Here's a recap of my trip to Seoul this past week.

Wednesday: I took a nice 5 hour bus trip from Pohang to East Seoul with Japan Dan (he's from Texas, but he spent a number of his growing up years in Japan.  He has also taught there).  We then got on the Seoul subway and took it to Itaewon, a neighbourhood in Seoul, where the rest of the Pohang group was.  Now, for us Pohangers, Itaewon is like a completely different country.  It's full of foreigners from all over the world, and we don't see too many non-Koreans that we don't know in Pohang.  So that was somewhat neat to be around.  Then that night we spent a good amount of time wandering around, looking for a good bar that would satisfy everyone.  This turned out to be too much to ask and so a group of us ended up at a great little place called the Music Bar where they took music requests and had great hot chocolate.  Afterwards we went out and found a Love Motel for a good price.  (Love Motel: a cheap hotel with the reputation of being a place for premarital and extramarital lovers. But they're also popular places for travellers because of their low prices.)

Thursday:  Our group headed out around 11:00 and had a late breakfast at a super restaurant called The Frying Pan.  We then walked to the War Museum where we saw Korean and American war planes, helicopters, and tanks left over from the Korean and Vietnam wars; conclusive evidence that it was the North Koreans who torpedoed a South Korean submarine in March; the Korean-famous turtle ship that defeated the Japanese numerous times; and the war history of Korea dating from The Three Kingdoms period (57 BC) to the Korean war.  I liked the historical part of the museum more than the planes, tanks, and helicopters.  And I couldn't help but wonder why we seem to glorify war so much.
After the War Museum we walked around Insadong and then went back to Itaewon where we had an awesome Austrian supper.  It was my first wiener schnitzel experience and it won't be my last.  Then we hung out at a couple of bars in the area.  I think for us, just being in a bar that isn't one of the small few that we have in Pohang was worth the trip.
Friday:  In the morning we went to the Seodaemun Prison History Hall.  This is a prison that was built to hold Korean rebels during the Japanese occupation (1905 - 1945).  I should mention here that an aspect that is quite central to Korean culture is their cold feelings towards Japan due to this period when Japan ruled them (and also other periods of war between the two countries).  Because of this, one of Korea's favourite things is beating Japan at anything.  For example, past baseball victories of Korea over Japan are replayed day after day on TV every once in a while.  So it was very interesting for me to see evidence of this time period when Korea was the submissive culture.  It somewhat explains why Koreans are so proud of their history and their Independence.  It was also interesting to see this place with Dan who has lived in Japan for extended periods of time and thinks that Koreans have held on to their distaste of the Japanese for too long.  Here are some of the pictures I took of the Prison:

One of the prison halls.

One of the dark cells.

This is a room of all the Koreans who stayed in the prison.  Many of them were killed.  I found it to be a powerful room.

Continuing my recap, Friday afternoon I met up with Frank (his English name), a Korean who stayed in Toronto for some time and who I met at our church in Scarborough.  It was really good to spend time with him because he's the first person 'from home' who I've seen since coming here (I think it's ironic, though, that he's Korean).  Then that night I headed home on a night bus and arrived in Pohang early Saturday.

It was a good trip overall.  Yesterday, though,  I was feeling very unmotivated and mostly depressed.  I think the winter has been getting to me.  But today, going back to school and being with my students has made me feel a lot better.  So I'll mention again that I'm very grateful for my super cool kindergartners who make me happy.

Thanks for reading,
 Michael