12.23 - 12.26
Adrianna likes oat draft lattes from La Colombe and she will pull a deep thought from nowhere while nonchalantly waiting for the bus. Mel is the world's biggest dino kale fan and she can wear a large puffy coat with black boots like nobody else. But what's more important, Adri and Mel are two of my favorite people in the world and after a year, I finally got to see them in the flesh. And what's more, I got to see them in... BUSAN, KOREAAAAAA.
Of course seeing them was my main motivation to catch a train, catch another train...and yet another train...to reach KIX airport to almost miss the plane to reach the runways in Busan. However, Korea's winter food scene was also calling my name, and holy moly it did not disappoint. Unlike Japanese food, Korean food seemed to have a little more spring in its step. If Japanese food was the tasteful and reliable elder sister in the family, I think Korean food would be the spirited and bright-eyed younger brother in the family. My experience with Japanese food has been filled with vegetables and fish that are subtely soaked, pickeled, cooked or boiled so as to preserve the taste of the main ingredient. Even in heavier foods like okonomiyaki, there are only two main sauces (mayonnaise and brown sauce) that doesn't take away from the pork lying as the foundation of the dish. Thus, there's a quiet to Japanese food like the elder sister I mentioned earlier, but one can always rely on the richness, yumminess, and presence of taste in almost any dish handed to you.
Korean food, as I especially experienced throughout my weekend there, seems to always be bubbling with flavor, noise, color, and even sound. It's not so much of the aesthetic around the food--most of my meals were served in a large metal bowl and the street food was just eaten off of sticks or napkins--but more about the sensations the food will bring into your mouth. Kimbap's bright orange carrots, verdant spinach, neon yellow pickles, white rice and black seaweed highlighted by sesame oil made me think I was about to have a bite of a birthday party wrapped into a roll. Tteoppoki's fiery red gochuchang coating brought a thick encounter of chili, spice and sweet when I chewed up the mochi cylinder. Sundubu's boiling and popping sounds as the granny brought it over to me just had a sense of ALIVENESS that made waiting for the broth not an option despite knowing I was going to burn my mouth. To me, Korean food has such an energetic, but comforting--comforting like being in your childhood kitchen--personality that made every meal incredibly memorable and satisfying. Perhaps this owes also to the very low-key mom&pop eateries or bustling street food vendors we invested in...But this all goes without saying, to anyone who has yet to try Korea's culinary artistry, you have a huge food heaven waiting for you.
As much of a marvel as the food was, the city itself was also a joy. Some highlights include:
- Venturing through the Gamcheon Village, a former shanty town for the refugees during the Korean War. Since then, the town has gone through several revitalization projects via art installations, historical preservation centers, and living condition imporvements that has transformed the area into a top tourist attraction, being called the "Santorini and Macchu Picchu of Korea." I wasn't expecting the large BTS mural that was randomly decorating a house, but I shouldn't have been surprised considering the world's obsession with them.
- Peering at all the seafood waiting for purchase at the Jagalchi Fish Market. It was like an art gallery but with everything you can and can't name from the sea. Plus, many of the fish-selling grandmas were wearing neon pink coats that added to the market scene. We didn't end up eating anything, but the street food stands did seem nothing short of delicious, judging from the steam and smells wafting the air.
- Bathing and wearing Princess Leia towel hats at a Korean Spa located in Shinsegae, the world's largest mall. Along with the public baths, there were also various steam rooms to just lie down in...it honestly felt like the Korean version of the Spirited Away bathhouse.
- Walking the Gwangalli and Haeundae Beaches of Busan--we tried to be like the cute Korean couples but didn't really suceed (I kid you not, the Korean couple scene is A THING. I barely saw anyone in the 20-30 age not in a couple.) However, we did succeed in finding a restaurant serving some mega-fresh seafood (abalone porridge, white fish chigae, sashimi noodles)
- Admiring a bird's eye view of Busan from Geumjeongsan Mountain, though only after a pretty steep hike. We only got through the start and finish by following veteran grandpa hikers, hoping they'd lead us to the city streets. 'Twas a success, and honestly, way more helpful than whatever Google Maps was trying to tell us.
- Preparing a funny-looking Christmas breakfast with leftover red bean porridge, convenience store roasted sweet potatoes, fruit stand purchases (persimmon and pear), and corn tea. Yet, it was definitely a Christmas morning I'll never forget because I got to spend it with two lovely souls wearing matching Nike sweat suits in our homey Busan airbnb.
- Attending a Christmas morning service at an English speaking church that was conveniently located only 5 minutes from our airbnb...it was such a last moment decision, but getting to worship and pray with others for the first time in a while, especially on Jesus' bday, was truly special. Though I'm sure I won't meet them again, the church congregation were so welcoming and even invited me to stay for their potluck which had homemade kimbap and ricecakes and...CARROT CAKE!!! I left very blessed and grateful to have had the chance to celebrate Christ in this way despite being away from home.
There is so much more to recount, but I expect I've already lost many of you in my verbose musings. So, to sum this trip in one word, it'd be restorative. Getting to hug and repeatedly encounter magical foods by uttering "ooohhhmyygosssh that looks soooo gooood" with my two best friends - it restored the part of me that sometimes longs for home. Getting to fill myself up with lots of kimchi, gochuchang, red chili pepper, and boiling crimson broth - it restored my craving for real spice (Japan's spice game is really weak so I was missing that.) Getting to stand with friendly strangers and celebrate Christmas with familiar verses and hymns - it restored, a little, the gap I've felt from not regularly attending a church for more than a year.
Busan, you treated me so well. Thank you, and watch out because I'll be back for your sundubu and ssiat hotteok before you know it.
inside a book shop that was one little room of many lining Busan's famous book street
a super cute set of stairs in the culture village! They were lined with house tiles along the ridges...can you find me and mel peeking out?
I loved duf coffee for its glorious english
more charming stairs in the culture village
strolling the beach~
BTS MURAL!
Gamcheon Culture Village, really Santorini of Korea
more Gamcheon Culture Village
the best hotel name I've ever encountered
a chic australian brunch place that had delicious chicken and the most cozy vibes
peak of the mountain!
we cute :,)
busan from a bird's eye view
dried fish at korea's historical night market
tteopoki and odeng time...the broth was LIFE as well
a simple but most lovely christmas morning
busan's jagalchi fish market!!
a series of food videos that will leave your mouth watering for korean food
gongwon kalguksu - handcut noodles...you can see the granny chefs watching us to see if we enjoyed, and I think they were happy to see how overjoyed we were.
Some sundubu - soft tofu soup - to start off our day. When the soup was served, it had me jumping for joy to the degree of the soup's extreme bubbling.
trying the steaming hot red bean porridge that came from this super huge pot. It was different from what we were expecting, but still hearty and yum!
some fried tteopoki being made at the basement floor of the mall
hotteok in process at the street food market!
eating chicken gingseng and rice porridge, samgye-tang. The storeowner was such a hospitable lady and made us even warmer than the soup made us.
