Dinner was in the densely-packed Apgujeong district, a neighborhood where pedestrians shared narrow streets with small Asian cars. There's a technique to navigating Korean traffic that I haven't figured out, and I often found myself blocking a taxi or delivery scooter trying to squeeze by me. Having a vehicle pass within inches isn't uncommon, but accidents don't seem to happen very often. Somehow, they're able to make it all work.
We ducked into a few stores along the way to find gifts for friends back home. Like shopping in the trendy Myeongdong neighborhood, Apgujeong had strong Western trappings, albeit seen through Korean eyes. Shirts, bags and paper goods with bizarre, broken English were the norm."That's very useful," remarked Sang In as I examined an inspirational calendar with YOU ARE NOT SO UGLY printed on it in glowing letters. A few seasonal items had found their way into stores, and I picked up a paper reindeer decoration with "Rah-Rah Christmas!" written along the bottom.
We made one last stop that evening, heading to Sindangdong, a neighborhood famous for dukboki. Dukboki, a popular street food, is primarily made up of rice noodles and a meat I couldn't identify. Individual vendors may add in other ingredients like eggs or ramen noodles, and, like nearly everything else in Korea, it's served spicy. It was one of the better things I've eaten, but after three straight days of some of the hottest food I've ever had, I could only manage a few bites.
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