Then we were off, down into Itaewon subway station for the ride to Sinyongsan station and the Emart. Itaewon is on a hill, so the subway line is about 5 stories below ground. The above photo shows Deb and the girls about half way down the 3 storey escalator in this station.
Below is a shot of the EMart (bottom right), which is attached to the large IPark store at Yongsan. Emarts are pretty convenient and modern stores. With dry goods on one floor and groceries on another, there is also photo shop, food court (pictured below) and many other peripheral shops and services. We mentioned the food court in the last post, but thought it deserved a photo and a few more words. The food court seems to be just operated by the store (not a collection of vendors like we are used to in Canada and that are also common in malls here). In the photo there is a glass display with plasticized(?) examples of each dish on their menu (including squids!). I did not see any hamburgers or fries in this display, mostly Korean dishes. Although there was a pizza and a spagetti in cream sauce on display. Once you select one of the numbered dishes, you order and pay for it at the cash (hidden from view behind the display case). Then go sit down and watch for your order number to be displayed at one of the many cooking/serving stations (in the far background of the photo). You pick up your order which is on a tray, along with various side dishes, including the ubiquitous kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage, eaten here with every meal), pickled radishes (quite tasty) and sometimes a bowl of soup or broth. You get a spoon and stainless steel chopsticks. There may be forks too, but you have to ask for them. The girls use spoons (or "trainer" sticks if we can get them) and Deb and I use the sticks, although find the metal ones to be a bit slippery for us novices. There are self-serve filtered water dispensers (hot and cold) with UV shelf units (about the size of a small fridgeor microwave) containing small plastic cups. We sometimes see these UV units with stainless steel utensils in them. As we mentioned before, the food is pretty good in this food court/cafeteria. And not a french fry or hamburger to be found here.....good for us now, but I'm sure we'll be hankering for a burger in the future. Interestingly, while I was sitting at the food court having a drink, while the kids played and Deb shopped, a man sitting at the same table said hello (in English), asked if I as Canadian (maybe my red and white Roots backpack gave it away) and then gave me a coupon for a hamburger meal at some chain restaurant here. I think he was just being nice or maybe he thought I didn't like the Korean menu (since I was only having a drink?). I thanked him and will save that coupon for the day I get a hankering for a burger.
One observation I should mention is that there is about 95% less packaging at this place compared to our standard fast food joint. The only things we threw away after our lunch here yesterday were drink containers (not the water glasses), napkins and a little left over food. Everyting else gets washed and used again. We didn't see recycling receptacles here, but then again they don't appear to need them as much.
The Emart also has a small children's play area. This was "the bait" to get Jin and Lili to come shopping yet again. They've been troopers on this trip, but one can take only so much endless traipsing around stores while Mom and Dad try to translate packaging (does that say "single" or "king" sized sheets? are they floor mats or mattress pads?) and shop for the best price. And one can take only so many requests to ride in the shopping cart. So this time we were going to the playground. It was pricey, 4,000 won (about $4) each for 2 hours, but well worth it this time. It is not something I would want to do every shoping trip, but our girls deserved a break (so did we). They played in there for pretty much the full 2 hours, so we got our moneys worth. Fun for everyone! Here is a shot of the entrance and one of Lili having some fun in there.
The challenge for us undertaking a major shopping trip here is getting the stuff home without a car. Emart has a solution, they have a couple self packaging stations at the store. Here is a shot of Deb taping up a box of groceries with her trusty assistant Jin carrying a bag of groceries. The row of orange and black in front of Deb are rolls of packing tape. There are also shears chained to the table. Note the broken down boxes to the left of the other woman in the photo. There is also strong ribbon-like stuff with which you can fashion handles and other carrying or strapping devices.
With a normal sized shopping trip, we could probably package it up to carry home on the subway, just like many many people here in Seoul; the subway is very good and used extensively. But we had too much stuff to lug so hailed a taxi (the girls cheered!) and for about $5 we got door to door service. The driver didn't understand my description of where we lived, and didn't have a GPS on the dash like most of the others we've seen here, but luckily I had a city map with both English and Korean labels, so with that and some gesturing (turn right, no the other right...) we made it home no problem. Yesterday, the same cab ride home in heavy rush hour traffic cost us close to $9. The subway fare for the same trip is about $2 (kids under 7 are free!).
We treated ourselves to dinner out tonight (mostly because, despite all this shopping, we still don't have any pots or pans....tomorrow) at a nearby Korean BBQ restaurant. Sorry I didn't bring the camera so can't show you what it was like. Will send one another time, as I am sure we'll be returning there or to similar establishments. For now you'll have to imagine us sitting at table with a gas-fired burner with a grilling surface built into the middle of it. Once we ordered (galbisal, with some extra bap (rice) for the girls), the waitress lit up the burner, brought out a bunch of side dishes, condiments, and soups (including a broth with mussels, which Jin liked...even the mussles!) and started the meat cooking, along with some garlic, mushrooms and onions. The girls chowed down on the rice and beef. Deb and I ate the beef pieces with rice and assorted side items (spicy and not) wrapped up in lettuce leaves. I've heard people jokingly refer to this style of eating as Korean tacos. It's fun, although, as with tacos, sometimes messy. A good and fun, although expensive (about $50) meal. We better get those pots and pans tomorrow.
Better sign off for now. Sorry, I went on a bit longer than expected. Will try to add more photos next time. Tomorrow we will go looking for a cell phone (and get those pots and pans). Although we've just disovered how cheap one can make calls (both local and to Canada) using Skype. The only downside is that you need a computer and internet connection to use it. Better get a couple "hand phones" as cell hpones are called here.
Good night/morning/afternoon.
Derek, Deb, Jin and Lili
p.s. here is a better photo of our apartment block.
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