Onjium

 Onjium, is ranked 23rd on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants (2023) and holds a Michellin star.  Together, They presented an extraordinary 8-course lunch menu and pairing that beautifully showcases the freshness and elegance of Korean cuisine.  I’d say I never tasted about 60% of the food served before.  A unique experience. 

1. Assorted Starter - It was all about texture - soft, gummy, crunchy, etc. (pic 1)
2. Gingko Noodle - I’ve had noodles before, however never ginkgo noodles. (pic 2)
3. Cold Salad with Mustard Sauce - It was like a Korean anti-pasta. (pic 3)
4. Dry aged Cod with CHEONGYUKJANG - aka scallion pancake - a typical Korean dish. (pic 4) 
5. Seafood Pancake & Grilled Mackerel - Again all about the texture and trying new foods. (pic 5)
6. BULGOGI & Grilled Mushrooms - It’s white mushroom, not cauliflower. (pic 6) 
7. Crab meat Porridge - Basically Korean congee. (pic 7) 
8. Chestnut Tiramisu - Delicious (pic 8) 

DMZ

 

North Korea stands as one of my last two remaining countries on my checklist of 197 which comprises of 193 voting U.N. nations, Vatican City (a non-voting U.N. country) and 3 non-U.N. countries: Kosovo, Palestine, and Taiwan (which would be U.N. countries if not for significant opposition). 

And as many you know, U.S. citizens with only a U.S. passport can not visiting North Korea on an offical tour due to Otto Warmbier, who was alleged to have stolen a poster, arrested, held captive, returned to the U.S. and later slipped into a coma and died. In 2019, President Trump prohibited U.S. citizens from traveling on U.S. passports to North Korea, citing the lack of internal support within North Korea, due to the absence of diplomatic ties and a U.S. embassy in the country. 

To navigate this restriction, many enthusiasts opt for a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) visit on a Joint Security Area (JSA) tour between the borders of South Korea and North Korea. JSA visitors can officially step into North Korea for a brief moment, a practice popular among country chasers. Alexis Rose Alford, recognized by the Guinness World Book of Records as the "youngest person to travel to all sovereign countries," achieved this feat by stepping into the JSA and marking North Korea as visited.

In spring 2023, I had planned a return trip to South Korea with the intention of completing this visit. However, in July, a U.S. Military member, Private Second Class Travis T King, ran into North Korea during a JSA tour, resulting in the closure of the area. Despite this setback, and with the main objective of visiting Taiwan still in mind, I chose to proceed with my travel plans and explored the DMZ. While staying entirely in South Korea, I had the opportunity to observe towns, flags, and the JSA in North Korea, albeit from a distance.

Of the 195 other countries I've visited, I've spent at least one night in each, except for Vatican City and, had I visited the J.S.A., North Korea. In summary, I couldn't physically step into the country or stay overnight, but I managed to catch a glimpse from a distance. *turns on sarcasm font*’ I've decided to count it as a half a country, adjusting my country count to 195.5/197. My focus is now on Venezuela for the next year, aiming to achieve 196.5 out of 197 countries.

Seoul - Last Day, Not Enough time

I went to bed early the night before in order to get up early to run and visit a few other sites on my agenda before heading to the airport. But I become preoccupied organizing my future travels  and I never visited the Namdaemun Market, Leeum Samsung Museum of Art and Suwon’s Hwaseong Fortress (another UNESCO sight).  These are all on my "list of places to visit" on my next trip to South Korea.

Seoul: Exploring More of the City

I spend the day using maps.me to explore the city on my own. 

Seoul U: A beautiful clean walkable (to a point) city. 

Namdaemun, officially known as the Sungnyemun, is one of the Eight Gates in the Fortress Wall of Seoul, South Korea, which surrounded the city in the Joseon dynasty. The gate is located in Jung-gu between Seoul Station and Seoul Plaza, with the historic 24-hour Namdaemun market next to the gate.

Cheonggyecheon Stream: Beautiful! The stream was crystal clear gushing water that was quite captivating, since it was located downtown Seoul. The stream has a history.

Kimchi Museum: It was more of a “gimmick” or “theme” museum than an actual museum. I should have known. But there was a Kimchi tasting at the end of the tour– white, fermented and fresh kimchi. I definitely want to make fresh Kimchi when I return to the states. 

Chandeokgng Palace: This place as huge, and very spread out. I could not imagine it as a working palace, but evidently it was and it’s currently a UNESCO Heritage Site. 

The Palace Throne

Palace Green House

Seoul: Market Tour

All about the markets, produce, merchants and food! Can you tell I’m obsessed w/ markets? We took a quick tour of the Gyeongdong Market prior to the cooking class.

Seoul - Korean Cooking Class

This cooking class was excellent experience. It has inspired me to learn more about Korean cooking and it's flavors of sweet, sour, spicy, salty, and pungent/fermented.  After taking the class, I purchased two Kindle version Korean Cookbooks. I've been casually reading them.

Moreover, from what l’ve observed in general, from the class and eating at Korean restaurants, they incorporate spicy fermented paste and sauces that add pungency. This favor isn't typically found in Western foods. It mostly found in Eastern foods,  possibly the most similar flavor would be miso in Japanese food, but miso isn't as pungent as “doenjang” fermented soybean paste.  The other thing that I've observed and like is that the favors don’t always match, at least not from a western perspective. If you're in Seoul, I highly recommend this cooking class.

Raw Ingredients

So much fun! :]

Seafood Pancake

Kimche Pancake

Preparing Japche 

 Japche Finished Product

Seoul: Exploring the City

With the help of maps.me, trip advisor and lonely planet it's fairly easy to map out a city tour that highlight the sites you're most interested.  You save money and your tour focuses on the site that you are personally interested in, not the tour guide.  

Seoul Museum of Art – I enjoyed this museum a lot. It’s one of the first art galleries that I’ve visited that focused on video art. I suspect many art galleries will follow a similar path in the future.

"Is Economic Progress Killing the Planet?"

I saw this poster (above). It made me think. I agree with it. There’s a lot of truth to it. I continue to think about it. It’s for epiphany moments like this that I visits art galleries. I love when something like this challenges my “conventional” wisdom. This poster did it.

Perfect!

A mixture of old and new. 

Seoul Museum of Art: The museum was a bit boring. 

Sejong Museum of Art 

Gyeomgbokgung Palace

 National Palace Museum of Korea 

National Folk Museum of Korea : a very typical folk museum. 

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art: The museum was average. I’m really not into modern art. Contemporary art yes, but not modern.