May 27th - All Done!

Again, I'm sad, but glad that I can have time to rest. The official GCC (Global Course Connections) segment of the trip is now over, and we are free to be on our own once again.

Today, most of us parted ways. Four of our group members are off to Taiwan for another shorter adventure.  Two of those people will be returning for Yonsei study abroad programs to study Korean more intensively. Our GSI and professor are both staying in Korea, but not in Seoul. Two of us are going on separate journeys through Korea while another is going back to the US before returning for another Asian adventure. I will be staying with three others in Seoul for one more, left to our own devices.

might be our only full group picture

We are actually back at our good old Sinchon Hostel, which we stayed at during the first week. I can't believe how quickly these two weeks flew by; it's strange knowing that I was in this same hostel just a week before. I am very pleased with how the trip turned out, and am excited and confident to be on my own (with some others) in Sinchon - ready to brace the subway system and order food and do all the individual things like an imitation Seoul-ite.

We've done so much this trip, and I'm glad I have this blog that I can look back on - because honestly, we've made too many memories to keep track of, and they all happened so fast. We climbed Bugaksan, bumped up against North Korea, visited palaces, watched K-pop in person, cheered for the LG Twins, met Korean college students, drank tea with monks, biked along the Han River, went Gangnam Style, walked til our feet blistered, and so much more.

I know this next week won't be the same level of excitement, but that's perfect. I can only take so much. I'll take these memories with me forever and I hope all my classmates feel the same way I do. Korea and Seoul will hold a special place in my mind and I definitely hope to return in the future. It was a special experience to see so many things firsthand, things that can't be explained by books or pictures.

goodbye for now

Thanks Professor Juhn Ahn and GSI Nora Hauk, you made every penny worth it and more. 

fun and full of information

May 26th - Goodbye GCC; A Little Bit Longer, Seoul

I'm sad today.

But although today was our last day, the day was still very fun and happy. We went to the popular amusement park Everland and it's water park partner, Caribbean Bay. The park itself is not actually in Seoul; it's in Yongin, but lots of people from all over Korea, along with international tourists visit the park.

The park itself is most comparable to Disney Land or Disney World. It's got tons of colorful characters and souvenirs scattered throughout, along with plenty of photo ops. As expected with Korea, there are even cosmetics shops within the park (an Etude House and Face Shop near the entrance). Otherwise, the park is pretty much just like an American theme park. You ride rides, get snacks, and just have as much fun as possible! It really didn't even feel like we were in Korea, except for when we had to communicate with people...

a colorful tree

a colorful ride that i did not ride

We then switched over to Caribbean Bay after lunch, which is just around the corner from Everland. The water park was not very crowded, and it was a generally warm day, but it did get a little colder. We immediately noticed that people here were actually quite covered up. Almost everyone had life jackets (required to leave the shallow end of the wave pool) and something to cover their heads. Many people had shirts on - almost all the foreigners were the most revealing, which was kind of funny to notice. Not all Koreans were so modest though, as the park allows people to dress in such a way that they could never do in public - it's not even legal for men to be shirtless in public places. With regards to all the life vests, our GSI Nora told us that many Koreans just don't know how to swim. There aren't really lakes or pools to swim in, and it's hard to access the beach from Seoul. But maybe everyone just had vests because you'd feel left out if you didn't. Another thing you might notice at Caribbean bay was that a lot of the Korean people there were actually tan. Korean beauty culture usually values white, pale skin, so it was interesting to see people who were tan or tanning. Normally, people do whatever they can to avoid the sun and whiten their skin.

the entrance to caribbean bay

empty wave pool

All in all, a theme park is a theme park, and there's nothing to do there but enjoy yourself, which we did pretty well in my opinion. After swimming, we headed back to Everland to ride a little more and headed home after. The best ride was the T-Express coaster, which is the steepest wooden roller coaster in the world. I love roller coasters, especially those at Cedar Point in Ohio, but that coaster was quite possible the best roller coaster I've ever been on. If we had had more time, we definitely would have ridden again.

a giant red heart

Anyway, we headed back to Seoul by a combination of bus and train, and it took almost a couple hours.

I'm glad we ended the trip on such a great note, but I'm actually really sad that it's over. I'll definitely miss all the friends I've made here, and my professor and GSI too, who were really just like friends to us on the trip the whole time.

a bear

bye bye everland!

May 25th - Picnic in the Park

The official trip is really close to ending now, and I'm getting really sad (but also relieved, because these are some of the most tiring two weeks I've ever experienced). Today was a fun and relaxing day, and tomorrow will be too, so that's exciting. Yesterday was a "free day," so we didn't have to blog about it and had it to ourselves. Some of us ate in Samcheongdong, the neighborhood to the north of Jogyesa and Insadong, for lunch and dinner. I went back to Myeongdong and got some shopping done. Men's sizes here are way more convenient for me; if I lived here I'd be poor but dressed well.

Today we had a picnic in a park beside the Han River. The weather was very sunny and it was really hot, but it got better as the day went on and we moved to a cooler spot. But before we went on the picnic, we had to get some food, which we obtained from the Lotte Department Store in Myeongdong. As I've talked about earlier (I think) the department stores here have so many things. The lower floor is pretty much a grocery store and it's filled with foods, baked goods, and the seemingly out of place cleaning supplies and hygiene items. It was actually a little overwhelming. Right outside the grocery area (the divide between "grocery area" and "outside area" is very ambiguous) there are lots of smaller cafes with pastries and cakes along with a food court type area with chairs surrounding different types of foods, including a rotating sushi bar. We all ended up choosing our own groceries but paid together after about 20 minutes, which was a bit chaotic.

chomping on a Lotte-sponsored picnic

After buying groceries, we headed onto the subway and got off near the park, where we sat and ate for a while under some nice shady white things. From what I've experienced, Seoul has lots of great public spaces that I find visually pleasing and are clearly well-utilized, so high-five to the brains behind the development. As always, there were plenty of couples, but they were actually outnumbered by the families.

The great thing about today that made me really happy was seeing all the young families with young children all out together and playing happily. There were a lot of toddlers and babies just flying kites (but we got a kite too) and running around playing soccer, or riding bikes or rollerblading. The parents played well with the kids and it was just a really happy atmosphere. This aspect of living also reinforces the positive view that I have on Seoul's utilization of public gathering spaces. It's not like the park was empty either, it was actually quite crowded and busy, but just enough - not crazy and not uncomfortable.

family time

Another thing you'd notice when picnicking here is that people like to bring tents. I don't know if they stay overnight, but we realized how important the tents were once the giant mosquito-like bugs (and mosquitoes) started swarming us. The families tents are pretty serious and fancy too, like at the same level as the fancy ajumma and ajusshi hiking gear. They zip up and have screens and roofs; one family even had an air mattress.

civilization is literally a few steps away

The area we sat in after we left the white shady things was a more family-packed area with basketball courts, some open fields, a decently-sized shop, and a couple rows of tents selling street-style foods like meat kebabs, kimbab, and alcohol. From time to time delivery businesses went around and dropped fliers on or near peoples' mats and tents. We got hungry, so eventually we ordered from one of those moped-driving delivery guys and had some pizza and fried chicken, sans the alcohol. (Fried chicken and alcohol is hands-down the most popular post-work and social snack here).

Pretty much, the day was just relaxing and fun, which was much appreciated. The walking was less-intensive and less painful, though the sun was the same as always. We slept on our little blue picnic mat and took pictures and ate snacks. The park was also just a really nice place to people-watch, with all the families and couples around. Little kids liked to drop by every now and then, and we'd try our best to not creep them out with our "annyeongs."

By nightfall, we walked just a little bit over to look at the Banpo Bridge, which is a very pretty sight to see, but it's also really couple-y too - though surprisingly, couples were a minority tonight. The bridge is also part of another type of public-renovation project to help beautify the city. At certain times, the bridge shoots out jets of water that are brightened by multicolored lights. A quick glance on Wikipedia shows that the bridge is 1,140 meters long and has nearly 10,000 LED nozzles that shoot out 190 tons of water per minute. I'd be concerned that such a fountain would be very wasteful, but I hear that LED lights are good for the environment and if the water is coming from the river, then there's plenty of it. Perhaps Wikipedia's counting ability is poor or misinformed, but the sight is pretty breathtaking with the northern side of Seoul as the backdrop (we were on the southern side very close to Gangnam; remember that Seoul is divided in half by the Han River). My camera couldn't capture the nightscape very well, so I had to google the following image. We actually looked at the fountain from below/on its side; we were sitting on the left side of the fountain if you look at the image. My phone has better pictures, but they're not on my computer.

pretty

After taking some pictures and just watching the water flow, we walked across the bridge to the northern side of Seoul and took a cab back to Jogyesa. Now it's time for bed, because tomorrow will be a fun, exhausting, and somewhat sad day as we get ready to say goodbye.

goodnight seoul!

May 23rd - DMZ & JSA

So today was a day that may or may not have happened, depending on certain conditions. It was scheduled on our itinerary, then removed, then called "tentative." During the trip, we actually did get permission to go to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and the JSA (joint security area) between North and South Korea. The experience's tentative nature was really based on recent interactions between North Korea and the rest of the world, our safety is the number one priority, after all. Although many worry about North Korea, South Koreans generally don't. There's no feeling of any danger at all in Seoul; maybe it's in the news every now and then, but life is as casual as it gets here.

The tour itself was definitely an interesting experience. We were led by a tour guide on a tour bus as it drove us to a few memorials and monuments on the way to the border. The tour guide was very friendly and lively, but also quite dramatic, as was most of the experience. We first stopped at a museum that had a large section devoted to the Korean war, and the feeling of propaganda was strong. Outside the museum there were many memorial plaques with the names of those who died in the war. Most were Korean, but there were also plaques for the 16 or so countries that also sent soldiers to help South Korea; the names of those international soldiers were honored in stone as well. There was one room inside the museum with a large video screen that showed images from times of peace to times of war, and ended with theatrical music and the message "freedom is not free" (I was too slow to catch a picture), which I found kind of creepy. There were also lots of models of weapons and machinery and rooms that simulated the feeling of battle.

creepy injured mannequins

There was a statue outside of two soldiers hugging, from a popular story around here describing two brothers. I'll paraphrase the tour guide's version a bit, but the story basically goes like this: one brother, the older one, was old enough to fight for South Korea. Although he was relatively young, he had to go because his family needed food. The younger brother was too young to fight in the war, but as it continued and tensions heightened, the armies began to recruit more people, and the young brother was recruited into the North Korean army. Some time later, the two brothers ran into each other on a battlefield, neither able to shoot the other. Instead, they dropped their weapons and just hugged each other, as the statue depicts. Stories like this are sad, but popular ones when talking about the war. It's definitely a very sad thing, and it may be hard to lose sight of all the losses.

bad picture, only picture

After lunch (bibimbap), we headed to the JSA, the Joint Security Area shared by North and South Korean soldiers. As we drove through, the tour lady shared many more stories of incidents and fights that led up to how the JSA formed and why it looked the way it did. One incident she described was the "Axe Murder Incident." Before the JSA looked like it did, there was a time when the divide between North and South Korea was more ambiguous, and North Korean posts were scattered between South Korean ones. The South Koreans had one post that couldn't be seen by the other South Korean posts because its view was obstructed by a poplar tree. The South Koreans tried to cut it down, and a fight ensued as the North Koreans opposed the action. Tensions rose and it eventually ended with the death of a few people, and I don't know the numbers but at least one person was killed by the axe, by a North Korean. Clearly, this story was shared with bias, but it is still interesting to think about and tells us why the border between North and South Korea, even in the JSA, is very clear cut today. There is a plaque as a memorial of the incident where the poplar tree was located.

where the poplar tree stood

As we drove through the wooded areas, the tour lady kept reminding us that there are landmines all around, which seemed a bit fake and dramatic, as did many of the things that she said. When we were able to get off the bus, she had to remind us of many things not to do, like point, laugh, stray from the group, or anything unnatural. Before the trip, we were also told not to wear anything with short sleeves, ripped jeans, skirts, shorts, and to wear collared shirts, which was a bit of an ordeal for everyone. At the JSA, not everyone was dressed to the code, and nobody seemed to care.

The JSA consisted of a few guardhouses and meeting rooms that straddled the border between North and South. It apparently is a misconception that the 38th parallel is what divides the two nations, and the tour guide told us that the real line is called the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), which more or less straddles the 38th parallel anyway. The physical border between the Koreas is between two of the buildings, marked by a concrete slab. I took a picture of it through a window. The soldier we were with was very strict about what we can and cannot take pictures of, and to be honest, it was hard to tell if it was just part of the fabricated drama or if taking pictures of trees was a real threat to national security. Our professor got yelled at for leaning on a table. Another person got yelled at for taking a picture at an angle that wasn't specified. The building we went in crossed the border, so I guess I stepped into North Korea for a couple minutes.

a peek into north korea; a lady's camera and hands

a very important slab of concrete

if you look closely, there's a north korean man; not kidding

All in all, the experience was just strange. We didn't know what to expect, and it was a little bit anticlimactic. We saw a building in North Korea, and North Korean trees and soldiers, and they looked like normal buildings and normal people. The scariest part of the experience was the giant bees that swarmed us when we were taking pictures at the border, and the angry military man that yelled when we faced the wrong way or sat on the table. It was also strange how commercialized the experience was, which just added to the feeling of fabricated theatrics. The souvenir shop sold JSA and DMZ shirts, for kids and adults along with camo gear from head to toe. They also sold North Korean liquor and wine and the regular gamut of Korean collectibles. There is also a Popeye's chicken just outside the border, along with an amusement park.

It was an experience that I think would be important to do once, but not again. We spent hours on a bus from about 9 to 5, only getting off for an hour or less at a time. You definitely get the feeling of propaganda, and it's just a strange but important thing to see in person.

I can't believe the experience is almost over. We only have about three days left in our official program, then I'll be on my own with three others just exploring Seoul (and revisiting shopping destinations). We have some more fun activities planned though, so I can't wait.

In Short - Where did we go? - DMZ, JSA

May 22nd - Palace and Museum

Because we were out late last night, today was a bit shorter and less intensive with the walking. We got lunch at one of the restaurants run by they Jogyesa temple people, so it was completely vegetarian (monks have to eat it too). It was good though, the soy bulgogi looked and tasted like real meat, so I appreciated that.

We also painted mandaras with one of the monks and had tea with another. I painted a flower and it was green, yellow, and blue. The monk came up to us and interpreted our paintings and styles for us. She told me that by looking at my painting I am a calm, passive, non-aggressive person, which I'd agree with. She also told me I lack direction in my life, which I feel like is also true, but true for everyone in some sense. She also told me I should become a monk. I don't want to become a monk.

painting mandaras

The same monk had tea with us, which was very interesting. She showed us how to drink the tea, what to do with our hands, and how to sit properly at the tea table. I have bad posture, so I feel like I lacked in that department. She said normally monks drink three cups of tea, but every time I finished, she kept pouring more, so I ended up drinking a lot even though I don't even really like tea, because I think it tastes almost like water, though that's beside the point. After infinite cups of tea, we headed to the lunch I described earlier, then walked to Gyeongbokgung palace.

where we had tea

The palace was quite lively, considering that it's very artificial. The site has a history, though. The old palace that was actually built in the Joseon Dynasty did exist, but it was eventually destroyed by burning. This newer palace is built to look like Joseon-style palaces, though, and it was still very beautiful. We sat for a while looking at the architecture, but there wasn't much to see really once you finished appreciating the history and architecture.

behind is bugak mountain, which we climbed before

When we left, we saw the changing of the guard ceremony outside the tower. I would upload a short video I took, but my computer is too slow, so you'll have to settle for a picture instead. The guards were very colorful and sported fake goatees, because many Asian men don't really grow out their facial hair. The ceremonial motions were accompanied by a large, booming drum, and men in colorful robes with leaves and branches sticking out of their hats. The ceremony went as you'd imagine. Some guards left the front gate, other guards came in through another, and four were dropped off at the front of the palace to stand motionless in the heat for a few hours.

changing the guards

We also had a very funny experience in the palace. There were many tour groups, including students and Chinese tourists. We were pretty tired, so we were just sitting, but we also tried talking to some of the people around us, and before long, the Chinese tourists were kind of swarming us, along with the middle-school age Korean boys and girls practicing their English and complementing one of us on our looks. If there was ever a time to pretend to be a celebrity, that was it.

their "mission" was to practice english

After we left, we went to the Seoul National History Museum, which had exhibits on Seoul and its development from past to present. It was interesting to see the panoramic shots of the city before and after Seoul's rabid urban development. Some landmarks that were easily visible, like Myeongdong Cathedral, were easily hidden in the jungle of skyscrapers post-development. I personally like the various tiny models of different styles of architecture and landmarks around Korea. There were a lot of dollhouse-esque models that I find really appealing to look at.

seoul - before and after

I split off with Spencer and Nadia and we went to Myeongdong to do some shopping, then we ended the day eating some pasta at Blacksmith's, a popular Italian restaurant around here. It was delicious. In the late evening, we walked around Samcheongdong, which is another area popular for dates and couples. It's filled with quaint cafes and flower shops, cobblestone roads and benches. There are also places to just grab food with friends, too. We also got to walk through a residential area and see the style of houses there, which are older in an architectural sense, but still nice looking and in a nice neighborhood. We also dropped by the Hello Kitty cafe, which is very pink. The coffees people ordered had hello kitty drawn in the foam, and the waffe Adjanni ordered was shaped like Hello Kitty's head. It was a bit of a cuteness overload, to be honest, and cute things don't normally bother me.

chairs, table, decor - all hello kitty

Now, it's almost 1AM and I need to sleep because we have a very long day ahead of us tomorrow.

Good night!

May 21st - Markets and Cheonggyecheon

I blogged a little earlier the other day, so I wasn't able to talk about our walk along Cheonggyecheon. At nighttime, it's got a very romantic atmosphere and is filled with old and young couples walking, talking, and just sitting along the stream. Cheonggyecheon is essentially a very long stream with bridges and multiple walkways cutting across the way. It was once not so clean and not so romantic, and in more recent times was entirely covered by a highway. Eventually, the highway was removed in the name of urban renewal, and in time the stream became a popular public space. An interesting little fact is that the water in the stream does not flow naturally in the direction that you'd be observing if you looked at it in person. It's actually being artificially pumped against gravity, and I believe it ends up at some sort of purification plant. If you come back to the stream late enough, the water won't be flowing at all.

in the daytime

nighttime

Yesterday, we walked along the river at night, so it was very couple-dominated, which was actually very sweet to observe (or finger-curling if that kind of thing bothers you). Couples are a strange phenomenon here in Seoul; if you're in a relationship here, the world kind of knows. Girls cling to their boys, and it's not a rare occurrence to see couples in matching items - socks, shoes, hats, scarves, or even pants or shirts. Some find it cute, others find it sickening. Social image is very important to people here. At peak hours during the evening, most people won't be found alone. Seoul may feel very couple-dominated or like people have lots of friends, but it's easy to forget that people just stay inside when they're alone. Social anomie is actually a problem in cities like Seoul; it's easy to feel alone when your morals, ideals, or even preferences differ from the larger group at hand.

Today, we walked along Cheonggyecheon in the daytime. It was still dominated by many couples, but there were also families and randoms about as well. We even saw a guy on a skateboard (which is neither popular nor prominent, as described by a Yonsei student in reference to an anomalous skate park in Seoul). The water was flowing and it had a more casual feel during the daytime, much less romantic (but still somewhat).

We started the day much later, so instead of meeting for lunch, we met for dinner. We walked along the river and went to a market to eat. I don't know the name off the top of my head, but it was pretty interesting. The market was lined with many stores that sold traditional hanboks. Many other stores sold wedding wear for men and women, along with wedding shoes and other related items. My cousin's getting married soon; if she lived around here, it'd be so easy to get everything together. 

The market was filled to the brim with food. When we got there, it was just starting to get busy, but when we left, almost all the booths and stands were occupied with business-people meeting after work for eating and drinking (alcohol), arguably the most popular pastime in South Korea. Women were frying foods everywhere, and there was plenty of random seafood to stare at. We ended up eating in a restaurant on the side of the market and had many different things, like pork skin and kimchi tofu. My favorite thing was the haemul pajeon, which is like a seafood pancake (I think I wrote about it a few posts back; I ate it at Yonsei also). It's fried and greasy, but also delicious.

haemul pajeon with long green things

frying goodness

men huddled around food

We left the market after eating and walked further along Cheonggyecheon to Dongdaemun. Dongdaemun is an area of multiple buildings, all for shopping. It's definitely one of many shoppers' paradises in Seoul. The store we started at was a multi-story department store (called doota!, exclamation point included) and it featured many aspiring designers looking to score a spot in the coveted fashion industry. After seeing how expensive everything was, I left with some of our classmates and looked at other stores. One building was filled with many different kiosks, each respectively filled with specific items. The aisle we walked through had a lot of stores specializing in those pashmina-looking scarves and ajumma (middle-aged to older women) hats (visors, large sunhats, caps with velcro). These stores are designed for retailers in places like Namdaemun who buy items in bulk and sell them on the streets for a profit. When we were there, many stores were closed, but we got a good idea of how they look and function.

The last building we went to was filled with more clothes, but at cheaper prices. From 10pm to midnight, the time we spent there, this building was very very busy. The shops had just received their shipments of clothes, and some don't even sell clothes to shoppers, only to retailers. But the shops that do sell to people can cut you a good deal on their clothing. People knew I was foreign when I failed to understand the Korean numbers (but I'm getting better at it!), so I feel like they gave me higher prices. Many of the racks showed clothes but the prices were listed as ranges, like 7,000-15,000 won, and I feel like this is done so that they can charge more to those who can't or are bad at bargaining.

I ended up buying a couple hats and a shirt, it was pretty exciting. We ended the night by walking back along Cheonggyecheon to Jogyesa temple. My feet hurt and I have a couple blisters, which is rare for me. But it's a good pain. 

shopping!

May 20th - Walking

As I'm writing this post, the day is not quite over yet; we're just resting in the temple before we head out to dinner in about an hour.

We did a lot of walking today! We started out by walking from the temple to Myeongdong. The Myeongdong area is quite commercialized and a very popular destination for eating and shopping. There are plenty of street vendors that do sell Korean street food, as always (ttokbokki, ice cream, and more), along with big brand names both foreign and domestic. The gamut of cosmetics stores is of course there as well, along with cardboard cutouts of idols and actors lining the streets. The tourists who visit the Myeongdong area, however, aren't usually westerners. This area is particularly popular with Japanese and Chinese tourists, and you can hear many different Asian languages being spoken by store attendants and advertisers. The advertisers (I don't know a better word for them) just stand outside cosmetic stores and give out free things, but you have to go into their shops and try out products... We were actually somewhat forced into a store when a woman placed a basket with items into one of our friends' hands, and she had to go into the store to give the basket back.

he is everywhere

The Myeongdong area isn't only popular for shopping. The Myeongdong Cathedral is also a part of the area, and it is very large and hard to miss. The Cathedral serves as a reminder of Christian presence in Korea. It is not only important for religious reasons, but also for the community. Historically, people have gathered here for organized protests, such as the movement for democracy, and labor laws. Churches are often popular places to gather for reasons that may or may not involve religion, and this cathedral is no exception.

We didn't spend too long at the cathedral, and moved on to Namsan Tower, also known as Seoul Tower, CJ Seoul Tower, or N Seoul Tower. It's located on a mountain (san = mountain), and the tower itself is only accessible by bus, cable car, or walking. The tower itself has the distinction of being the highest point in Seoul. It functions as a communications tower, but more noticeably as a tourist attraction. Large Chinese tour groups gathered here, along with hiking ajummas and ajusshis (older men and women). The walk up is a hike, and the walk down is not so easy either. The road to and from the tower is lined with many trees, so it's nice and cool even on sunny days, though today was a bit on the cooler side anyway.

After walking down from the tower, we headed to Namdaemun. There's the popular Namdaemun gate of Seoul, along with the crowded Namdaemun market. The market sells a variety of items from dried sea creatures to hello kitty socks and phone cases. It's also a bit notorious for its knockoffs. There are different kinds of purses, shoes, and shirts that all look like name-brands, but none of them really are. The market is an interesting place to shop because many things are cheap, but many things don't actually have prices. This is because a big part of shopping in Namdaemun is haggling. Even the locals won't be able to drop the prices too much, but the shop owners always know what's fair and what's not. 

If you want real brands, for real prices, you can head over to the Shinsegae department store. We looked around there very briefly, but you only need a few minutes to understand what the store is like. The entrance floor was full of perfume and makeup, just like malls in the US, but with more attendants. The basement floor was part grocery store, part bakery, and part cafe. According to our professor, all the major department stores are set up like this. The Shinsegae department store is unique, however, because it's the first major department store that was built in Seoul by the Japanese. The Japanese style department stores led the way in terms of this kind of retail in Seoul, where bored housewives would shop, often in such a way that the shopping displayed wealth and status. Department stores like Lotte also follow the model set by Shinsegae, and the combination of shopping and eating is still a major part of these stores.

shinsegae

lotte

 We'll be heading off to dinner now, so the day's not quite over yet, but I don't think anything major will be happening tonight anyway.