"Slumming it" in Korea

Travel Story by Anna Maria Espsäter

Pusan, South Korea

The truth is I didn't know the first thing about South Korea . I'd had one of my mad impulses again and decided to jet off by ferry to the port city of Pusan, or Busan as it's also known, with a friend of mine while on a two week trip around Japan . Thus we arrived with no information, no hotel booking, no map or even the slightest grasp of Korean. One day I will learn my lesson and simply buy a guidebook to every country surrounding the one I'm actually going to, as I'm always prone to these spur of the moment dashes. Still, arriving without a guidebook can be an adventure in itself and not always a bad idea.

South Korea felt like a whole new world, very different from the serene and orderly Japan we'd just left behind. Much as we'd liked Japan , Pusan did seem more alive somehow, more humane and not as rigid and secretive. Finding our way to a small hostel in one of the back streets, we dumped our backpacks and set about exploring. Time was a bit tight as we were only opting to stay one night before heading back to Fukuoka in Japan . Not having a guidebook, however, meant having no agenda and consequently we felt free to explore at our own pace without any "must-sees" to tick off. One of the first things we noticed as being completely different from Japan was the Korean penchant for giving directions. No sooner had we stepped out of our hostel, with our recently acquired map, before a nice Korean man was showing us the way to Yongdusan Park. The park, perched on the steep slopes of Mt.Yongdusan has spectacular views right across the city and is home to a flower clock (yes, a clock made of flowers), the 120m high Pusan tower, a shrine built by Japanese monks and scores of retired Koreans, dancing to wacky music and playing mind-boggling games!

The more we saw of Pusan, the more we liked it. After the stunning views from Yongdusan Park, quiet narrow side-streets led us to the bustling market of Kukje, where they were selling everything under the sun from traditional dresses and leather wear to electrical goods and, last but not least, delicious Korean food. The evening was rounded off in a bar and we were seriously starting to wish we had more than just 24 hours before heading back to Japan . Careful what you wish for...

After an itchy night in the hostel (mosquitoes were eating us alive most of the night) we opted for an early start to have the chance to see as much as possible while we had the time. It was on our way to Shanghai Gate and the so-called shopping area for foreigners, that I spotted it; this amazing looking building, towering over its surroundings. It was built in the shape of a crescent moon in Korean style, rather like a high-rise temple and it was one of the most photogenic buildings I'd ever seen. Having always been a bit "snap-happy", I clicked away without having any idea of what I was photographing. Sadly there was no one around the tell us and we didn't have time to venture up the private driveway to enquire. Instead we had just about enough time to whip around the shopping area, where interestingly all the signs were in Korean and Russian, reminding us that we were just a boat trip away from Vladivostok and the great Russian Pacific Fleet, then we were off back to Japan – or so we thought.

Since our Korean was limited, to say the least, we originally assumed the 12.15 and 2 o'clock ferry departures had been cancelled as we weren't allowed to board despite having valid tickets, but later it transpired that there was a Korean airlines strike and all the Japanese tourists who'd come over to shop were given priority boarding on the ferries back home. This irked us somewhat, as we had no information about what ferry we'd get on and consequently had to spend our time at the terminal simply waiting to find out. Finally, in the late afternoon, something seemed to be happening. An official from the ferry company gathered together the unlucky few who hadn't got on a ferry and explained they'd be taking us to a hotel for the night, courtesy of the ferry company. We were swiftly whisked off by minibus to – you've guessed it - a crescent-shaped, multi-storeyed temple look-alike! As it was, my favourite Korean building turned out to be a many-starred, simply gorgeous hotel. Seldom had a lovelier place seen people as scruffy as

ourselves, though. Exhausted after a night's scratching the mossie-bites and a day's waiting at the terminal, we literally fell out of the minibus and into the lobby with our less than cleanly backpacks.

The staff, however, must have either seen worse, or they were extremely polite, as they did not bat an eyelid and simply sent us off to our mansion-sized room with enormous, soft, fluffy beds and a view to die for, where we desperately searched our backpacks for something decent to put on for the complimentary dinner. I swear that dinner changed my life. Dish after endless dish of delicacies seamlessly made their way to our table as we "quietly" ate our way through the evening. Seaweed, wild mushrooms, giant prawns, barbequed meats of all kinds, seafood, rice, kimchi (chilli pickled cabbage), soups, the food just kept on coming and there was nothing for it but to enjoy it all together with Soju, the local spirit. I slept so well in my new-found home that the only thing getting me up in the morning was the thought of breakfast. Eventually the inevitable had to happen – there was space on a ferry returning to Japan that day and we were dragged out kicking and screaming (well, not quite) and transported back to the terminal. Having spotted that a night at the hotel cost about 3 times as much as the ferry-ticket from Japan to South Korea I found it even harder to believe our luck. If this is the way South Korea treats its stranded visitors, I can think of no other place I'd rather be stuck!

Illustration by Bob Veon
(Bob Veon's Website)

Read more about the author of this story:
Anna Maria Espsäter