The Counselor
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“Have you guys voted yet?” It’s more important than ever.
If you’ve been following along with us since August, you know our voting process has taken some research and some effort. We did request absentee ballots, but with the USPS having difficulties over the past weeks, we became concerned about whether our mailed ballots would ever make it to Pennsylvania. For that matter, we were unsure when we would actually receive our requested absentee ballots. Rather than waiting for them to arrive, we opted to complete and send the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, which overseas voters can use if they don’t get absentee ballots in time to vote. In another bid to ensure our votes arrive in the U.S. and…
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Noryangjin Fish Market: This Post May Not Be Suitable For Vegetarians
Just across the Han River from Yongsan-gu, our home away from home, sits the futuristic glass and concrete building housing the Noryangjin Fish Market. I think it looks like a cruise ship from above, and it certainly houses enough sea life to make this a fitting image! The old Noryangjin market was an outdoor, covered market, but in 2016 this updated, indoor version was opened. Parts of the old market still operated until very recently, but now the old market is gone and just the new building remains. It was easy to walk through the wide, well-lit aisles. We never felt crowded. I can imagine the old market felt much…
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Surviving the Last ‘Dog Days’ of Seoul Summer
Staying outside as much as possible is a necessity in Seoul’s current semi-lock-down, but wow has it been hot and humid here! There’s no option to escape into a cool museum or a pool. It has been a time to get creative with planning! So what is there to do outdoors in Seoul in these last days of summer? Ansan Jarak-gil Trail Ansan Mountain looms over the former Seodaemun Prison, now a museum surrounded by Seodaemun Independence Park. The museum is closed because of COVID right now, so I won’t say much about it as hopefully we will get to visit it someday. The Independence Park is a monument to…
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A Private Tour Of Changdeokgung Palace and VIP Dining
When we arrived for our tour of the Changdeokgung Palace’s Secret Garden, we were welcomed by this sign: We had booked our tickets in advance after reading that it can be very difficult to get a tour, especially if you want the English-language version. Well, just prior to Seoul’s COVID shutdown our tour looked like this: Don’t get us wrong – we do not wish a COVID outbreak on any country for any reason. However, in the ‘making lemonade out of lemons’ category, the current situation here has meant that anything open is also empty. If we can see it outdoors in relative safety, we’re going while we can. For…
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What’s happening with COVID-19 in South Korea? Buckle up if you really want to know.
We pause our fun travel stories for a moment to let you know about COVID concerns here. When we arrived in South Korea (ROK) on July 31, the count of new COVID cases for the day was 36. On August 14, our first day out of quarantine, that number was 103. On August 27, it was 441, the highest total since the pandemic spiked here in March. Cases have spread to all 17 regions of the ROK rather than being localized to one area, which was the case with previous outbreaks. Despite this all starting as we finished quarantine, we’re pretty sure we didn’t cause the new outbreak, but here…
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How to Have a Cheap Date Night: Street Food for the Win!
My favorite thing in basically every city is to see it at night. The colors and the lights make everything so vivid, and I love the nighttime energy. Seoul’s neon vibe and large shopping districts lend themselves to evening strolls and people-watching. Added bonus: avoid the scorching sun and terrible August humidity! Over a couple of nights, we enjoyed an evening stroll to one of Seoul’s largest shopping districts, enjoyed several of Seoul’s many riverside parks, and most importantly – found some famous street food. As soon as we saw Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) during the day, we knew we wanted to see it at night. We were not disappointed!…
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Seoul from the middle ages to the space age
On August 15, Gwanghwamun Square was the site of a political rally estimated to have included 20,000 participants or more. Discussing all the politics connected to that event would take a separate post, so suffice it to say it was a very controversial gathering, particularly in the context of coronavirus concerns. Any gathering of over 100 people currently is banned in Seoul and the surrounding areas, so the city seems to have been very unhappy about the rally. By Monday – August 17 – Gwanghwamun was back to being deserted, and all we saw were some of the remnants of Saturday’s political action. We walked through the (extremely large) square…
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Is there anybody out there? Traveling through quiet Seoul.
Liberation Day, also called Gwangbokjeol in South Korea, literally means ‘Restoration of Light’ day. It is celebrated each year on August 15 and commemorates the Allied Forces’ prevailing at the end of WW II, which subsequently liberated the Korean peninsula from decades of Japanese occupation. It is the only Korean public holiday celebrated by both South and North Korea. Ordinarily, we might have looked for some public celebrations over the weekend, but with COVID circumstances being what they are, it seemed like the city of Seoul was really discouraging any event that might draw a big crowd. There was a huge political rally downtown despite the warnings, but we stayed…
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How to spend your first ‘real’ weekend in Seoul
If you saw Peter’s recent Facebook post, you already know we made the most of our first days out of quarantine. After 15 days of feeling like our muscles were wasting away from disuse, we proceeded to walk about 35 miles over Friday-Monday. Our legs no longer feel disused! Friday We were released from quarantine on Friday at noon and decided we didn’t want to take any transit or go inside at all. We just wanted to walk! This was a good opportunity to explore Itaewon, the international neighborhood next door. We can walk there in about 15 minutes from our apartment. Itaewon is known for its great diversity, making…
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Where in the World is Yongsan-gu?
South Korea, you say? Quarantine for two weeks, you say? In a very small apartment, you say? We say – why not? We have felt really lucky that were are able to quarantine in our Airbnb apartment. It was a little tricky getting all our luggage up the narrow stairs when we arrived from the airport, but we’re happy for the view of the street that a small second-floor patio has given us. Plus, there have been flooding monsoon rains falling basically since we arrived, so at least we have no flood concerns on the second floor! We have a living area, two small bedrooms, and a galley kitchen that…
