Heading Home

Three families are extending their trip; the rest of us are at Incheon, through security and waiting for our flight to Chicago... reluctantly.

Subway Map At Your Fingertips? Priceless.

Well, actually, the Seoul Metro map is a free app, but I recommend loading it before your next trip. It made subway travel a snap.

We're all packed up and ready to head for Incheon Airport at 7:30 tomorrow morning. It is fabulous to be reunited with the rest of group for the journey home.

Gyeongbuk Palace

Looking this direction, it appears that the magnificent palace is high in the mountains, but turn around, and you are surrounded by Seoul skyscrapers. It was a short walk from Gyeongbukgung to Insadong Market.

If They Don't Have It, You Don't Need It

Kitchen supply stall at Namdaemun.

Food Delivery

The photo is a little blurry, but check out the woman in red, delivering lunch, carrying it on her head. I have seen this a lot at Namdaemun Market. Food delivery is cheap and ultra green. It arrives in real dishes, and the delivery person comes back to get the dishes. One of the many wonders of Namdaemun.

Wintery Seoul

Today we got a reminder of what winter feels like. A cold rain turned to snow at midday. Holly is demonstrating the cool umbrella bags you see everywhere. Slide your umbrella in the top of this contraption, slide it out the side, and your wet umbrella is in a long bag so stores and businesses do not have to mess with your drips. By 4:00 today, the sun was out.

For My BananaGirl

We are at Dunkin' Donuts again this morning. It is right next to our hotel (which is no surprise since it seems like there is one on every corner in Seoul). It isn't that we love doughnuts; we love wifi. I'm usually an egg sandwich gal, but today had to get a banana treat in honor of Mary. We are fueled up now and off to Dongdaemun Market. Meeting up with the big group later today.

Last Hanji Shopping (Sad!)

We hit three final paper stores today, then told Holly to cut us off... We couldn't carry any more paper. We have some amazing purchases. It will make going home easier because we have USING all this paper to look forward to. (And we did decide to pick up some plain white paper at Namdaemun Market tomorrow, so we do not need to go into withdrawal quite yet.)

Best. Meal. Ever.

After our Dongdaemun flop, we headed to Insadong to finish our hanji paper shopping. We had passed this chicken restaurant the day before, and wondered if it would serve the delicious Korean ginseng chicken soup. This was totally different, but one of the best things we have ever eaten. It was a braised chicken with a slightly sweet sauce, potatoes, and a few other veggies. The sign outside said this dish comes from the Andong area. I googled "Andong chicken," and did come up with a few hits that look promising. So good.

Shopping? Come back tonight

Only in Korea would you find a shopping mall that's open all night, but not during the day. We headed to Dondaemun today, only to find this sign. We'll go tomorrow. (This shopping area is actually open 24 hours a day except, apparently, on Mondays.)

Phone Jazz

Do-dads for phones are everywhere... in stores, at street vendor tables, in the subway. Holly put this combo together today. The black cat is an accessory that connects in the earphone jack, and when you press on the kitty-case head, the phone turns on or off.

Paper Inventory

We're hitting traditional markets today, so inventoried what we bought so far so we can fill in matching and accessory colors. I think we're up to the job.

Strawberries

Why are strawberries sooooo good in Korea? Like just-picked, ripe, strawberry field berries. In March.

I'm in Dunkin' Donuts now (good wifi) and Holly just got a doughnut with sprinkles... but the sprinkles were pop rocks.

King Mahndu

We ate really well today. Lunch was the best jajangmyun (black bean noodles) we've ever tasted, and we returned to our favorite restaurant from the last trip for huge dumplings (a heavenly meat filling) the size of my fist.

Caught Up on Photos

I finally had a few extra minutes and a wifi connection. Find a bunch more photos at www.flickr.com/photos/thehanjicrew/sets/72157629274642418

Hanji Socks

Yes,this blog is a bit of a love story with hanji, but what else would you expect from The Hanji Crew? I bet you didn't know (or care) that the same fibers from the mulberry bark that make our favorite paper are also twisted into thread and yarn. It's true. Here's proof: my new hanji socks from Jeonju. Jealous?

Back in Seoul

The rest of our group left Gwangju today for Busan; Kat, Holly and I took the train to Seoul. Sundays in this city are clearly the day families are out in full force. In a city of 17 million, it means killer traffic jams, the subways are packed, and stores have that Black Friday feel. We went to Kyobo bookstore first (always awesome), then back to the artist district, Insadong. On my first trip to Korea in 2000, Insadong was almost exclusively traditional wares -- art, clothing, artist supplies. Now, sadly, there is more and more western influence, as evidenced in this photo that may become my favorite of all time.