#seoulshenanigans

[asvieasweknowit]

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Haha Zombie at our table #zombiebar #Hongdae #Seoul #seoulshenanigans

[udon-mon]

Got some Seoul

It's strange. You only miss something or realise it's true value when you don't have it anymore. I'm on the fence about Seoul. I like their design aesthetic, their style, their prices and even some of their food. But their language, culture and people I don't feel particularly fond of. 

Maybe spending so much time in Japan has made me a lot more sensitive to manners and social etiquette (which Seoul seemed to be utterly lacking in). I suspect being back in Singapore will also drive me up the wall for weeks when people just don't behave the way I'm used to them behaving. 

And while my Japanese is nowhere near basic proficiency in daily conversation, let alone script, it's still comforting being able to understand and communicate (however simplistic and convoluted it may be) where I was floundering in Korea all the time.

The weather was also a miserable preview of how nasty the cold is going to get in Tokyo/Yokohama (fortunately it isn't expected to get any colder so I know I can survive it without too much agony). 

What I did adore though was the heated flooring (ondol) that Koreans have. It makes a huge difference in room comfort. Unfortunately it isn't particularly portable/easy to steal. 

It was fun, despite the cold and therefore multitude of woolly clothing which promises slow, sticky death to anyone ballsy enough to try wearing them in Singapore's weather. 

Amazingly, Wan Lin and I didn't kill each other and more or less agree that we like Japan a hell lot more. Even my appetite shrank in Seoul, oddly enough, yet returned in ravenous triplefold the second I stepped into a Japanese konbini. With the exception of Paris Croissant, we generally ate because we were hungry and not because of any particular food cravings or greed. (Quite out of character for us omnomnomnivores)

It was a nice break though. While being on exchange in Japan is still great (even on a relatively mundane routine level on most school days), it was good to have a break from it, to have some thought time to process how we felt and how we were after being there for 70 days, the longest we have ever been away from home. 

I do feel a much stronger appreciation and love for the country now, the consideration, their motivations, even their style. And of course, the food! <3