A Good Night (And Good Week) In Korea
May. 17th, 2025 11:04 pmIt's a lovely evening here in Korea. My uncle's fixing dumplings for dinner and after that I'm going to take a shower and my cousin and I are going over to the mall a couple blocks away to walk around and hang out. I love having a mall so close--living in American suburbia, if I want to do anything or hang out with anyone except my parents or the squirrels in the backyard, I have to drive (or get a ride since I don't have a car... or my licence, oops). And the nearest mall is the next town over, and is one floor compared to anywhere from eight to ten floors here, depending on how you count.
Today we had some fun here in the town we're staying in, a satellite of Seoul. We had bibimbap (or bip 'n' bop, as my aunt pronounces it) for lunch, which was really good! I realized it's basically warm, deconstructed kimbap, which I also loved. My mum and I also took a walk along this little river nearby, although there was a lot of netting and some work being done--not quite as picturesque as my aunt portrayed it. Afterward, we all (including my cousin, AKA #1) went to this local fortress, where we saw a sort of martial arts demo! And then we went through this little shopping street and had bingsu (or, as my mum thought it was, "bean soup"). It was really great! My mum got us mango flavour, and I'm not really a mango girl, but it was really good--even the mango bits! My aunt says that's probably because they can get proper mangoes here, that are nice and sweet--all I've ever had back in the Middle of Nowhere, Missouri, have been past their prime, and thus not as good.
I'm picking up later now--the dumplings were scrumptious! After dinner I went to the mall, although without my cousin since he was watching his show. I walked around, bought a K-pop album and a couple random goodies that are going to be souvenirs for my friend, and then I went into a bunch of stores and didn't buy anything (I'm sorry if I made any of the mall workers hate me!), and even went into a perfume store and pretended I was going to buy their perfume just because I really, really liked the song they had playing. What can I say?
Speaking of K-pop albums, I got an order today of some albums! I haven't been able to find any Verivery albums or merch anywhere, but I went on Coupang, which is kind of like the Korean version of Amazon, and bought a Verivery haul! I got seven posters from albums I didn't already have--including a poster from an album that I bought ages ago, but didn't get the poster from since they didn't tell me it was preorder-only! I was really ticked off about that. Anyways, I also got two albums--Veri-Chill and Face Me. They're really cool! Face Me even included a holographic (is that the right word?) photocard! Very cool. :D
Speaking of Verivery, I actually sang one of their songs yesterday in a noraebang (Korean for karaoke)! I went to this place in Seoul called HiKR Ground, which is funded by the national government. Not sponsored, of course, but it was really cool! There's a noraebang room, where I butchered two Verivery songs--I got a 0 (!! Because they score you) on both, but that might be because I don't think the mic was on. Either way, it was very embarrassing and a humbling, harrowing experience. There's also place where you can make your own dance videos and stuff with all sorts of different backgrounds, which was insanely cool! Although I realized I don't actually fully know that many Verivery choreographies. I mean, I sort of know most of them, but not well enough to confidently do in a dance video. Girls' Generation are only my second favourite group, but somehow I know more of their dances--solidly, at least! Maybe it's because they're also girls/women/whatever you want to say so I can relate to them more psychologically.
I also ran into this big group of Belgians there who were doing the "APT" dance video and I went in and danced with them! It was really cool to meet some other francophones, and when I thanked one of the girls in French and she asked "oh, tu es francophone aussi?" ("Oh, are you a Francophone too?") I have to admit I felt like a part of the cool kids club. Even though I think one of them thought I was a man, but I couldn't tell since there were about ten of them, all talking amongst themselves as they tried to send me the video. They did randomly give me some Belgian chocolates, though, which was really sweet! And getting to practice my French with someone who actually speaks the language (unlike my poor mum whom I subject to French, albeit that she really tries for me!) was super cool.
Actually, I've noticed that Korea seems to be a super francophile country, but in a subtle way. In the mall, if a store's name isn't in English or weird brandspeak of mashing up random words, it's in French. (Although sometimes the French can be... questionable. I suppose it's just the opposite of all the clueless white people thinking they're getting a tattoo of something super deep in Chinese and it actually says "Peking duck".) And there's "French-style" bakeries everywhere. The croissants and other stuff are actually accurate, at least from my experience! Although there's some stuff in there I don't think you'd ever find in a bakery in France, and you also pick things up with tongs and put them on a tray which you then take to a cashier to buy them--it's not like most bakeries in Europe and elsewhere, where you just go up and ask them for what you want.
Another highlight from yesterday: we went to this palace in Seoul and did a walking tour. It was really cool and we even got to watch the changing of the guards! Although my feet soon started to complain, as did my mouth. We stopped at a Daiso and I got some in-soles IN SEOUL!! Ha ha!
We were going to go to a ramen place for lunch but got the wrong place--a tonkatsu place the floor below. The waitress immediately, without saying a word, as we approached, pointed at a sign that said in at least two languages--Korean, English and maybe Chinese or Japanese--"we don't serve ramen and don't ask us if we do", Well, at least they were honest! We went to go to the ramen place, but the line was super long so we went back to the tonkatsu place anyway. The pork tonkatsu was really good! Although the cold noodles I also got were decent--but would've been better hot. I agree with my mum that cold soup just... seems wrong, at least to our palates.
I also randomly happened upon a K-pop store in the subway station we stopped in! I bought a couple of albums--the SMTown 30th Anniversary album, Zerobaseone's newest album, and EVNNE's Hot Mess album. I stumbled through an interaction where the cashier asked me what bonus photocard I wanted, but I didn't understand so she just gave me NCT's Jaehyun. Nothing wrong with him, but if I had known what she was asking I would've asked for a Girls' Generation member! I did naturally pull Seohyun anyways, at least, but still.
And that's about it! And the K-pop isn't even over yet, since tomorrow I'm going to see the K-pop bears in Gangnam (yes, that Gangnam) and do some K-pop shopping, if I can do so without breaking the bank. And now it's getting late, so I should get to bed. Good night!
P.S. One more tiny story I just remember. Someone in front of me in a checkout queue at a shop today had her son, who was walking around her and just generally being cute. I told her her son was so cute (Speaking English, but in a French accent, because why not?) and she said thank you, and then the kid stopped what he was doing, looked at me, waved and said thank you too! It was so adorable :D
Today we had some fun here in the town we're staying in, a satellite of Seoul. We had bibimbap (or bip 'n' bop, as my aunt pronounces it) for lunch, which was really good! I realized it's basically warm, deconstructed kimbap, which I also loved. My mum and I also took a walk along this little river nearby, although there was a lot of netting and some work being done--not quite as picturesque as my aunt portrayed it. Afterward, we all (including my cousin, AKA #1) went to this local fortress, where we saw a sort of martial arts demo! And then we went through this little shopping street and had bingsu (or, as my mum thought it was, "bean soup"). It was really great! My mum got us mango flavour, and I'm not really a mango girl, but it was really good--even the mango bits! My aunt says that's probably because they can get proper mangoes here, that are nice and sweet--all I've ever had back in the Middle of Nowhere, Missouri, have been past their prime, and thus not as good.
I'm picking up later now--the dumplings were scrumptious! After dinner I went to the mall, although without my cousin since he was watching his show. I walked around, bought a K-pop album and a couple random goodies that are going to be souvenirs for my friend, and then I went into a bunch of stores and didn't buy anything (I'm sorry if I made any of the mall workers hate me!), and even went into a perfume store and pretended I was going to buy their perfume just because I really, really liked the song they had playing. What can I say?
Speaking of K-pop albums, I got an order today of some albums! I haven't been able to find any Verivery albums or merch anywhere, but I went on Coupang, which is kind of like the Korean version of Amazon, and bought a Verivery haul! I got seven posters from albums I didn't already have--including a poster from an album that I bought ages ago, but didn't get the poster from since they didn't tell me it was preorder-only! I was really ticked off about that. Anyways, I also got two albums--Veri-Chill and Face Me. They're really cool! Face Me even included a holographic (is that the right word?) photocard! Very cool. :D
Speaking of Verivery, I actually sang one of their songs yesterday in a noraebang (Korean for karaoke)! I went to this place in Seoul called HiKR Ground, which is funded by the national government. Not sponsored, of course, but it was really cool! There's a noraebang room, where I butchered two Verivery songs--I got a 0 (!! Because they score you) on both, but that might be because I don't think the mic was on. Either way, it was very embarrassing and a humbling, harrowing experience. There's also place where you can make your own dance videos and stuff with all sorts of different backgrounds, which was insanely cool! Although I realized I don't actually fully know that many Verivery choreographies. I mean, I sort of know most of them, but not well enough to confidently do in a dance video. Girls' Generation are only my second favourite group, but somehow I know more of their dances--solidly, at least! Maybe it's because they're also girls/women/whatever you want to say so I can relate to them more psychologically.
I also ran into this big group of Belgians there who were doing the "APT" dance video and I went in and danced with them! It was really cool to meet some other francophones, and when I thanked one of the girls in French and she asked "oh, tu es francophone aussi?" ("Oh, are you a Francophone too?") I have to admit I felt like a part of the cool kids club. Even though I think one of them thought I was a man, but I couldn't tell since there were about ten of them, all talking amongst themselves as they tried to send me the video. They did randomly give me some Belgian chocolates, though, which was really sweet! And getting to practice my French with someone who actually speaks the language (unlike my poor mum whom I subject to French, albeit that she really tries for me!) was super cool.
Actually, I've noticed that Korea seems to be a super francophile country, but in a subtle way. In the mall, if a store's name isn't in English or weird brandspeak of mashing up random words, it's in French. (Although sometimes the French can be... questionable. I suppose it's just the opposite of all the clueless white people thinking they're getting a tattoo of something super deep in Chinese and it actually says "Peking duck".) And there's "French-style" bakeries everywhere. The croissants and other stuff are actually accurate, at least from my experience! Although there's some stuff in there I don't think you'd ever find in a bakery in France, and you also pick things up with tongs and put them on a tray which you then take to a cashier to buy them--it's not like most bakeries in Europe and elsewhere, where you just go up and ask them for what you want.
Another highlight from yesterday: we went to this palace in Seoul and did a walking tour. It was really cool and we even got to watch the changing of the guards! Although my feet soon started to complain, as did my mouth. We stopped at a Daiso and I got some in-soles IN SEOUL!! Ha ha!
We were going to go to a ramen place for lunch but got the wrong place--a tonkatsu place the floor below. The waitress immediately, without saying a word, as we approached, pointed at a sign that said in at least two languages--Korean, English and maybe Chinese or Japanese--"we don't serve ramen and don't ask us if we do", Well, at least they were honest! We went to go to the ramen place, but the line was super long so we went back to the tonkatsu place anyway. The pork tonkatsu was really good! Although the cold noodles I also got were decent--but would've been better hot. I agree with my mum that cold soup just... seems wrong, at least to our palates.
I also randomly happened upon a K-pop store in the subway station we stopped in! I bought a couple of albums--the SMTown 30th Anniversary album, Zerobaseone's newest album, and EVNNE's Hot Mess album. I stumbled through an interaction where the cashier asked me what bonus photocard I wanted, but I didn't understand so she just gave me NCT's Jaehyun. Nothing wrong with him, but if I had known what she was asking I would've asked for a Girls' Generation member! I did naturally pull Seohyun anyways, at least, but still.
And that's about it! And the K-pop isn't even over yet, since tomorrow I'm going to see the K-pop bears in Gangnam (yes, that Gangnam) and do some K-pop shopping, if I can do so without breaking the bank. And now it's getting late, so I should get to bed. Good night!
P.S. One more tiny story I just remember. Someone in front of me in a checkout queue at a shop today had her son, who was walking around her and just generally being cute. I told her her son was so cute (Speaking English, but in a French accent, because why not?) and she said thank you, and then the kid stopped what he was doing, looked at me, waved and said thank you too! It was so adorable :D
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