The Korean Market

My new adventure came on Saturday when Amber, Ryann, and myself went to one of the Korean outdoor markets. In order to get there from the school, we had to take a bus ride to the subway, and then take the subway to the market. The three of us walked from the school around the corner (pretty much) to the bus stop... the only problem was that the local Korean school behind our school just got out from weekend classes. The bus stop was packed with kids, and as a general rule, you just push your way onto the buses here in Korea. Our bus made a crowded NYC bus look empty. So many people were standing up and were on the bus, that the driver would stop at places to let people off, and scream "no room" to people waiting to board the bus.

Following our "sardine" bus trip, we departed to the subway. In Korea, the bus passes also work the subway, so we just scanned our cards and then got on the subway... the station is super clean and makes the NYC system look terrible. We rode the first train, I believe, about 7 or 8 stops, and then had to get off and transfer to another train... the system here is in the shape of a giant X, with the transfer stop in the middle.

We finally got off the subway, approached daylight again, and walked the streets to the market. It is very common here to see older ladies or men selling fruit, veggies, or other items right on the sidewalks. They had everything from nuts, to fruit, to veggies, to very fresh fish. At one point we passed a butcher shop that I could see the guys cutting the meat and you could see into their freezer and see the hanging hunks of cow, also known as a frozen meatsicle.

When we got to the market, we walked around, and went through the center "covered, inside market" to get to the center of the market, which is open air (it is hard to explain how its set up). We walked around the market in search of dried fruits and nuts for Amber's trail mix. On our way, we had a Korean "pancake" that was made of dough, cinnamon, and nuts. The thing was piping hot, and so tasty that i could have eaten 10 of them. The market was full of little shops, stands, and food that it was overwhelming at points. One of the more upsetting parts was when we saw the dogs and cats in cages... presumably for meat because some people eat it here and because they were housed next to the chickens. These were (see the picture) not ugly, ragged dogs but little puppies that looked like they should be in a pet shop. That really upset me, being a dog lover, and so we quickly went in a different direction.

We got to the dried fruit stand, and Amber bought some pineapple and nuts; Ryann also bought some fruit and nuts... I only say that because I did not buy anything, but asked instead if I could take a picture of this little stand area. The woman agreed, and then gave me a free, "gift" bag of peanuts -- this was no cheap, airline bag of nuts, but it was a good size. We could not decide if it was because she liked I took a picture or if she liked me and my appearance. In Korea, white men who are relatively thin are considered "very handsome" (I am not kidding) and its not uncommon for me to see people stare and smile at me or have people call me handsome. But either way, I got a free bag of peanuts out of it and enjoyed my time in the market, aside from the dogs.

I did chuckle when I noticed that they were selling a large dufflebag that had the NYPD logo and name on it.