A uniquely Korean experience.

The last few days I realized that in less than a year we'll be leaving Korea and if we come back it will likely be only for a visit if at all. We tried taekwondo, but it was pretty expensive, communication was difficult, and honestly, after a day at work as a teacher the last place you want to spend a substantial part of your evening is with a bunch of screaming kids. We've tried soju and all night drinking benders and those are fun here and there, but you can do that at home (though, not really to the same degree). Noraebang is fun, but it's really not all that different from Karaoke at home.

Last year after the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival the only shelter we could find was a PC Bang, which is a room filled with computers, smoke, the smell of ramyeon noodles, cans of mountain dew and coffee beverages, and Korean dudes screaming into headsets while they play online computer games. Now, that night it wasn't all that awesome. I was tired, as were my travel mates (although Brittany's then-boyfriend stayed up all night playing World of Warcraft or something like that) so I crashed in my chair until it was time to wake up and get on the train.

Now, the actual playing of video games for hours on end might be fun, but I need to get into the right kind of game to make a PC Bang night worthwhile. I think I might see if EVE Online runs on my computer. There's some hilarious stories that have come out of this game, which allows you to use in-game currency to pay your monthly membership if you're good enough. I think it might be worth a go at playing for a few weeks to see if this is something I'd be interested in, but I'm really not so sure about it. There's a 2 week free trial I might get on and see how it plays and feels. But that's probably as far as I'll take it...but maybe I should do it for the cultural experience.

Plus maybe I could be as epic as Leeroy Jenkins (29 million views...ha!)

Being my own Anthony Bourdain

I have enjoyed Anthony Bourdain's television series "No Reservations" for quite some time. I remember two or three years ago having the flu, and watching his episode about Korea while I was waiting for someone to un-double park my car so I could go to the doctor. I remember seeing him eat some really exotic foods and thinking "if I ever went there I would do the same, because he is too freaking cool." Then his episode on Osaka came on and I found my two favorite episodes of his show, all in one miserable afternoon. I've always wanted to have that kind of experience, but Tony has always had one up on me because he has a local with him everywhere he goes to do the ordering and show him how whatever he's eating is supposed to be consumed. That's what I was missing...until last night.

We went out for a Daegu specialty with my coworkers, makchang. Makchang is basically grilled pork intestine dipped in a really spicy and flavorful sauce. Carolyn and I went to the dinner with a bit of trepidation because well, the concept didn't seem so appealing. Once the grill was on and the butts were on the grill though...well things were a little different. They weren't bad at all! In fact, I kinda liked them! We also had samgyeopsal (which was particularly good at this place) and lamyeon (Korean ramen) and plenty of beer. It was a fun outing and after that I figured we would go settle in at home to get an early start on the weekend resting...but just as in the Korea episode of No Reservations, there was to be no break. We piled into the music teacher's car and headed to Sangin-dong for another...MEAL!? We had seriously eaten about 2 pigs and that apparently was not enough, so it was off to eat a raw cow. Well, not a whole cow. Just the meaty bits.

Here I am throwing a munch on some makchang

Our table at Uncle Jang's Makchang

At the new restaurant plates of marinated and raw beef were served. You apparently dip these in different sauces and eat them...raw. When in Korea, eat as the Koreans do, I always say. So I dug in. It tasted a bit like sushi, but one of the marinated varieties was particularly good. I tried everything. Raw beef, raw beef liver, Korean snails (raw), beondaegi (marinated silkworms), and raw beef stomach lining. Not everything was something I would order again on purpose, but nothing was really too scary. The silkworms were not nearly as gross as I imagined they'd be. They tasted a bit like they looked (kinda like the top of a pecan pie, plus dirt). The snail was not my thing, too sandy. The raw beef liver was a bit too ookie for me, but I choked it down anyway. The raw and marinated beef bits though were pretty yummo. Oh, and the stomach lining, not really my thing.

The spread at the Raw Beef House of Joy

Me, the Irishman, and one of my Co-Teachers

About to dig into some beondaegi

After the majority of eating was done and bottles of soju were nearing their way to emptiness another great idea emerged. Drinking games! Now, I've always thought that drinking too much with coworkers was a bad idea, but these people were lots of fun and the odds of having to drink in their games were a bit lower than in American drinking games, so I didn't have to get hammered to participate and have a good time. Hopefully I earned some credibility and bonded a bit, and I feel like I know quite a few of my coworkers a bit better. I bet I'll get more hellos and such in the hallways at school now for sure :).

The only way last night could have gotten more epic would be if we had gone to a no rae bang (singing room, karaoke) and somehow carried the party all the way into the morning. That would have been the complete Korean Nightlife Megapack. Perhaps next time!

I guess I've learned that maybe I should be a little less of a homebody and join in on the late night fun a bit more. Last night was a complete blast and I can't wait to do it again. I believe I have a date with the English department next Friday.