태풍 (Typhoon)

We've been hearing all week about how a huge typhoon (the biggest in over a decade apparently) was supposed to rip through Seoul.  Needless to say, this didn't happen.  Instead of landing with a roar, it kind of landed with a whistle.  We got some high winds that knocked over a few signs, and a billboard or two, but nothing too serious.  It was more serious out on the coast.  There were some deaths, as well as a lot of damage.

All in all, it was nothing compared to the snow storm two years ago (most snow in 100 years) or the flooding that happened last year (the waterlevel in the Han River rose so high that it was within meters of touching the bottom of the bridge).  Last year the flooding got so bad that I was stuck on a bus for 45 minutes, and in that 45 minutes the water went from being at the top of the wheel wells of cars to completely covering them.  That was storm!

Just the Two of Us

As most people already know, we celebrated our first year as a married couple on Monday!  It's been a great first year.  We have travelled all around the world, settled back into Korea, and I've started my master's degree.  We had dinner at the same restaurant we went to the night I proposed and then followed up with cupcakes at Good Ovening, which we also went to the night I proposed.

It was our paper anniversary, I guess the cupcake wrappers count.  Right?

The happy couple.

Chinatown

Emily and I decided to take a day trip to Incheon's Chinatown.  This isn't like Chinatown in New York.  There are pretty much zero Chinese people there these days, but it was historically the place where Chinese immigrants would settle.  South Korea's main port was (and still is) Incheon, so they would live there and work on the docks.  It's also the birthplace of what all Korean people consider the quintessential Chinese dish: jajangmyeon (noodles in a black bean sauce).

The entrance to Chinatown.  I think every single Chinatown I've been to has had one.  New York's is on the bridge, Boston's is right there the second you get in.

This is the entrance to a very nice park.

This sculpture is supposed to represent US-Korean co-operation...

it kind of looks like a big piece of poop.

That is General Douglas MacArthur.

At my insistence we had to seek out the giant statue of General MacArthur.  He was the mastermind behind the Incheon amphibious landing after all.  That's about the only good thing he did during the Korean War, but that's a lot of history stuff that would just bore everyone.