I slept pretty well, and didn’t wake up until late. The streets of Seoul were pretty quiet, especially for a Friday morning. I got up and packed up all my stuff, and then went out to catch the airport bus back to Incheon airport.
The bus picked me up right on time, and so I enjoyed a nice easy bus ride back to the airport. I spent the time watching the scenery – the terrain was much different outside the city, and looked pretty barren. Once I got to the airport I checked in and had about an hour to kill. I explored the airport a little bit, returned all my unused Korean bills for a couple Japanese ones, and listened to music.
Finally they called my plane, and within 90 minutes I was walking on Japanese soil again. One of the nice things about being an alien in Japan is that I can go in the super-fast Japanese citizen only line for immigration. I found out about it in my JET handbook, and ever since I’ve saved lots of time and scrutiny. This time the guy behind me told me that the line was for Japanese only, in halting English. I gave him a big smile and explained about being a returning alien. I’m not sure if he understood, but it was really nice of him to try and help me out. Besides, the big sign in front of us says “Japanese Citizens Only”.
The customs guy gave me a couple of tough questions (in Japanese!) and searched around my belt area for something, I don’t know what. He let me go, and I ran out to the bus and was back on my way to Kobe. Once I got home I spent some time unpacking and it looks like all my souvenirs survived. All my teachers will be happy to get the high-in-fat Korean cookies that brought back, and Mr. Hayashi will hopefully enjoy the Korean tea.
Overall the trip was great – it was a good chance to compare and contrast two very different Asian countries. There were some big differences between the two, and I think a lot of the difference comes from the relative exposure to Western cultures. Japan is naturally isolated on an island, and Korea has had a significant American military presence for some time. You can definitely tell which country has the stronger economy.
I really enjoyed my trip – it was a good adventure. Just enough of the unknown to make it interesting, and plenty of spicy food, garlic, beef, and beer to keep me happy. Everything is much cheaper than in Japan – and the entire economy is based on selling stuff. From the tiny fortune telling stands on the street to the multitude of engraving shops – South Korea is all about buying and selling.
I think the best thing about the trip was how well it illustrated where I would be without the Japanese skills that I have – it would be a lot tougher to do day to day things.
