Where's the Beef? Not in Seoul...
I'm not exactly sure what time we landed. Given the 13 hour time change, and the 13 hour flight, that adds up to 26 hours, and that's more than one day, so I simply can't count that high. I'm not sure, but I think I might have traveled into the future (in case you're wondering, gas prices are still high, and there's no peace in the Middle East).
Anyhow, I think it was around 4:40 pm on Friday when I finally got off the Korean Air flight in Seoul. I proceeded through immigration, customs, and the cellphone rental counter--my Fommer's guide book said that South Korea used GSM, but that is not the case, hence my blackberry is pretty much useless here (except in wifi zones, and more on that later) and my travel cellphone is also useless since I can't buy a SIM card. After that transaction, I found the bus stand at the airport and boarded the bus into Seoul.
An hour and change later, I finally arrived at the Riviera Hotel. I checked in, and they didn't ask for an ID or a credit card (I prepaid through American Express, but still, no credit card to cover mini-bar expenses?). I staggered to my room, unpacked, showered off the layers of airplane funk, and ordered some beef-rib soup from room service--I was hoping for some good American bone marrow, but the shipment hasn't started yet. I then decided to fend off deep-vein thrombosis by heading down to the hotel spa for a massage. Had I gone next door to the hotel to the place with a barber pole, it would have cost less than half what I paid, and I would have actually looked forward to the end of the massage, but I played it straight and stuck to the overpriced sports massage.
By the time I finished in the spa, it was after 10 pm and a reasonable time to take an ambien and crash.
Saturday morning I was up around 7:30, hit the breakfast buffet, and then spent a couple of hours on the phone and Internet doing research. I spoke with a guide at the Seoul Olympic Museum who agreed to give me a tour. I hit the streets and was contemplating walking to the Olympic Stadium, until I realized it was a bit farther than I thought. At one point as I was wandering about 2 blocks from my hotel, my blackberry started vibrating frantically. I had crossed into an open wifi network and 30 emails barreled in at once. I ended up standing in the median in a 10-lane street (most of the main streets in Seoul are wider than highways in the US) for several minutes since I wasn't sure where the signal was coming from and I didn't want to move and lose it.
After catching up on my email--in the middle of the street--I hopped a cab to Olympic Park. Beautiful place. Fountains, ponds, sculptures, hundreds of students water painting, old ladies in sweat suits and sun visors power walking or using the kinetic exercise equipment in the park. Of course there were a few gymnasiums and sports facilities too.
I found the museum and met Kathy the guide. She took me around the museum and told me what she could about the '88 games. She's more used to school kids than foreign journalists, but did an admirable job nonetheless. Afterwards, my KSG classmates (Beckhee, Masao and Yumi) picked me up and we went off for lunch. We spent a few hours talking international politics, Olympics lore, and gossip about fellow classmates. And we all agreed that the change of the initials from KSG (Kennedy School of Government) to HKS (Harvard Kennedy School) is a complete flop.
From lunch we took the metro to Seoul Plaza to witness some of the anti-beef demonstrations. For those not following the news, the South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak signed a deal with the US to allow American beef back into Korea--it had been banned in 2003 after mad cow's appeared in the US. The agreement sparked initial protests from school girls and older women, and it spiraled into a mass movement of tens of thousands. While many protesters were originally coming out to oppose American beef entering South Korea, it also evolved into a massive protest against the president for his handling of the agreement. Basically, people were pissed he did not consult with the people, or the National Assembly, and gave the agreement away to President Bush as a gift to help get the Free Trade Agreement approved by Congress. This was the last straw in a series of moves by President Lee that have angered the Korean public.
First, he appointed cronies to his cabinet, then he proposed English Language Immersion for all elementary school students--he had to retract that proposal after it met with disdain. Then, he proposed a cross-country canal project that environmentalists decried, and others said was a waste of resources. Then the beef deal. Basically people don't like his style, and feel that he has done nothing to deliver on his campaign pledge to boost the economy. Granted, he's been in office just over 100 days, and no one is going to turn around an economy that quickly, but no one is cutting him any slack. Despite a 20 point win in the December '07 presidential election, his approval rating now stands around 20%. Usually it takes presidents years to fall that low, so he deserves credit for doing it so quickly.
Anyhow, we wandered around the protest for a while, then walked through Insaedong to see the traditional/tourist shops. We met up with another classmate Angela and Beckhee's husband and had dinner. The meal was highlighted by Beckhee's constant ladling of glasses of milky-white rice wine. She claimed she was getting us warmed up for Karaoke. Fine with me--the more you drink, the better I sound.
Anyhow, after dinner, we started heading to another drinking establishment, but walked into the street just as the portest march was approaching. I pulled out my gear and started interviewing people and taking pictures. I stood on a corner minutes and protesters streamed by for 45 minute straight. Students, parents, young kids... people of all description. I spoke with some fairly angry students who had been blasted by a water canon the night before when things got a little ugly late at night. Of course, they were a bit circumspect when I asked what preceded their shower....
I walked up to the barricade of armored buses to watch the angry front-phalanx of protesters try to tip over the bus so they could make their way to the Blue House (presidential office) to rant. They weren't having any luck, and it would probably be several more hours before things got violent, so I returned to the bar to catch up with the gang and prepare for Karaoke.
Fortunately, there is no recording of my singing, and that's all I'm going to say about that.
