South Korea Trip #3-7: Meghann’s orphanage, last goodbye at Busan Station, Seoul Sky

It’s July 6th in South Korea, which also happens to be Meghann’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Meghann! This day started with a quick swim at our hotel pool, followed by visiting Meghann’s orphanage, lunch at Busan Station and a quick rendezvous with Eomeoni and Yeongmo, KTX train to Seoul, and experiencing Seoul Sky. Another action packed and very fun day!

Vivienne asked nearly every day of the trip, “When can we go swimming at the hotel?” Given it was the last morning, Meghann decided to give it a go, and I came down to work on a blog post. Beautiful pool, not too crowded, should be a nice relaxing way to start the day, right? WRONG.

I read an article a few weeks ahead of our trip about how a law was passed somewhere in France banning the ”burkini”, a conservative swimwear style. This was banned due to is being considered unhygienic given the extra fabric, and pools generally requiring tight fitting swimwear. Quite the departure from the mostly ”anything goes” pools you get in the US. I had remarked to Meghann earlier on our trip – I wonder if they have any restrictive rules like that in SK?

We arrived at the pool, and the girls were instructed to go shower before entering the pool. No problem. They came out and… nope, please return to the shower and rinse your hair. OK, done. Next the attendant gestured them towards the pool, letting them know they needed to keep their mask on while swimming. As they began to climb in the pool, they were stopped again. The attendant reminded them they needed to put on their swim caps before entering the pool. Not realizing this was a requirement, or even having ever worn one, we didn’t have swim caps. They were however available for purchase at the pool desk, so I headed over to pick some up. Meanwhile, the attendant told the girls they were OK to go in the hot tub sans swim cap. In the end, they decided the short dip in the hot tub was enough and we moved on with our trip. Swim caps will have to be worn another day!

It’s always amazing to me how these experiences come into play when in an unfamiliar culture – you have to prepare for what you can and roll with the unexpected as it comes! Fortunately – I’ve usually found having good intent and trying to respect norms and culture will be met with empathy and help. This wasn’t the first instance of this on the trip, nor the last.

Up next, we headed to the orphanage where Meghann was held as a baby. We had packed a suitcase full of toys to drop off for the children, and wanted the girls to have a quick visit. We managed to catch a driver to take us to Meghann’s orphanage, wait for ~30 min or so, and then take us to the Busan station.

The orphanage hadn’t changed much since our visit ten years ago. It’s up a very steep hill, and parking is only partway up. As we arrived, we dragged the suitcase up to a small administration building. The building was very old and disorganized, and no one there spoke much english. They thought she was visiting for her first time and asked Meghann if she wanted her adoption papers, or information on her family. We told them we were just trying to drop off toys, which after some time they eventually understood. We also learned that because the children were in school, we would be unable to go inside but were welcome to explore outside.

After we finished, it was time to head to Busan station to catch the bullet train. We had a quick lunch at Lotteria, which was like a Korean version of McDonalds. I had a bolgolgi burger, which was like a regular burger with a layer of korean-flavored beef on top. The girls enjoyed cheese sticks, but were not a huge fan of the chicken nuggets. Meghann had a cheeseburger which she said was passable, although it took us two tries to order it right.

After lunch, Meghann managed to find her birth mother, who had been escorted to the station by her brother. Both sides said their goodbyes – sad and somewhat frustrating in a sense that while you can convey the sentiment and emotion, the words are lost in the language barrier. Yeongmo escorted us all the way to the train and helped us load in the luggage. He had written a very nice farewell note to Meghann that he had translated into English and handed to her as she left.

Upon arriving back in Seoul, we caught a taxi towards our hotel, ”Lotte World Hotel”. Lotte World is a theme park originally built in the 80s. When booking our hotel we noticed there was a theme park and aquarium nearby, but that was it. We didn’t know much about the area. On the way, we passed the site of the 2018 Olympics. As we got closer, we noticed a large tower off in the distance.

We checked in to our hotel, and it turned out Lotte World is a huge campus with multiple buildings. It includes Lotte Tower – the sixth highest building in the world, and about 40 feet taller than One World Trade Center. It’s unbelievably massive when walking up to it. Connected to Lotte Tower was two shopping centers, an aquarium, and tons of restaurants. Lotte World Tower was connected to our Lotte World Hotel via an underground area with more shopping and restaurants.

Lotte World Hotel includes Lotte World Adventure, which is one of the largest indoor theme parks in the world. These buildings are all connected through a large series of underground pathways and tunnels lined with stores – it’s very cool!

We decided to head off to Lotte World Tower to see if we could get to the top! Upon arrival, we asked for directions and were told we should head for the ”Seoul Sky” experience. We didn’t really know what to expect, so we purchased tickets and followed the designated path.

The pathway up was very cool – there was an art exhibit ”Flying Whales” which started at the entrance where the ceiling was made of massive screens depicting a whale flying overhead. As we proceeded, more screens were integrated throughout with whales flying around, and even a few rooms with artwork and lighting built in. It was very cool and a sight to behold.

We finally made it to the elevator, which contained 14 “VR” screens playing a video ”to inspire the audience for the views they are about to experience”. It started underground, coming up through the ocean, and breaking through the surface up into the sky. It was very cool! Once getting off the elevator, we were seated to watch another artistic-like video. After the video wrapped, the screen lifted into the air, unveiling a beautiful view of the Seoul skyscape and our first view off the tower.

The tower included a cafe, artwork, and three floors of views in all directions. The building has 123 stories altogether. While we didn’t have the opportunity, there was a ticketed experience where you can walk on a skybridge connecting two spires, where you’re only held on by a harness. Overall Seoul Sky was a breathtaking experience I would highly recommend!

While most of Meghann’s birthday celebrations will happen once we return to the US, we gave her the choice of dinner and she wanted something non-Korean. We again encountered how difficult it can be to get into restaurants without a Korean phone number – they all want one to get on the waitlist. We first tried Gordon Ramsey Burger, although it was reservation only. Next we tried Peck, an Italian restaurant. Closed to new clients for the evening!

Finally, Meghann found an ”On the Border” that had high reviews. Once we arrived, they said the wait would be 60 minutes. They asked us to get on the waitlist, and again blocked by no Korean phone number! The host up front tried helping us register using his own phone number, but it still wasn’t working. Finally, he gave up, left for a moment, and came back and said they would just seat us immediately. Score!!

The menu was very similar to what you’d find in the US version of the restaurant – burritos, chimichangas, quesadillas, etc. The chips and dip were good, and guac was very good well. I ordered a beef chimi, Meghann got a cheese quesadilla (received Chicken, just went with), and we got the girls sides of rice and beans. I also got a margarita and Meghann got a Cass (Korean branded) beer. The table had a service button, which was required to get anyone over to the table when we needed drink refills.

The drinks were great, and food was passable. The beef had more bulgolgi flavor to it than a Mexican beef flavor. For being in Korea I’d give it 8/10, however if we were in Arizona (which has awesome Mexican food!) probably a 3/10. Still, it was a nice break from Korean cuisine and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. We did all notice up until the next morning how ”blah” we felt, and it made us appreciate the Korean diets we’d been eating a bit more, consisting mostly of beef, rice and vegetables.

After we finished at On the Border, we headed back to the room and quickly fell asleep after another exciting and eventful today. Hard to believe how much we’re able to cram into each individual day.

Up next – final full day in Seoul, where we try out “The Black Belt”, visit the aquarium, try a few delicious restaurants and more. Trip is almost at its conclusion!