🍱 Delicacy of the Day

Moments - I’ll Be With You

This has been the LONGEST week of the year.

Can’t really explain it but it feels like it’s been 300 days and its only Thursday.

If you’ve also experienced this, today’s song may be just what you need.

I found this song in a video about traditional Korean art inside of a temple.

It was one of those “instant bliss” moments.

And how can you not?

The song has a simple foundation based on a piano melody that gets a whole realm built upon as the song progresses.

By the end, its this beautiful orchestra that leaves you with a sense of peace and bliss.

Recommended for those long days where “upbeat” songs ain’t fitting the bill.

Njoy.

💭 Quick Drivel

So this was it, the final full day in Korea.

Some “loose ends” still needed tying up before leaving.

And that included watching some Korean TV!

…which didn’t happen since the Airbnb didn’t have cable service.

Can’t really blame the host though. Most people just use their phone for entertainment now.

Still, my dissapointment was unmeasurable and my day was ruined.

There was only one thing that could make this day better…

The American’t Fuel™was running low so I had to get my refill.

I waddled over to the local McDonalds™ to build the tier list further.

The menu was unlike anything I’ve seen so far.

There were kebabs, 20 billion different burgers, cheese sticks, and honestly way too many options.

After a lot of deliberation, I ended at this selection:

Before I give the review, there were 2 interesting things going on in the background.

Now that we got out of the way.

THE MEAL WAS MID.

None of those burgers in the picture above got past a 7.

The nuggets were the worst. It was like salty rubber.

The fries tasted like old oil and had no salt in them.

It tasted a bit too simliar to the US. Almost felt like being home.

In any case, with the blessings of clogged arteries bestowed upon me, it was time to get moving.

While en route to the next stop, I was enjoying the sights from the train window.

But I noticed that the guy in the seats to my left was being loud.

After turning to see what that was about I notice the guy was streaming.

And out nowhere, in this public train,

BRO TAKES HIS WHOLE SHIRT OFF, FLEXES FOR A MINUTE AND PUTS THE SHIRT ON AGAIN.

I had to look around to do a double take on what type of train I was in.

And it seems I wasn’t the only one who noticed as the conductor came shortly after to request he stop streaming.

What a curious place this is.

I read online that some places provide a free skincare scan.

Now, your trashmaster Hz doesn’t know ANYTHING about skincare, so it was time to see how bad the situation was.

The whole experience was odd.

I was the only dude there and got some weird looks from the other clinic attendants.

It didn’t help that I was browsing around the store, trying to understand what all the concoctions were.

Regardless, after waiting for some time it was my turn to go in.

They put me in some machines, took some pictures, and asked some questions.

Here are the results:

Yeah… they pretty much said one postive thing in the 30 minute consultation and it was something about “it isn’t that dehydrated”.

They gave me some recommendations (that I’ve yet to apply) and sent me on my merry way.

Highly recommended! They don’t sell any products and you get to learn about your skin. (as weird as that sentence sounds, lol)

Couldn’t leave without getting another one of these in eh?

This one was actually surprisingly small-er than most other shrines and temples.

Still it had this huge building

From what I could gather, this was actually a sort of graveyard.

I also found today’s song in this temple.

It was playing in a video that showed a painting of an emperor.

A very beautiful experience that showcased ancient Korean art.

I also gotta say, they really love their mountains because they’re refernced in a lot of their old artworks.

No blame there. The mountains are beautiful and their use of color is incredibly picturesque.

Even if it isn’t your thing, I recommend visiting Korean temples. The architecture is impressive and you’ll also get a great workout!

This was a recommendation from the friend I met a couple days ago since you could make a custom T shirt here.

And so I spent a good hour or so crafting the perfect shirt.

…to realize shortly after that the XL size (the biggest they had) wasn’t fitting.

NO refunds too so now its this cool memento and a reminder to DOUBLE CHECK WHAT I’M BUYING.

A fun experience! You can also customize shoes and caps and hoodies and anything Nike.

Right after leaving the store a lady approached and asked if she could pray for me.

I accepted and we had a prayer.

Right after finishing, she asked if I wanted to deepen my faith.

ohno.

The marketer mind wanted to comprehend.

“Sure!”

“Okay, I’m so happy to hear that! We’re actually missionaries for [this dude who I forgot his name]. We’re offering his books at an amazing prize.”

She handed me this pretty chunky book, it had one of those “finding myself in a rainy day” type titles and it didn’t really seem that… “faithful.”

“It’s very affordable! Only ₩41000 ($30 Imperial Units).”

I kindly declined (I was almost out of money for Korea by this point) and she scoffed and walked away.

Such many cases!

I had heard of this place as a popular spot to visit.

There are more stores than people and this place is absolutely pakced.

I got some street food and did some last-minute shopping.

At this point it was kinda starting to feel like the Asian version of the USA.

Just add in a bit more cleanliness, working public transportation, and a hyperobsessed idol culture where being a social media influencer is pretty much encouraged.

It was kinda eeire. But I ignored it.

How could i leave without experiencing this again?

The cuts were pretty good and everything tasted amazing.

The only little detail was…

THEY HAD THE SAME 4 KPOP SONGS ON LOOP.

AND ONLY ONE OF THEM WAS ACTUALLY GOOD.

It genuinely felt like a form of purgatory.

Unfortunately I had paid quite a pretty penny for the restaurant entry so I just had to tank the nightmare song rotation until I couldn’t eat anymore.

This happened shortly after I left the restauarnt.

There was a ruckus outside so I went check what it was about.

I still have NO clue what they were protesting, but some of the banners said “NO TO CUTTING US TIES.”

At that time there was this odd political situation going on but I can’t imagine what in the world was going on.

In any case, seeing MAGA hats in Korea kept reinforcing the sleep deprived delusion that I was in an alternate reality and I had actually died at some random point in the trip.

This kinda put the nail in the coffin and confirmed a suspicion that started the moment I saw the Buccees sticker on the N Seoul Tower.

Seoul is the Korean version of the average US city.

I’ve probably done a horrible job explaining how “Korea is the Asian version of the USA”

It’s honeslty an overexaggertaoin.

The US has deep ties to the Korean government and military It’s no surprise a big part of the culture was gathered through osmosis.

That said, it is very cool how they have fought to become a cultural behemoth.

There is a lot of pride in their nation in a refreshing way.

Sure, it might not be the best place to live unless you LOVE samsung, but that’s just Seoul.

So I will scream this from rooftops until the day I die:

Just go to Busan.

More on this tomorrow.

Hz

P.S. TRIP SCORE: (22 days)

Hours slept total: 130.

Times phone died: 6.

Times lost/taking the wrong train: 24.

Strangers met and talked to: 34.

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