Turbulence & Tea: Never a Long Day in Hongdae

Day 3

We started the day with Song's Korean French toast, gaeranbbang (lit. egg bread), followed by our now daily morning exercise. Seung's father is a fitness guru. Dying, I somehow managed to have a follow-up breakfast prepared by Seung's mother. However, we first had to phone her to ask how to open the cooker - the ineptitude of men, really. Inside we found chicken and rice soup/porridge.

I've filled the quota

~1:30-2pm: Noryangjin fish market. As Song had to be back at his police base by 7pm, I chose this day to treat the family to lunch. Fresh seafood was the go, though it almost wasn't, as Seung was telling me that the Fukushima incident had made people more wary of any fish caught from potentially radiation-contaminated waters.

Noryangjin fish market

Dried jellyfish

"No fish from Japan"

It was a novel sight to see so many varieties of sea creatures, of which stingrays and gigantic king crabs were no exception. As far as people making sashimi in front of live fish watching went, it was... a new experience for me.

We picked a couple of fish, a few prawns and some sea snails for lunch, with the Ha-Ha parents' haggling skills never absent. Not far away was a restaurant where they brought in the food to be cooked and we sat down to eat. Whilst my legs nearly fell off from sitting cross-legged for so long, the food really was worth it. We ended up with two types of sashimi, grilled prawns, steamed/boiled sea snails and fish head soup. During lunch, Song told me that I made everyone else feel like eating more at meals; no wonder the clothes I buy here are all L or XL.

I got to practise my Mandarin (not to much success) on one of the restaurant staff, as we heard her speaking behind us. The brothers' father was very enthusiastic in bringing her over to speak with me. By the end of the meal, Papa Ha said three main things: it felt like it was his birthday; it was as if he was in Australia; and I'm like his third son. I think it's just because I ate a fish eyeball.

Juicy, juicy fish eye

We went to Hangang Park to digest a little. Many photos were taken here, with Papa Ha becoming a keen photographer. I must admit, I became somewhat enchanted by the public toilet here. We finished up by lame dancing to K-pop on a docked tourist ship. Song does a solid Seung dance impression.

The golden building is the 360 Building

The handle-like thing is actually a cake of soap

Ssang-dueng-ee(?) - twin buildings

After bidding farewell to my Korean brother, Song, Seung and I were dropped off so we could make our way to Hongdae. Words will never be enough to describe that magical place. It's this amazing - confounding - integration of modern development and art. Here exist the conflicting elements of Korean conservatism (the district is named after the university, afterall) and youth culture (especially including prominent sexual overtones) that so strongly reflect my view of Seoul in the modern day. It's really quite spectacular.

This was just on the sidewalk, along with some others

We met Seung's childhood friend, Kyu, who took us to an Asian fusion restaurant called Oyori (where I became perhaps a bit too entranced with the bathroom decor.) The food was simple, yet sensational, which is pretty much a portrayal of Kyu's character on a dish. He's a music composer who's in love with arts of all kinds, with a particular passion for minimalism. Talking to him was like having a conversation with someone from another planet, such was his level of knowledge and artistic enthusiasm. He showed us his favourite bookstore - Your Mind - which is situated in an apartment on the top floor of a building. The owner was a cute girl who spoke a little quiet English, as I found when she was explaining that her cats had misplaced the stylus pen for the credit card signature pad. Surely enough, there were three cats sleeping in cardboard boxes enhanced for maximum comfort. I didn't take any photos of them, because it just didn't feel right in this chill place. The shop itself stocked a variety of art, design & picture books, music, cards and general stationery. What a place.

Selected Bookshop

I craved tea, having not had any since leaving Australia (!). So, after going to a building for independent artists, we went to Kyu's favourite cafe, Yri. The ginger tea was way too strong and apparently burned Kyu's insides, but I suppose it shows their love for the ingredients. Somehow. The cafe was pretty swanky, too.