Chinese Characters

　　I arrived at Incheon International Airport one early morning. Although it was in April, I did not feel cold at all. The well-decorated and furnished airport gave me a fresh feeling. Everything was clean, neat and in order.

　　Surprisingly I saw some airport signboards were printed in Chinese as well as English and Hangul—the Korean language. My Korean friend explained to me,“Those are not Chinese in fact, but Chinese characters(hanja) used by Hangul.”The Korean language has a long history linked with Chinese. Before Hanged was developed by one Korean King in the 15th century, the Korean language had been written in Chinese characters(hanja). Like Japanese, Koreans have borrowed nearly 70% of their vocabulary from Chinese. But Chinese and Hangul are different languages after all, therefore, the Chinese characters(hanja) are mainly restricted to be used in maps, and occasionally in newspapers and people’s written names. It reminded me that the Visa application form is also printed in Chinese characters. In order to prove what he said, my Korean friend showed me his business card, where his name is printed in Chinese as well as Hangul characters.

　　On this particular occasion, the local government tried to use more Chinese characters in the road signs and maps for the coming FIFA World Cup football matches, in order to attract more Chinese visitors and boost the tourism. Nowadays there are increasing numbers of road signs in Seoul written in English, Japanese and Chinese to help foreign visitors.

　　Traffic in Seoul

　　Coming out of the Airport, we bought the bus tickets to the downtown from the information counter. Basically there are two kinds of bus service in Seoul—Limousine Bus and Seat Bus, which runs from 05:00 to 23:00 daily at every 15 or 30 minutes’interval. The price difference between the two is substantial. The Limousine Bus ticket costs 50% more than the Seat Bus ticket, and its seats are more comfortable. The adjustable seat allows me to lie half down. I heard that some buses are even equipped with cellular payphone. The bus set off on time even there were only four passengers.

　　The highway from the Airport to the city is well managed, so the bus can run very fast. But when we approached the downtown, the bus had to slow down. Everyone was struggling to move forward. Impatient drivers tried to change lanes, but in the end still get stuck. I asked the Korean friend why the traffic was so bad. He answered,“too many cars!”He told me that nowadays young people would like to buy a new car rather than save money to buy a house as the old generation did. Besides, the government encourages everybody to own a Korea-made car. And that’s true from my observation. There were few foreign cars on the road. Terrible traffic jams force some people, such as my Korean friend, to stay in the Company’s dormitory after working during weekdays. To save time and energy, he only goes back home in Seoul at weekends.

　　Shopping

　　Seoul, the capital of Korea, lies in the center of the Korean Peninsula. The Hangang River flows from east to west through Seoul, and the mountain range stretching from the north contributes to the city landscape. The center of the city is mostly flat. Spectacular mountains are situated in the suburbs and serve as a resort for Seoul citizens.

　　Seoul looks very modern, just as other big metropolises, such as New York and San Francisco. Our hotel is located in Itaewon Street. There are a lot of fashionable shops which sell clothes and miscellaneous goods including shoes and bags, along with various other shops where we can buy herb medicine and Korean Ginsengs. There are a number of special restaurants, bars, cafes and discos, which attract people to enjoy the night life. Because the US army is stationed in the vicinity, this street has an exotic atmosphere. Those who walk along the streets are mostly foreigners like us.

　　Shoppers can take advantage of low prices but still receive high quality products. Discounts may be given if you barter with the shopkeepers. Normally shop owners can say only a few words of a foreign language, usually those related to shopping, so it is helpful to learn and practice some Korean phrases and words before you visit the shops.

　　Delicious Korean Food

　　In Seoul, of course, we would not miss the chance to try the traditional Korean food. In one of the famous Korean restaurants, we ordered“Bulgogi”(grilled beef), which literally means“Fire Beef”and is often translated as“Korean Barbecue”

　　There was a hot plate right in the center of the dining table, the waitress put it on fire after serving us with the drinks, different kinds of seasonings and vegetables. The waitress used vegetable leaves to wrap the grilled beef strips, add garlic, chili and all other seasonings, of course also Korean Kimchi into a row, just like when eating the Peking Duck. It’s very delicious!

　　Later on, our Korean friend also recommended us to try“Bulgalbi”(roasted beef ribs), in which short beef ribs are used instead of beef strips. The grilled beef ribs really have a different but better taste.

　　We also tried“yeongyang dolsot bibimbab”(nutritious bibimbab). The healthy menu consists of thirty kinds of vegetable (gingko nut, mushroom bean sprout, etc.) topped on a bed of boiled rice, mixed with hot chili paste and served with beef soup.

　　Of course, great food needs to be served with good wine. There were two kinds of Korean herbal wine. One is called“A-hundred-year Wine”which means you can live to 100 years old after drinking this wine. The wine is made from a number of Korean herbs, mainly from Ginseng. The other one called“Fifty-year Wine”is made almost from the same ingredients but tasted slightly lighter. The hospitable Korean friend asked us to mix these two kinds of wines, which they name“A-thousand-year Wine”Obviously he hoped we could live that longer!