I had some cash that was burning a hole in my pocket and so I decided to go check out GwangJin Market, the second largest one in Seoul. This place is over a hundred years old, having first registered with the city in an official capacity in 1905. It was PACKED with people and has more than 2,000 stores selling textiles, kitchen goods, and the like. But once again, I was on a mission. Before I left from New York, my friends Jess and Lis told me that I absolutely had to try bimimbap, a mixed rice dish filled with vegetables and tossed with sesame oil and hot paste. After pushing through the crowds, I found myself firmly seated on the heated bench of "Eastern A Stall #37." The head chef, Jo Hyang, is a renowned master of bimimbap. Hot barley tea, a bowl of rice, and all the Korean fixins' a girl could ask for. I stayed away from the sardines, however, because there were just too many fish heads for my taste. The dish didn't really resemble fried rice like I thought it would. More like a really good salad with some rice and spice thrown on in. Having had a lot of fried food and carbs, it was a welcome meal and "the worm" was beyond grateful. Jo Hyang was one of the nicest women I've met so far and we had a great time talking about (a) how delicious her food is and (b) how delicious her food is. She even asked to hang my picture on the stall wall - joining other fun people who have crossed her bimimbap path. I'm really glad I found Eastern A Stall #37.
I worked my way out of the maze that is GwangJin and into a taxi, where my food coma (paebulloyo in Korean) was pleasantly accompanied by Korea's version of NPR: The Single Bungle Show. Even though I couldn't understand what was being said, the soft voices reminded me of all my favorite NPR programs. I peered out the window and spotted a VIPS, the first one I've seen since my days in Madrid. For those out of the know, VIPS is an all-in-one stop. It's as if Best Buy, 7-11, and Friendly's converged into one store. Thinking of Spain, I've gotta tell you that when I try to communicate with street vendors or taxi drivers, I immediately start speaking in Spanish. It's as if my brain knows that I'm in a foreign country and so it signals that I should be speaking in my foreign tongue: espanol. Unfortunately, Spanish gets me nowhere here. Luckily, I've got Sang-In. And a knack for pantomime. It's time for me to hit the streets again, where I'll be venturing off to another market, a mysterious "pet street," and dinner with oh so exotic foods.
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