Hangukil aju joahaeyo!

Before you know it, it's weekend again. By mere coincidence, I don't have class on Fridays. So, on my 3 day weekend, I fully focus on studying culture.

Last weekend, a sino-german-austrian delegation headed to Sokcho, a peaceful, sleepy city on the East Coast. Compared to Seoul, it's empty, and the cuttlefish, that are hung up on outdoor stalls to dry and turn into a yummy snack, outnumber the cities inhabitants for sure.

It's way beyond peak season, but still nice, so after a delicious lunch of all sorts of seafood, we went straight to the water. Even though we didn't choose the exact best day for it, we went swimming. Again, we had an ocean and a beach pretty much for ourselves, except for a bunch of middle-aged ladies, many of them nuns, who were running around at the beach, playing games. Old people in Asia are so much more active than the folks at home.

Despite being really tough monkey's (by Korean standards) we all felt a bit chilly after the dip.
And it would certainly be a bad idea to catch a cold right now, with almost everybody being ill alraeady, and swineflu spreading across the dormitory that rejected me (I knew it! - I'm a bit exaggerating though. But there were cases) . Even a slightly weakened immune system could tremendously increase the risk of any kind of infection, (right Mum?). But it wouldn't be Korea if there wasn't a solution right around the corner. (I guess I've mentioned before that this country is so convenient, in almost every way).
This time, the solution came in the shape of a Jinjilbang, or Korean Sauna. These are best compared to a thermal spa at home, exept that they are open 24/7 and you can spend the night there (you could basically live there if you decide never to leave - and you don't have to, cause everything you need is there, everything, meaning also restaurant, Pub, PC-Bang, cinema, gym,...).
And, if you are a thrifty student-NIP (no-income-parent-supported) like me, you will also appreciate, that the whole package comes for KWON 7000, equalling € 4 (that's not a typo).
The other thing that's different is that there are strictly separated female and male sections.
This is still Korea, not Europe (to fuel some American biases here).
"Is it awkward to be naked around all these Koreans?", I was asked. No it's not. Full stop.

After spending a night in the sleeping room of the Jinjilbang, we took the bus to Seoraksan (Mt. Seorak) Nationalpark on Saturday. A pity it had started raining, but the hike was still breathtakingly beautiful, and the fog-enshrouded peaks appeared particularly gorgeous and mysterious. All that beauty and otherworldlyness left us tired, and on the bus back to Seoul we needed to take a nap. And that is one thing you can do on Korean buses. They are the most spacious and comfy vehicles I've ever been on. It's like first class on the plane, which I only know from walking through, full of envy and that particular kind of secret cockiness that "real" travellers allow themselves sometimes to make-up for the inconvenience they're about to face.

Anyway, public transport is awesome here, and so is the toilet-situation (it can't be said often enough). Contrary to China, where you should be happy if your "public restroom", which is usually a squatter, has a door, you'll probably be listening to classical music when using one here.

I know I should maybe stop comparing these two countries, but I just can't help it. It might make China look bad sometimes, but that's not what I'm trying to say. I keep on comparing, cause I know how sometimes people back home have no clue that there even is a difference.
Before I took off, I often heard questions like "So you're gonna study somewhere, like China?!" or "...and then, do you have to learn Chinese?".
I'd like to, but right now I don't have to, cause Korean is NOT the same as Chinese. It's not even similar, exept for a couple of words.
Instead, it has an alphabet (no characters!), and is the easiest of all Asian languages. (Which doesn't make it easy, trust me. But it would be easy, if it weren't so... so... different)
And to me, neither one of the countries is better. From a travellers perspective, they're both amazing, with China being probably more diverse and exiting, and Korea being better for that kind of people who like a certain level of predictability with their fun (which can be nice sometimes, for example after one month of not knowing in the morning, where you're gonna end up in the evening).

And I'd rather not dig any deeper on that topic but go back to stuff that I actually do here.
This weekend, Chuseok, the Korean equivalent to Thanksgiving is coming up. I'll have the privilege to spend it with a real Korean family, and am really exited about it. So, I'd better stop at this point, and try to get some useful phrases down til then.

Oh, and if you haven't yet guessed what the title was about... it's "I like Korea very much" in probably incorrect Beginners Korean.