Get in the car to drive to a party in a neighborhood 15 km away from yours (that’s just over nine miles for you guys back home) one hour before festivities are set to commence.
You will be very, very late.
Now that the weather’s turned cold, people lucky enough to have cars drive them. Usually, it is faster to walk, take a cab or the metro, but no one—including yours truly—really wants to hike to the bus stop in the cold if they don’t have to.
I don’t know what free stuff was being given away in Guro last night, but it seemed like half the city was headed there. We were invited to our first 돌자치 (for the son of one of David’s colleagues). Maybe it was just a lucky night to throw a party, and so everyone was doing it? It took us an hour and a half in bumper-to-bumper traffic to get there, and 20 minutes to get back home.
Understand that for most Seoullites this is nothing. City residents routinely spend 16+ hours in a car traveling to see relatives at Chuseok for a drive that usually takes three or four hours. As my boss said at the time, “You just drive until you can’t go anymore. Then, you pull over to the side of the road, have a little food, have something to drink, play some cards, then get back in and start again.” Eventually, you get there.
So maybe we should have packed some snacks and board games and made a night of it. But, we also should have left our house mid-afternoon. Fortunately (for us), other people must have had trouble getting there, too. Though we were more than an hour late to party, we still made it in time to have dinner and still see the 돌자비. He picked the money. Very cute.
I know, I know! The subway, maybe we’ve heard of it? Definitely from now on, we’re taking the train.
{ 4 comments }
WorldCultureNet 12.04.06 at 2:15 am
Hi - I’ve just spent some very enjoyable time reading your blog. Having lived in multiple cultures myself, I always enjoy reading about how other manage the expat experience, and your blog is very well written. It’s great to see you taking such an active interest in Korean culture; good luck and have fun!
Alice 12.04.06 at 7:37 am
Coincidentally I attended a Korean first birthday party this weekend as well, and was also stuck in the Saturday night traffic! We had reservations for dinner up near Kyongbuk Palace and it took us over an hour to get there. I thought it was due to demonstrations in the US Embassy area, but based on your experience it was a city-wide issue!
Maryam in Marrakesh 12.05.06 at 9:51 pm
Eeek. Sounds awful. Traffic in Marrakesh is much better. We live 13 km away from the center of town and it takes us 1/2 hour tops.
Rose Byrd 12.06.06 at 3:58 am
Those of us so unique as to be David’s blood relatives are so thankful you guys made it to the party for the actual meal! Yes, by all means, next time take the subway/train. And I enthusiastically agree w/WorldCultureNet: your posts are very well written! Have I said this before?
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