There’s a first time for everything, and Korea is no different. After all, one of the best aspects of traveling involves seeing and doing new things. Since coming here, I’ve experienced a lot of “firsts”, some very pleasant and some not so much.
On my first weekend here, a co-worker took us newbies on a tour of the town. One morning, we went to the Five Day Market, a fairly famous attraction in Seogwipo. Although it had a lot of interesting elements and some great deals, I was completely and utterly perturbed by the animal section. Just outside one of the wings of the market, puppies, chickens, and kittens were crammed into tiny cages and kept in despicable conditions. I was told by my co-worker that these dogs were being sold with a specific purpose in mind: buy them, raise them, slaughter them, eat them. “$15 per puppy?!”, I asked through tear-filled eyes. “I’ll take them all!” Knowing that I couldn’t save them didn’t stop me from giving each of them a little loving attention until it became too emotionally overwhelming and I needed to move on. I’d like to think some people felt the same way I did and adopted some of them for companionship.
The chickens divided the puppies from the psychotic kittens. I’ve never been a huge fan of birds, but I was appalled by the small crates, each containing 10ish chickens. Every time a customer purchased a live one, the other birds were sent into a state of frenzy, desperately trying to escape, but getting forced back down and covered with a flattened box.
“I can’t watch this. Kittens: I don’t think they’d eat these kittens. They must be safe to play with.” I picked up a tiny, mangy white and gray cat and attempted to sooth it with gentle tickles under the chin; the cat was not having it. As I bent over to set it back in it’s cage, it jumped from my arms, did a full 360 in midair, and landed with its claws wrapped around the wiring. “Way to go, Cat Flipper”, said my co-worker. The nickname stuck.
On the slightly more pleasant side was the first time I touched the Pacific Ocean- technically it’s the East China Sea, but still. I’d never been to the Far East before moving here and was determined to go into the water (even though it was November). It seems much bluer than the Atlantic and was surprisingly warm for winter.
Like many people, I grew up hating spiders. I’m not exactly afraid of them: I just don’t like them to be near me. As a baby, I was bitten on the head and rushed to the hospital with a sky-rocketing fever. I don’t like spiders. They can stay in their space, and I’ll stay in mine. On Jeju Island, there are Banana Spiders galore. While out on a nice walk in nature, you’re sure to see them resting on their webs woven between large leaves and branches. As long as they stay there and don’t creep into my flat, we’re all good.
I’ve spent extensive time in New York City (an artist’s haven), as well as across Europe, but never have I witnessed such a dramatic performance. Back in December, Seogwipo hosted the International Experimental Arts Festival. I live just off of Art Street, the venue for the event, and decided to check it out. Although I had no idea what to expect, it definitely was not this. For one hour, a group of five performers silently enacted what I interpreted to be a tumultuous life cycle; I could be way off. I’ve got to hand it to this particular performer-it’s pretty difficult to make such a terrifying facial expression.
Cat cafes are another curious thing that I’d never heard of until I moved to Korea. While visiting Busan for New Year, a co-worker excitedly expressed her interest in visiting a “cat cafe”. I had absolutely no idea what this was or what it would entail, so I jumped on board. It is exactly what it sounds like: a cafe filled with cats. We arrived at the cafe, ordered a tea, and were presented with a page detailing the proper etiquette (seen below). For the next half hour or so, we idled around the small cafe, petting the friendly cats and trying to intrigue the lethargic ones with a toy mouse on a string.
I’d never been to a temple before coming to Korea. The beautiful temples that I’ve visited thus far have been in various environments, from seaside cliffs to mountains. They aren’t so different from other types of religious sanctuaries (paintings, candles, statues, and people praying), with the notable exception of dragons. Most temples also look pretty much the same with green roofs, red pillars, and intricate blue and gold trimming painted near the top; however, it’s the surrounding scenery that distinguishes them. I’ve enjoyed all of the temples that I’ve seen and would definitely recommend checking some out if you’re visiting the East.
Surprisingly, I’ve also never banged on a gong until coming to Korea.
I’ll never forget my first temple visit in Korea. It was an amazing day and I’ve been obsessed with temples ever since. I was actually just commenting on another blog that I’ve been to so many temples across Asia now but I never get bored. I don’t remember cat cafes being such a thing when I lived in Korea (I left in 2008) but I’ve heard a lot about them since! I also hate the animal markets. I’ve heard there are some awful ones here in China but I’ve managed to avoid them so far.
A good bunch of firsts there.
Hallo Leah
Good post! New things are why we travel!
Happy travels ( :
I’ve never visited a cat cafe because I’m allergic (and not really a cat person anyway), but I’d like to visit a dog cafe. There’s one in Ulsan that has a pool out back. It’s kind of like a doggy daycare and you can also bring your dog in to hang out with the other dogs.
I really love visiting temples in Korea. Even if there’s nothing special about it, I love the peace that comes with being there. It’s always so quiet and tranquil.
That performer’s face is absolutely terrifying!
There’s a cat cafe here in Pohang that’s my go-to place to relax. The cats are in a separate room, which works just fine for me since I’m crazy allergic to cats. The ambiance is what clinches it for me. So comfortable.
Just like Meagan, I love visiting temples here! The setting is so calm and relaxing; I like to just go and hang out for a bit. It’s a great way to relax ? Thanks for the post!
I adore cat cafes! My favourite chain is in Seoul, and called 고양이다락방, which literally translates as ‘cat attic’. They have several locations throughout Seoul (I like the one around Konkuk University, 건대입구 on the subway).
I recently wrote a post about temples here in Taipei, I absolutely LOVE them. If you enjoy temples in Korea, you should head over here and check out the likes of Longshan and Baoan Temple if you get enough vacation time. Donghwasa in Daegu has a stunning location and a giant Buddha statue, if you’re ever in that area.
Wow! The issue of dog meat is a huge one. I have to admit that my mind was changed a bit on it after following a facebook fight in a group about it. People posted pictures of the abuses that dogs and animals in general suffer, and it ain’t pretty.
But I still love meat. I was thinking about trying dog meat, but now I think I will table the notion, but after 11 years in Korea, I still haven’t done a lot of things, like the cat cafe. My son loves cats so thanks to your post, we might be doing that soon.
And you live is Seogwipo?!!! You lucky SOB! That’s my favorite city in Korea. I hear it’s fun to visit Jeju but like many other places, living there is a different story. Is this true? Or is that place the best kept secret in the Korean teaching world and by answering me you will be kicked out of the association?
Blink once for yes and twice for no.
Hahaha I definitely love living here. I think it’s a very authentic Korean experience, as there are hardly any foreigners in the city and the island has a unique culture and way of life. I love being able to hike the Olle Trails or go for a scenic bike ride before work, for sure.
Okay, what?! There are spiders like that on Jeju! This should make for an interesting camping trip there in June…
Believe it! They are crazy big, but beautiful in a weird way.
I loled at that sign! Cat cafe’s are next up on the agenda for me =)
I’m getting my GoPro this weekend so expect a video on it some time in the new future.
Yes! Maybe try and strap the GoPro to a cat without getting caught just to get an alternative perspective of the fiasco? ?
What a great list! This makes me want to think about all of my firsts here in Korea! After being here for a couple years, it’s good to look back at everything I’ve experienced since coming here.
We love temples too! It seems like a lot of us in the k-blog community are really into temple exploring. We should all get together sometime for a temple trip/ or a templestay! ?