seoul as text: the han river

The night I arrived at the Incheon International Airport, I was quickly met with what I had read about and what I had seen in Korean dramas — the bustling and energetic life that exists in Seoul. With a population of over 10 million, I should’ve been able to imagine how busy it would be. But I wasn’t able to. Instead, I had to see it first hand. In the airport, hundreds of hundreds arriving and leaving and in the metro, swipe after swipe of the T-money card. Luckily, I had bought mine at the airport so that I could ride effortlessly. Even when walking to my Airbnb at 9pm, the streets were filled with life. Restaurants open and serving the best food. People that enjoy nightlife drinking the best soju. Karaoke rooms full with people that maybe wish they had become an Korean pop idol.

Truly a city that never sleeps. Always running forward. Nonstop. A part of me wonders where Seoul gets the energy to run like this. Not literally though. As the 8th biggest country in electric consumption, I’m sure they have a strong electric grid infrastructure that supports it. Rather, I wonder where the people get the energy to move like this! Is it the deliciousness of food like 떡볶이 or 콩국수 or 삼겹살? Is it the liquid courage provided by 소주 or 막걸리? I would argue that the liveliness comes from the Han River.

The 한강 is central to Seoul geographically, historically, and culturally. The Han originates from two rivers the Namhan and Bukhan and, at it's end, merges with the Imjin River after flowing through Seoul. Like South Korea's capital city, the 514 kilometer Han River flows constantly and attracts all types of people -- the tourists like me with their phone constantly taking pictures and enjoying even the smallest details, the families with one child in the stroller and the other running around, the couples that walks along the river holding hands, matching clothing, and making me jealous. Even the Seoulites (the Seoul elites) come down from their expensive high-rise condos to enjoy the beauty of the Han River.

Unsurprisingly, there were also plenty of restaurants, shopping malls, karaoke rooms, and 인생네컷s available. This made visiting the Han River even more appealing. Genuinely, an all stop shop. If this were Atlanta, traffic would be DEATH. But Korea knows better and they do better. Their superior public transportation system keeps everything running smoothly. Everyone is able to use the metros and buses easily and at very cheap price. Sometimes, it's even faster to catch the metro instead of driving. That's not to say people don't drive. There are plenty of cars but without the metro, it would be unbearable. The existence of the metro also makes the tourist wonder just how many people live in Seoul. It's easy to search up the population count on Google but it's even more surprising when you consider that, on average, 7.2 million people use the metro a day! This means a good portion of the population is underground at any given moment.

The Han River wasn't always the heart of the city though. As Professor Peterson of BYU shares, it was once the most southern edge of the city. During those years a large portion of the city was rural and used for farming (rice paddies), but as urbanization took place, it slowly became the soul of the city. But one thing that hasn't changed about the 한강 is it's role as a symbol of power and strength. Professor Peterson explains that during the Three Kingdoms Era, the kingdom that ruled the Han also ruled the peninsula. Because this was the case, alliances between the three kingdoms were always changing -- the two weakest partnering against the strongest at the moment. Even now, as North and South Korea continue their war through an armistice, it is evident that South Korea has the upper hand. Although the historical river isn't necessarily the most important factor for the South's advantage, it still remains a reminder that the ruler has the right to the peninsula.

Ultimately, one thing that I have taken away from the Han (besides plenty of wonderful memories), is that it's not just any body of water. Rather, it's something like a battery. It's flow provides energy for it's citizens and tourists alike so that they may make Seoul the shining city it is.

seoul as text: the seoul metro

50% of my time in Seoul was spent underground in the Seoul Metro. Not really. That's an exaggerated percentage but I did spend a LOT of time using it.

In my first entry, I talk about the Han River and how it is a vital part of Seoul. Much like it, the Seoul Metro has become an integral part of the city. With over 200 miles of track, it's easy to get from one side of Seoul to the other. Out of all of the research that I did pre-flight, a majority of it was on how to use the metro. I was a bit worried that a combination of the new settings, the language barrier, and general lack of experience with public transportation would result in a very very lost Rolo. However, as you saw in the video above, it's very easy to understand.

At each station, the arrival of an approaching train is announced with a cute jingle. Once you're on, each stop is announced in Korean, English, Japanese and Mandarin! The announcement explains which station you're at, what doors to use to get down, and if you can transfer to another line. These audio alerts, along with maps at each station, make the use of the metro so easy that I often found a lot of people just taking naps as they waited to arrive at their station.

Because I had no car and because I didn't want to spend too much on taxis, I ended up relying this system of transportation. Over time, I asked myself why the U.S. didn't do a better job with public transportation. So after some digging, I came to these conclusions:

• I like the Seoul Metro because I can get within walking distance to pretty much anywhere. If I had to get a bit further, I could take a bus or call a taxi. Most of the time for me though I didn't need to. Right now, the U.S. public transportation systems aren't that widespread. Because of this, most citizens find that it's faster to drive.

• One of the first things I noticed is that most businesses tend to be stacked on top of each other. One building may have a convenience store on the 1st floor, a karaoke room on the second, and restaurant on the third. No more than a couple of blocks away, very tall apartment buildings. So what does this mean? Using the metro is great because it provides great access to clothing shops, markets, restaurants, department stores, entertainment, etc. In the U.S. this is not the case. Those who live in suburban areas have to drive to go to their local Walmart or anywhere else. So right now, because smaller cities aren't designed for public transportation needs, people drive.

• Because a majority of people drive, most of them have no interest asking legislators to pass bills that give more funding to support building better systems. No money, no metro. Simple.

After going back through my budget, I found that I had spent about $90 using the metro. This is significantly less than what I would use in the U.S. for gas. Those $90 could get me about 20 gallons of gas in Georgia!

During my trip, I was able to learn more about Korea's history, culture, and the people's way of living by using a platform called CulturaGo! One of the modules in this program talked about how Koreans place a high value on speed and efficiency. Below, you'll find a video that shares about this.

To me, this seems like another reason why a lot of Koreans use the metro -- the metro is consistent and timely. The usual Korean company employee, parent, student, etc. can rely on the metro to meet their standards of speed and efficiency. All in all, I can't help but wondering what else we can learn from Seoul to better our modes of transportation. Next time I visit Korea, I hope that I can be a bit more brave and take the buses more often. I tended to avoid the buses because it felt like riding the metro was easier and less hassle. Next time.

a useful tip for making language-learning friends!

If you're planning on traveling abroad or simply want more practice studying a new language, then I recommend your download HelloTalk! Below, you'll find a video of what this app can do! Surely you'll see why I really like it!

By using HelloTalk, I was able to chat with so many native Koreans. I continue to believe that trying to use the language and making mistakes is the best way to learn. Moreover, I was able to ask them for advice to make this trip the best experience possible. Although many of you may not like this idea, you are also able to meet with people in the real world! Of course, being careful is always a priority! If you choose to meet someone, do so in a public area and only do it when you feel comfortable! At the end of the day, it's not necessary. For me though, I decided to meet someone! I ended up finding Phoebe! A really cool person that showed me around the Gangnam district. I think it's fair to say that both of us are now friends. I even learned that she will likely study in the U.S. this fall! It's so exciting. But yeah -- I wanted to share this tool because it really did help me!