Back in the Land of Morning Calm

I have often wondered who came up with that phrase to describe Korea, and I've come to two possible conclusions. Either it was someone who spent all their time here in the mountains, or someone who lived here years and years ago. "Calm" is certainly not a word I'd readily associate with this country - not in the morning or at any other time of day or night. I don't mean that to be derogatory; it's simply that with so many millions of people living in such a small place, there always seems to be some sort of frenzied activity going on.

Happily, though, my new home here is relatively calm. The university is a nice escape from the city; while technically in Seoul, it's on the outskirts, sitting at the foot of a picturesque mountain. My on-campus studio apartment is quiet; unlike my previous apartments in Korea, there's not too much traffic going by, and (so far, anyway) no loudspeakers from trucks in the parking lot announcing the sale of fresh seafood or turnips or strawberries or mandarins or whatever fruit or vegetable might be in season. I did hear a car alarm this morning, and also a screaming child in an apartment down the hall. I repeat: my home here is relatively calm.

As I said, though, I'm technically in Seoul, and a 15-minute walk brings me to a hub of activity. There are literally hundreds (maybe even thousands) of shops and restaurants in walking distance - including a McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Outback Steakhouse, Subway, Dominoes, Dunkin' Donuts, and Starbucks. I LOVE Korean food, and so far Starbucks has been the only Western chain to tempt me (twice!). But I bought a coffee maker the other day, so now I can get my fix at home for a fraction of the price. There's also a subway station in the midst of that retail area; I can head underground there and be whisked away to virtually any corner of this vast city via its ten metro lines.

My Lonely Planet says that they're now promoting the country as "dynamic Korea" rather than "the land of morning calm." That really is a more fitting description, I think, but either way - frenzied or peaceful, dynamic or calm - I'm glad to be back.