Tomorrow, we will be flying into South Korea, where we will be spending four days roaming the colorful streets of Seoul. To travel from the airport into the city center, the guide book suggested riding the express bus which will take approximately 1 ½ hours to reach our hotel.
We will be staying at the Hotel Lotte, which is ideally located for tourists like us.
This will be our second visit to Seoul. Our first visit was in 2002, when Japan and South Korea co-hosted the FIFA World Cup. I vividly recall that our visit coincided with the football world cup and everyone in the street was dressed in red, in support of the South Korean football team who fared very well to reach the semifinals. We also visited the largest church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church, with about 830,000 members.
We will be staying at the Hotel Lotte, which is ideally located for tourists like us.
This will be our second visit to Seoul. Our first visit was in 2002, when Japan and South Korea co-hosted the FIFA World Cup. I vividly recall that our visit coincided with the football world cup and everyone in the street was dressed in red, in support of the South Korean football team who fared very well to reach the semifinals. We also visited the largest church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church, with about 830,000 members.
As we have done most of the official sights in our last visit, such as the palaces and museums, our current visit will largely be free and easy. Our main agenda is to stroll the streets of Myeong-dong (a bustling yet compact fashion and shopping area across our hotel). We have also penciled in a visit to the traditional Namdaemun market to enjoy the hustly and bustle of Dynamic Korea. We have also arranged to meet up with a former graduate student, Sonya, for a traditional Korean dinner on Dec 30. 
Feast on the delightful Korean cuisine: Top on my menu is to patronize one of the barbeque restaurants where slices of beef (bulgogi) are grilled in front of you and then eaten by wrapping them in lettuce and sesame leaves. My wife fancy samgyetang (a whole chicken stuffed with glutinous rice boiled and served in ginseng broth) and bibimbap (a mixture of rice, vegetables and meat with an egg on top). Of course, a Korean meal would not be complete without the assortment of kimchi side dishes. This year, we will doing the countdown in Seoul. Come to think about it, we have not really watched the countdown in Singapore for a few years already. The last time we were in Singapore during the new year eve was in 2005. Last year, we were in Pennsylvania (2007); the year before that, it was in Tokyo (2006); and in Los Angeles (2004) and New York (2002).
On January 1, 2009, we will be departing Seoul for San Francisco, where I have two research papers on the ASSA meeting programme. We will be spending five days in San Francisco. We will reach home on Jan 7.
On January 1, 2009, we will be departing Seoul for San Francisco, where I have two research papers on the ASSA meeting programme. We will be spending five days in San Francisco. We will reach home on Jan 7.
We wish you a Happy 2009!
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