Saturday, August 25, 2018
Seoul
Cable Car to Seoul Tower and My Presentation at East-West Center Conference
Getting to Seoul Tower:
Since we did not have the time to cover Seoul Tower (which is one of the most popular tourist sights in Seoul), Llew and I decided to go there on our own before lunch time. I was required to make my presentation in the afternoon at 2.00 pm.
We awoke after a good night’s sleep and found breakfast at McDonald’s before we took the subway to the stop that would give us access to the free elevator that would take us to the Cable car that would whip us up into the heights of Namsan, the mountain on which the Tower is located. It was actually just a ten minute walk from our hotel, but the Receptionist suggested we take the subway. It would have been good, was there not an interchange to be made—these changes involve a lot of walking underground and a great wastage of time. One is better off walking on the surface upstairs.
Still, once we reached the free elevator, we waited for about 15 minutes to get in, then bought our tickets for the cable car ride. It was only 10.00 am, but already a good number of visitors had reached the top. It is a short ride but as the car moves higher, it offers stirring views of the city. Seoul is sprawling and almost entirely vertical. It comprises modern, well-appointed high-rise buildings with every mod con. Streets are spacious, clean and often used by pedestrians as the weather permits gentle strolling. Overall, the quality of life is comparable to that in any Western city.
Once at the top, we found ourselves in a corner taken over by Love Locks. This strange practice is said to have begun at the Pont de L’Eveche in Paris where someone used a marker pen to scribble the name of a lover and then attach the lock to the bridge. Others followed suit and soon a bizarre practice developed. Eventually, there were so many locks on the bridge that they proved to be a structural hazard to the integrity of the bridge. They had to be forcibly removed and the attaching of locks on that bridge is now prohibited. Well, the practice spread to other parts of the world and many cities have a dedicated spot to which lovers go to declare their attachment to the world by clamming locks on. In Seoul, it is high up near Seoul Tower. In fact, astute business ventures have sprung up around this practice and now locks are sold to couples at the. site. Here, they made a colorful segment of bars that spanned lookout points across to the city.
We walked around the entire periphery taking pictures of the city from Seoul from the heights of the mountain. It looked spiffy and reminded me very much of the train ride up to the heights of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong where one is rewarded with similar views. We also took pictures against the backdrop of Seoul Tower that loomed behind us.
Trying Bingsu—Traditional Korean Ice-Cream:
Since it was so hot, we looked for a place to cool off and found a tunnel leading to the ticket counter from where one can purchase tickets to actually get to the Observation Deck of the Tower (that towered above us and looked rather like a TV tower). There we found a place that offered Bingsu, a traditional Korean dessert that involved a mountain of shaved ice—what is known in Korea as “ice flakes”. We decided that this was the perfect place to try it. So we ordered one each and sat at a bar overlooking the city. Way down below us, we could see traffic crawling through the beautifully laid-out streets. A French family joined us pretty soon and I got into conversation with them. They were very thrilled to find strangers who could speak French in Korea.
Bingsu is offered in large bowls. There is a mound of ice-flakes with a couple of tablespoons of red azuki beans (clearly a Japanese influence) nestled in the bottom and covering the top. There are also chunks of a rather glutinous , jujube-like candy placed at the top and the entire concoction is sprinkled with a peanut-flavored powder. Accompanying the dessert is a little jug of a sweet milky liquid which you are supposed to pour over the entire dessert to flavor the shaved ice. It was really delicious but quite the strangest thing we had ever eaten.
We decided not to go to the Observation Deck as the views offered would would only be smaller than what we had already enjoyed. We watched what looked like the Changing of the Guard on a promontory that contained a number of watch towers—this spot has historical significance because the lighting of a lantern at this point, centuries ago, had warned the city of impending invasion. They were able to take shelter from the onslaught and save themselves. As a symbol of that event, there is a ritual ceremony involving changing of guards and lighting of a lantern every few hours—and we were lucky to catch one such ceremony.
Then it was time for us to make our way back to the cable car for the downhill ride. Using instinct, this time I was able to find our way back to the conference hotel without taking the subway. It was actually less than fifteen minutes away.
Lunch and Award Ceremony:
The Award Ceremony that began about a half hour previously was under way when we arrived at the huge main hall for lunch. It was a buffet and it offered a large variety of foods from sushi (which I enjoyed) to smoked salmon, from beef steak to continental dishes such as chicken Florentine. Llew and I helped ourselves and took our seats to watch a number of people receive awards in recognition of the voluntary work they do in different parts of the world as alumni of the East-West Center to keep the spirit of the place alive and to continue to foster the mission of the institution. Thus, delegates from varied parts of Asia (such as the Chennai Chapter in India and Malaysia) went up to receive their awards. My friend Jessica also received her’s and I was glad I had the opportunity to congratulate her in person.
My Presentation at the Conference:
At a little before 2.00 pm, Llew and I left the Awards ceremony which was scheduled until 2.00 pm and made our way up to the 36th floor where my panel session was to be presented. The Chairperson was already present and the two other presenters—a lady from the Philippines and a man from Singapore—followed soon. Initially, there weren’t many people present—clearly they were all caught up with the awards downstairs. But a little after 2.00pm, they came pouring in and the room filled up impressively. I was delighted as I was the first speaker. My paper on the Repression of Free Creative Production in India by the forces of political censorship accompanied two papers—on Filipino workers in the Middle East and one on depictions of the North-South Korean conflict in contemporary American media. I thought that the three presentations gelled together very well. They were followed by a brisk question and answer session in which a large number of people offered views and queries that were relevant and added to the spirit of mutual understanding through discussion—which is what these conferences are supposed to foster while also showcasing the research work of international scholars. I was deeply satisfied by the session and by my role in it and was, at the same time, greatly relieved that it was over. Llew and I were free to enjoy our last evening together. There was a Gala Variety Entertainment Show accompanied by a Banquet dinner that evening, but we decided to go out and taste some typical Korean delicacies in the heart of Myeongdong as we had not yet done so.
Exploring the Streets of Myeongdong:
We were lucky that we were based in one of the most happening parts of Seoul. Myeongdong is a warren of lanes filled with shops and restaurants that attract locals and visitors non-stop. There are upscale designer department stores and road-side vendors who offer the most stunning wares at very reasonable prices. I found some lovely costume jewelry to take back to India as gifts.
After we had returned to the hotel, freshened up and planned our evening, we set out first for Uniqlo as I wanted to take a look at the summer collection offered by Ines de la Fressange—the French designer whose work I rather admire. I thought that it would be good to pick up some pieces for the heat of Bombay. When we did get there, we found out that it was a fall and winter collection and would only be launched on August 30. So, basically, it was a wild goose chase.
However, the excursion did give us the excuse to go out and discover Myeongdong and that we certainly did. We browsed in small food stores for Gongju, the basic chillie paste in which Koreans marinate cabbage to make kimchi, the pickled cabbage that accompanies all their meals. Then, we looked for a place to eat and decided we would go traditional. We found a place that looked packed with Koreans (always a good signifier of the eatery’s quality) and ordered Bulgogi Bilimbap—which is basically a vast portion of raw Korean Beef, cut into very thin slices, placed on a large round wok with a great amount of delicious broth at the bottom and a number of raw vegetables on the periphery. The attendant comes and lights the burner that is in the center of each table that seats four. As the wok heats up, the meat and vegetables cook. She came along and snipped our meat and vegetables and made smaller pieces of them. Soaked in the broth, the meat lost its pinkness very quickly and turned brown and ready to eat. In small individual bowls, you ladle out the broth, then use chopsticks to pick up the meat and vegetables and add them to your bowl. The entire culinary experience was interesting, plus the food was so tasty, it was unbelievable. We had more than enough for two people but we enjoyed it so much over a shared bottle of cold beer. It was the perfect use of our last night together.
As we were not far from our hotel, we walked back briskly and got ready for bed as we would be leaving Seoul the next day.
Until tomorrow...
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