Saturday in Daegu

On Saturday it was decided that we should spend some actual time in Daegu. Scott and I have only been down there to go to Costco, so we teamed up with Andrew, Katie, and Alice who also haven't spent much time there.


Yangnyeongsi Herbal Medicine Market


The guidebook described this street as a place to go for all sorts of strange old remedies, to find antlers, magic mushrooms, and lizard tails. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but I think we all had it in our mind that it would be some dusty backstreet with cauldrons and witches. It was surprising, then, to find that it was a very well organized road with regular store fronts and regular people. There were also traditional clinics on this street, for herbal treatments as well as acupuncture.



Although that's not to say there wasn't oddities to be found for sale. Deer antlers, seahorses, turtle shells, and dried frogs. Andrew tried to ask one shop owner if he had any "secret" items that can't be sold on the regular market, but I think both the translation and the joke were lost on him.

And the smells leaping out of these shops and following us down the street were intoxicating; so many that I couldn't possibly figure them all out. Ginseng, certainly, but also a number of fragrant herbs and wood smells; they all blended together to become something unique and distinctive to the street as a whole.

Museum

We were a little lost out in the street. Apart from the obvious language barrier, I'm not even sure the average Korean would know what all of this stuff was. However, we did find a museum at one end of the street. It appeared to be recently built, with the latest in technology and fresh, clean carpet. It spanned over two floors, the top being for dioramas and videos, mostly, with a few display cases.

Although I'm still not sure what instruction on medicinal properties some of the items on display might offer.

The videos had four language options, and were actually very well done. The latest animation, and perfect English- I was surprised by them. They mostly detailed life and the process of diagnoses in the past, when this was the standard of medical treatment. A lot of the practice is still alive today, with the health benefits in Korean food. They are still using many of the same herbs for cooking; where they originated to prevent and treat ailments, they also happened to be tasty supplements.

The next floor offered a more hands-on experience, ending with a room where we could check our blood pressure and BMI. This floor was devoted to learning about the body from a traditional perspective. I learned the hours of the day that each organ is at its strongest, and what should be done. For example, between 5-7am it is the time for the colon, so that is the best time to have a bowel movement.

In one station, we could figure out which of the four typologies we were (they use Sasang typology, classifying you by elements of your mind and body). I came out as a Soyang type, but I'm not sure how accurate my answers to the questions were because I'm not really sure if I have a "strong waist." It was interesting all the same, and I learned that by being Soyang, beer is very beneficial to my health.

Most of the rest of the day was spent walking around downtown Daegu. We checked out the Kyobo bookstore, which actually has a pretty big English book section: everything from bestsellers, to teen, to a case devoted to Penguin classics. The most interesting perhaps was a screenplay section, where English movie and TV show screenplays were sold as books with both an English and Korean translation on the opposite page.

Free Hugs.

Just when I was starting to get disheartened by the whole H1N1-makes-me-look-suspect-and-untouchable issue, something amazing happened on the streets of Daegu. A small group of university students stood in the middle of downtown with signs reading "FREE HUG." They even grabbed us and pulled us over, we didn't have to go to them. I almost melted with joy; they weren't even wearing surgical masks.

But not all of the hugs of the day were found on the streets...

Dinner and Hookah

There is a restaurant called the "Holy Grill" with a picture of the Holy Grail on the sign, and in going it did indeed feel like coming to the end of a great quest. It is owned by two Canadian guys, and I'm convinced has the best burritos in Korea. Not that I've had many burritos in Korea. The whole place is devoted to the food expats miss so much, and all for a very reasonable price inside a classy place.

After dinner, we went in search of a a hookah bar we'd caught wind of, located next to a bar made from an old bus.

Inside was very dim, but set a relaxing mood by the flickers of lanterns and candlelight. We were seated in a small raised alcove set apart from the main room, cozy and perfect for the five of us.

We ordered a bottle of red wine, which seemed to be the main draw to the place, as I think we were the only people there with a hookah. It was the perfect way to end our time in the city.

Taxi Ride Home

We were slightly mistaken, however, in our methods of returning to Andong. We called a number to get information on the bus times, and a woman speaking perfect English told us that the last bus to Andong was at 9:50. At 9:50 the bus station was very closed, and it seemed a little suspicious when a taxi driver parked outside looked at us and said "Andong?" After some time, it was decided that it was the cheaper option at 80,000 won (plus at 3,000 toll) than all of us finding lodging and morning bus fair.

When we finally piled into a taxi, all five of us, we expected it to be a long hour back home being crushed together as we were. In the end, it took 40 minutes. We hadn't the opportunity of movement until we got home, but as soon as we emerged gasping for air and thankful for the gift of life, we translated on our phones what 140-160km translated to in mph. We knew it was fast, as the speed limit was posted at 100, and his GPS speedometer would give protesting beeps every time he crossed 160. The man had been going 90-99 miles per hour the entire way home.

But, since my mother is probably reading this in horror, I'll leave off with a photo of relaxing ginseng.

Costco

Scott and I went to Costco in Daegu for the second time on Sunday. We'd gone a few weeks ago with our friends Erin and Paul, but faced with the Dr. Pepper shortage and our ever-dwindling block of Colby-jack cheese, we had to go back.

The bus is really the best way to travel out of Andong, especially to Daegu. It's 7,000 won one way (direct), which is under $7, and it only takes an hour and twenty minutes. To take a train would mean paying extra for a connection because there isn't a direct rail route between the two cities. The buses are like American Greyhounds, but with far more leg room (so far, the four we've been on have also had recliner-like leg rests that you can adjust).

The only concern we had was getting a ticket. My co-teacher Taebun told me on the phone to "just use the machines" when I asked him what to say. Of course, we learned shortly that the machines have no English option, and in fact many Koreans were abandoning them to go to the ticket lines in abject frustration. Oh no. How do we tell them what time we want to go? That we want seats together? What if they send us in the wrong direction?! It turned out all we needed to say was "Dong-Daegu" for the East Daegu bus station.

When we arrived we were scooped up by Taebun, who is in Daegu every weekend. I found out he has a girlfriend there, so it all makes sense now. He had never been to a Costco, and his most frequent word for the day was "why?" as he picked up item after item and stared at it as if it would take over his pantry and hold his other food hostage.

(photo taken from google image search- forgot my camera)

The Daegu Costco is 5 stories tall. Everything above ground level, however, is a parking ramp. There are two levels for shopping that are below ground, which are split between non-food items on the bottom floor (electronics, home items, clothing, and tool sheds that are a curiousity since everyone lives in apartments), and food on the floor above. Escalators with locking grooves for the cart wheels transport you from floor to floor (ingenious).

It is very similar to American Costco- it's the Holy Grail of imported food. Cheerios, microwave popcorn, Nesquick, bagels, cheese, salsa, the works. We could buy Caesar dressing that was made in America by McCormick, exported and labeled in Japan, then sent to the Costco in Korea. And, of course, you could buy all of the Korean staples as well, like kimchi, dried seaweed, rice, noodles, and fish. They also do food demos like we're used to. We were able to sample such things as M&Ms, curry, steak, and cheese balls.

Perhaps one of the best things about this Costco is the cafeteria. They sell pizza, chicken and beef bakes (meat and delicious sauce baked into a giant roll), hot dogs, clam chowder, soft serve, soda and iced coffee. It's not just the food that gets my attention though, it's the condiment station and how Costco patrons use it. Both this time and last time I was here, I saw this happen. The condiment station is stocked with ketchup, mustard, coffee syrup, and a bin of chopped onions with a crank to dispense them. About 95% of everyone will, after they are done with their food, walk up to the onion dispenser and pile about a pound of onions on their plate, mix it with ketchup and mustard, then return to their tables to feast on their free second meal.

It's fascinating to watch. I was waiting in line for a few onions for my chicken bake, and the woman in front of me had a pile bigger than the size of her head. Suddenly, the machine started running low, so she began to bang on it. After a few attempts, she leaned over and grabbed the arm of a nearby employee and pointed to the machine, while balancing her plate in the other hand. I watched in wonder as he too began to assist her in banging the machine. Amazing! It's completely irrelevant that people are cashing in on free condiments.

On the way out, Scott noticed pictures on the wall of Costcos in cool locations. Tokyo, Seoul, San Francisco, various places in Europe, and... Livonia, Michigan. Represent!

I imagine we'll be frequent visitors of Costco throughout the year.

Woobang Tower Land!

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Yesterday I went with the 5th grade on a field trip or "work day." No work required. We loaded up 9 buses (just the 5th grade) and took a 1 hour ride down to Daegu to go to Woobang Tower Land!

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It is a moderately sized amusement park on the side of a mountain in central Daegu. something akin to Disney Land crossed with a carnival, with a few roller coasters, a water log ride, spinning rides, bumper cars, a ghost house, etc.

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...and an "Aladin" fun house! :)

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The rides are mostly targeted toward children of various ages, and toward the entrance to the park, there are periodic character shows. The characters are very strange. Unlike Disney, where the characters are from beloved children's movies, Woobang Towerland offers a random assortment of creatures in swanky outfits- cats, bearmonkeys, etc. I can't seem to pick up on a trend or reason, but it's just odd enough to make you smile and nod.

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As a result, the merchandise is also very different. Instead of Mickey mouse hats or princess scepters, Woobang Tower Land offers children a very broad array of items for purchase: a scream mask, a devil scepter, a headband with happy stars on springs like antennae, and my personal favorite- a 3 foot yellow pole topped with a swirl of plastic yellow poo with a smiling face. Who could resist! I loved watching kids running around hitting each other with it. Amazing.

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It is named for Woobang Tower, a 230 meter tower which sits right next to the park, just a bit further up the mountain. It can be reached by cable car at the entrance of the park.

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The tower offers a "sky jump," meaning you can walk out on a platform from the observation deck and bungee jump down. You can see the platform sticking out there.

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Also in the tower is an Aquarium on the bottom level, an American restaurant on the top (...so the sign said), and an observation deck one level below the restaurant, where the sky jump takes place.

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Daegu, by the way, is huge. I took this from the observation deck of Woobang Tower (which had windows the whole way around), and the city looked like this from every angle.

Massive. It really puts into perspective why people keep referring to Andong as a "small city," even though it looks big to me and has the population equivalent to Grand Rapids, MI. Daegu is also only the third largest city in South Korea, after Seoul and Busan.

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One of the best perks about the whole trip, is that I am now the proud holder of a 1 year pass and unlimited ride sticker!