A little more about our time in South Korea
Our time living in South Korea is coming to an end. The past 2 years have brought a lot of happy memories that we've tried to share with you, from our initial arrival, to the landscape and temples we so often visit, to the local food markets, to our wedding and reception, to the birth our son Miles, to Korea's dressing style during dating, and to our other travels throughout Asia. Living here has given us a great perspective on the world and allowed us to experience another culture as well as view our own from the outside. Here are some small experiences we've had over the past couple years that we would feel amiss without sharing before we depart.
Big Crab
The endless row of crab and fish stores begging you to stop in.
Lobster claws!
Crab all cut and read to eat...yum!
About 45 minutes north of our apartment, in the north part of Ulsan, there's a sea port where boats dock and an endless row of restaurants and tanks sell the live fish, crab, and lobster they catch. We have eaten there a few times - it's Kevin's favorite - and each time is an experience. What's great about this is that the boats where the food is caught sit right across the parking lot from the restaurants selling them (can't get any fresher than that). Another good aspect is nothing goes to waste: the green stuff in the shell in the left half of the picture is the guts and they're cooked with mixed rice to make a delicious dish.
The line of boats that fish for the crab.
Food and Fish Markets
Just like I mentioned in my Vietnam post, most food in Korea is locally grown and heavily influenced by the climate: lot's of potatoes, garlic, cabbage, peppers, and sea food. Jennifer does most of the food shopping and we get over half of what we eat from the local market street a block from our apartment.
The market street where we buy our food.
Along with fresh fruit and vegetables they also sell sea food. Most people in Korea don't get their meat from grocery stores, they go to butchers, or fish markets, like the one seen here. You'll notice that the fish is sold live. In Korea meat that is bought live is considered the the freshest; even in butcher shops it's common to see a slab of beef/pork hanging in the back. We even bought a live octopus once and brought it back for dinner.
Another point to note is nothing goes to waste. Fish heads and beef/pork bones are used to make stock and soups. Kevin got a little carried away with the stock making and kept frozen cubes of stock ready to toss in that night's soup.
A typical Korean fish market.
Flowers
Spring is the best time in Korea as that's when the Cherry Blossom trees bloom!
Popularized in Japan, the same variety also blooms in Korea due to its similar climate. Usually they start to bloom at the end of March and bloom almost over night and last for about 2 weeks. It truly is a great start to the spring!
Pink rose from the Ulsan Rose festival
A close up view of cherry blossoms.
Ulsan Rose Festival
Kevin and Jennifer enjoying the summer weather.
Beaches
The district of Ulsan we live in - Dong-gu (literally "East district") - is on the water and besides being an excellent location for Hyundai to build ships and cars, it also provides for beautiful beaches and parks.
A view of the southern portion of Dong-gu Ulsan with Islan beach at the bottom and Daewangam park on the left.
Daewangam Park
Black pebble beach is a in Ulsan about 5 minutes from our apartment that has an entire beach full of naturally occuring black rocks instead of sand. Miles didn't seem to care about the rocks, he was too busy playing with Jennifer's purse.
Black pebble beach.
North Korea and the DMZ
North Korea is a constant thought living in South Korea, and while the situation has escalated recently, day-to-day life here has remained the same. What's important to remember is that for most of its existence there was no "North" or "South" it was just "Korea". They were occupied and paid tribute to other countries over the centuries (mostly to China and Japan), but they were always, and even still today in some sense, one people.
A view of North Korea taken from the South; the blue building straddles the line.
There is no better reminder for the separation than to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), where you can tour the border; officially North and South Korea are still at war, the Korean War reached an armistice in 1953. The DMZ is run by a joint operation between the US and Korea with a series of buildings that straddle the border. The entire experience is surreal and remains a reminder of our past and provides guidance for our future.
US and South Korean Guard straddling the table separating North and South Korea.
North Korean flag pole inside the propaganda village.
Final thoughts
Our two years living in South Korea has been memorable and we have enjoyed it immensely. We have had a lot of fun times which we've tried to share with you, but there have also been a lot of difficult adjustments. Living overseas away from family, friends, your own culture, and familiarity definitely has its challenges, and from our opinion it's absolutely worth it.
A great deal of gratitude and appreciation goes to Jennifer for moving half way across the world to take a chance on an adventure and rolling with all of the changes life threw her way. Our time in Korea may be coming to an end for now, and we're excited about moving back to Houston, Texas to see family, friends, and start a whole new adventure.
"All our bags are packed and we're ready to go...because we're leaving on a jet a plane!"
Good bye Ulsan! Hello Houston!