelete-Emily