Seoul – Part 3

Day 05 –

Today we’re taking our breakfast at an aquarium cafe in the mall near our home. We had promised Côme we’d go. Granted, it’s a little overpriced for what it is, but Côme is in heaven. So 15 bucks to go to paradise is actually a bargain. There, we get nibbled by small fishes and feed them (not just with our skin), and we end up spending most of our morning “under the sea”. Then we stop for quite some time too at a Christmas Lego open space. They have just opened it today and it’s really excellent for kids. There are slides and treadmills bringing Lego blocks to children (and grown ups) sitting around on stools. Côme builds a skyscraper while Julia builds Santa Claus’ head.

Once the constructions are done, it’s already late. We eat some sort of hot dogs (tasting like fish 🤢) and we head towards the neighborhood where we are supposed to meet António’s Korean teacher. We’ve been looking forward to meeting her but we’re also a bit anxious. We’re happy to be able to spend some time with a korean woman and ask her many questions about childrearing and life in South Korea in general but… what if we don’t know what to say? Why if it becomes awkwardly silent (we’re going to spend 3 hours together before António meets with us afterall)? Once in the neighborhood, we still have a bit of time to walk around. There’s a huge lake and a park with workout machines. It’s very common here. We’ve seen workout machines in almost every park we’ve been to. So we stop to workout a bit. Côme loves to show he’s strong and able to lift very heavy weights. As for us, we’re just impressed by the machines and the people using them. The machines are really sophisticated for outdoor/free equipment (with weights and all) and they look as good as new. Back home, they would have been broken/vandalized within an hour. And the people using them? Well, they’re not teenagers or young adults like you would thinK. They are old people. Like: old… somewhat in their 70s. They’re looking very fit for their age and they are doing reps like Doo eats candies.

Anyway, after a short while, we head to the building we’re supposed to meet Hyemi. She is already there and greet us with her two children (a boy, Juan, 13 and and girl, Juhee, 8… so 12 and 7 for us if we’re not mistaken…) and a box of Peperos (Korean biscuits). She recognizes us right away because António talked to her about us and she’s following our blog. And since she knows we are interested in childrearing practices, she organized a visit of Juhee’s former kindergarden and asks us if we want to go there. We are thrilled! So we get on our way to visit the school. Hyemi is really nice and we really enjoy her energy. We ask her many, many, many questions annd she tries to answer the best she can. We know it’s never easy to answer broad questions regarding cultural behaviors. We are fully aware that there are differences everywhere and that each individual’s practices may not reflect the practices of others, but she enlighten us nonetheless the best she can about the way Korean people educate their children. We’ll write an article about thoses practices (later) but we find very amusing that Hyemi is mentioning a book they use as an example of education in Korea that is called “the French mother” (who according to this book never yells!) whereas we are trying to get inspiration from Korean childrearing methods because we notice that children here are really really well educated. Hyemi’s children are a perfect example of that. Her son, Juan, is a model of good manners (in spite of being a teenager). He is patient, respectful, polite and takes good care of smaller children (here, his sister Juhee and Côme). When we reach the kindergarden, the teachers welcome us with big smiles. Juhee is super happy to go back to her former school and gives a big hug to her former teacher. It’s endearing to witness such relationship between a pupil and her former teacher. Before entering the school, we have to take off our shoes and tidy them up on a shelf (isn’t that great for both children and hygiene?). Then we put on some sleepers and visit the different classrooms with Hyemi. She is both our school guide and translator when we ask questions about how the school works (once again, we’ll write another article on that subject later). To sum it up though, this school is great! The environment is perfect for learning, the games and activities are excellent and the teachers can really be there for the kids because the classes are not overloaded (one teacher for 10 kids max).

After visiting the school, we go back to the rendez-vous point to have dinner with António. Time just flew! There was no awkward silent moment. We even apologize to Hyemi for our constant questionning. 😄 Once at the restaurant, António joins us and we all have a great time together. The kids play together and we laugh, compare our educational systems and even tease each other (António and Doo disagree on the level of education in France…). When the moment of parting comes, Hyemi give us a present wrapped up in a piece of cloth. Inside, there are (delicious) apples from an organic farm she visited and two handkerchiefs she painted herself. They are beautiful. We are really touched by this gesture. But it’s not the only gift we receive. Juhee also has a gift for Côme: a puzzle game similar to the one he played and loved in Hanoi. We will end the evening with a late night walk by the lake and some deserts António had recommanded. We had a great time this afternoon with Hyemi, Juan and Juhee. We’re really happy we’ve met them.

Day 06 –

Today, it’s Saturday! We’re all going to an indoor themepark: Lotte World. There’s the three of us of course but also António and three other children he takes care of in the weekends: Seojun, Daelyong and Jun (approximately 7, 9 and 14… honetly it’s difficult to know in Korea). We’ll spare you the details. It’s a theme park! So, of course, we had lots of fun. Côme was happy to make new friends. They played rock, paper, scisors in the lines, a reflex game in which you have to quickly remove your hand before your opponent hits it and another Korean game with numbers and fingers, but we didn’t really understand how to play this one though. It was a great day for all of us.

Day 07 –

Today, there’s not 3 but 4 of us! 😁 We spend our last day in South Korea with António and go discover that park we wanted to go to a few days back. The palace is beautiful but we can’t visit inside the buildings and there’s no furniture anyway. The park, however, “the secret garden” as they call it, is “magnifique”! At first, we’re a bit skeptical because we have to enter the “garden” at a specific time with a tour guide but we’re soon relieved to learn that we are not obliged to stay with the guide. So obviously, we ditch the group of tourists right away and walk the “garden” on our own. The colors are beautiful! From the red mapple leaves to the yellow Ginko trees. Every tiny leaf gets bombarded by our cameras. There’s even a small competition going on between António’s iPhone and Doo’s Pixel phone. But the trees are not the only ones being “paparazzied”, the walkers dressed in traditional attire also get this treatment. Oh! By the way, we finally understand why there’s so many people dressed with traditional clothing around here (even foreign tourists). Because the garden and palace are free for those who dress that way. Isn’t that superb?! We would love the Eiffel tower to be free for those who dressed in late 1800s clothing. That would just be awesome! 😄

Anyway, Côme loves to play with António. He’s discovering a lot of new games: the different ways to be carried, the extreme turnstiles… Côme doesn’t ever want to stop and Doo wonders how long will António last without getting a back injury. The afternoon flies by way too fast. It’s already time to have a snack and we want to show António the doughnut place we’ve discovered a few days back. This time though, there’s a huge line to get in and when we finally reach the doughnuts, there’s almost nothing left. We ask the clerk if there’s going to be more doughnuts soon and the woman answers “no, that’s all that’s left for today”. It’s only 5 pm, the place closes at 9. What?! Anyway, we’re just disapointed… No white chocolate doughnuts for us today then… 😥

We spend our last evening at a Korean barbecue restaurant. It’s been a week since we wanna try one. The barbecue is at the center of the table and the waitress helps us understand the menu and grill the meat. It’s a fun meal. Côme loves it and takes very good care of the small pieces of meat he puts on the grill for cooking.

There! That was our last day in Korea… 😭 Tomorrow we fly to Japan and even though we’ve been waiting to go to Japan for months (especially Côme who knows he’s going to play video games there in gigantic buildings), we are really sad to leave. We loved South Korea, or more exactly Seoul. It’s Doo’s highlight of the trip. António! You will be seeing us again very soon!!! 😄 By the way, thank you so much for everything! Your kindness, your warm welcome, your light hearted mood and your patience with Côme who now washes his hands after eating (yes, yes, he does!). 😊 We hope to see you again very soon!

These last few days in Korea, Côme:
Did not understand: why the house of the king was so big and empty.
Learnt: to wash his hands after eating.
Loved: the aquarium cafe and the surpise of meeting new “little” friends.

Julia:
Did not understand: why you had to buy tickets for the garden with a guide but that you could ditch the guide.
Learnt: that kindergarden lasted one more year in Korea than in France and that teachers work with the seasons and teach music with real instruments from a very young age.
Loved: our encounter with Hyemi and spend time with António.

Doo:
Did not understand: why the doughtnut shop didn’t have any doughtnuts to sell a sunday afternoon at 5pm whereas there was still 4 hours until closing time (what a loss of income!).
(Finally) learnt: how to say hello (annyongghi gaseyo) and thank you (gamsahabnida) in Korean. It took some time. Korean phonetics are super tough!
Loved: the same things as Julia.

And a special guest, António:
Did not understand: how did “the 3 socks” manage to pack all the necessary stuff for the world tour in such tiny backpacks…
Learnt: that Côme is a lively, dynamic, and funny boy, who enjoys making lots of new discoveries!
Enjoyed: having Doo, Julia and Côme onboard for one week… having the chance of enjoying a “crêpe party” after coming back home from work, and the day spent together at Lotte World Adventure!