Farewell Seoul, I hardly knew you

For you stalwart Stuff Shawn Did readers, it may be confusing where I actually live as most Stuff Shawn Did posts center around places where I am NOT living. Let's do a true/false quiz, circling the correct answer on our monitors using marker, pencil, and/or car keys.

1. Shawn Lives in Korea: True / False

2. South Korea is essentially Seoul: True / False

3. Shawn lives in Seoul: True / False

4. Seoul Food comes from Seoul, South Korea: True / False

Ready?

1. If you answered True, you are wrong. Shawn lives in South Korea.

2. If you answered True, you are only half-right.

3. If you answered False, you are not incorrect.

4. If you answered False, what are you thinking? Why else would it be called "Seoul Food"?

Now, with this all straightened out let me get down to introductions and say that Seoul and I have had a touch-and-go, rather tenuous, relationship. In fact, sometimes I wonder if she knows I exist!

But! Seeing as how I am leaving this peninsula soon,.... {Shouts from you, in the peanut gallery, where peanuts are apparently available} "What! Huh! What is THIS!"

OK! OK! Let me briefly answer before I get back to the subject at hand. Yes, South Korea, and both Koreas actually, are on a peninsula. Now, as I was saying, I decided to give another visit to this great, big, unwieldy, lady of a city.

I went to Seoul Grand Park and the National Museum of Contemporary Art for the third time.

I hung tough with my friend and host Hi-lak (for faithful Shawn Stuff Did followers, you may recognize this character from his debut in the famed Hong Kong posts).

I spent hours discussing important linguistic, socio-political, cultural, and environmental, topics with my aforementioned host, such as the meaning of 두꺼비 (doo-guh-bee), that being a frog's big brother, also known as a toad.

My friends and I were followed by the vicious Seoul Paparazzi, apparently mistaking me for Neo and one of my acquaintances for a suspiciously Korean-looking Morpheus. (The following are the best that the tabloids came up with.)

I went up Namsan Tower where I just began to get a grotesque visual handful of this monster.

And finally, I spent some time (whilst Hi-lak was away to work) with Hi-lak's mom.

With this we'll say a melanchoholic farewell [Dramatic, pentatonic-ambiguously-Asian melody, string-chords, fart sound].

Since we've answered your primary question of."Where does Shawn actually live?" We'll move on to, oh, wait a minute! You never asked that question, did you?

Ok then, fine.

Stay tuned for "Gwangju: Oh How I Loved-ju" or something of that sort. But first! An extra treat!