After sharing a cup of tea at (where else?) the corner Dunkin Donuts, I said goodbye to my Korean soul sister and jumped around the corner to tackle a special challenge. The head honchos at the Sell Your Seoul campaign thought it would be fun to take me to a restaurant and have me order my own food. Off a Korean menu. With no translations. And no help. Grrrrr. I'm still frozen and all I want is a bowl of hot noodles with some spice. Sang In and Kyung Il fell silent. For this one, I was on my own. The place was tiny, only six tables with one menu written on the wall. The menu was broken into eight sections, with prices ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 won. It was time to bring some logical thinking skills into play. The most expensive is often overpriced and crappy. The least expensive is either a small plate or something the restauranteur wants to sell because its spoiling. Knowing this, I decided to shoot for something around 4,000 won. Not on the cheap end, but not a purchase that will break the bank. Only one item on the menu was priced at 4,000 won. It had extremely complicated characters. "I'm a complex creature," I think to myself. Might as well order a complex meal. What comes out of the kitchen? A BOWL OF HOT RAMEN NOODLES WITH SPICE. How on Earth did I pull that off? Thank you, dear Gods of Longevity. I am glad you want me to stick around a little longer and not die from frostbite at the tender age of twenty-seven. Ma si get da!
Having warmed up over lunch, it was time to sober up. Mentally, that is. Selling Your Seoul isn't all fun and games. Part of the gig involves a very real dose of reality. I looked at my itinerary: "Seodaemon Prison History Hall," it read. Having toured Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay with my friend Kevin a few years ago, I was pretty sure this was something my overly-sensitive self could handle. WRONG.
Seodaemun Prison History Hall was, in one word, depressing. Constructed in 1908, the prison was built to contain, torture, and execute Korean patriots who fought against the Japanese occupation of the peninsula from 1910 - 1945. Glancing down at my pamphlet, I read the following: Prison Building Nos. 9-12, Leper's Building, Underground Cell, Execution Building, Corpse Removal Exit. The names just got more and more horrific. I entered the complex with a heavy heart and realized that part of the deal with traveling is to take the bad with the good. As Pearl S. Buck famously said, "If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday." It was time to step into the past.
The sorrow I felt was exacerbated by the insanely detailed reinactments. Almost every cell contained figurines that were being tortured, confined, executed, or maimed in one fashion or another. For a girl who hates aggression of any sort and refuses to watch thriller or overly violent action films, this was really really tough r me to see. I mean, it took me over a decade to get up the courage to watch Braveheart! Sang In, having witnessed my ability to tear up on the pet street yesterday, ran in front of me and began blocking exhibits left and right. Thank you, darling, for attempting to preserve whatever semblance of innocence I may have left.
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