Earlier this month we decided to take a short trip to celebrate Angie's Birthday. So, we went to the small town of Pusan, South Korea! Actually, Pusan has the population of about 5 million people. Travel books refer to it as a concrete jungle! We've never seen buildings that were built right up next to the Ocean water before. It's possible to do this in Pusan because the water is generally calm due to it's surrounding port area. Pusan has the biggest Sea Port in all of Asia. It was fun to see the different ships going in and out. Watching the cranes build or repair ships in dry docks was quite fascinating for us land dwellers! One thing we also noticed besides the port were the cars! Not only do they drive American size cars...but they drive on the right side of the road! We also saw this same thing in China. What was Japan thinking? 
It was not long after we arrived at our hotel that we met some new Korean friends! Last year we met a Korean gal in Japan and through the grapevine she was able to connect us to some of her Christian friends that live in Pusan. These guys were eager to take us to visit their church and to show us around ALL of Pusan! Our plan was to take a few days to relax and be alone together. However, we were so overwhelmed by their hospitality and excitement that we couldn't say no. We're so glad we didn't say no!Nick and I were so blessed to make new friends in the body of Christ in Korea! These Koreans truly showed the love of Christ to us! Our only hope is that one day we will meet them again to show them the same kindness.
One thing we wanted to do most in Korea was to visit a church! Christians make up about 25% of Korean population compared to Japan's less than 1%. The Korean personality is more outgoing than the average Japanese. As a result, they are more confident in evangelism! Churches in Korea are growing in number and in style. However, the church that we attended was 116 years old! It has so much history that recently they remodeled a room to hold pictures and stories of their past! We noticed that the number of members at the evening service was more than the average number of Japanese that come to our church on any given Sunday morning! It was evident to us that this church is still growing and is very alive! Pray that Christian Koreans continue their work for the Lord in Japan despite their past history.
The next day we had all to ourselves! So, we hit the beach. Our hotel was one of many that sits near Pusan's famous Haeundae Beach! As you can see, it's not the secluded kind of beach! Nevertheless, people go there for festivals, swimming, boating..ect...just not in June! Both Korea and Japan have rainy season in the month of June. You won't see many Koreans or Japanese at the beaches until August. However, it doesn't stop the foreigners! We couldn't wait to take a stroll.
What about the food!! Similar to China's cuisine, the food in Korea is hot...hot...hot! The Korean food of choice is called Kim Chi. It is cooked cabbage that is spicy hot! There are different levels of hot and spicy so you've got to be careful! Kim Chi has a strong hot taste...a strong smell...and a short shelf life. But, don't think this is the only vegetable that they add spice to!
Our Korean friend, Dr. No, loves to eat something called Kim Chi Chi Ge. It's basically spicy hot soup! You take a spoon full of rice and a spoon full of soup and it cuts down on the spicy taste. Drinking a glass of hot water helps too! Who knew?
The other suggested food to eat is Yaki Niku. We have this food in Japan, but it's originally from Korea. Basically you cook meat and vegetables on some kind of grill in a restaurant. The Japanese love to eat this meal with rice. Of course, the Koreans have their own style of eating Yaki Niku. They enjoy rolling the grilled food up in a leaf of lettuce and eating it all in one bite! And don't forget the chopsticks! Koreans have long metal chopsticks that make grabbing small grains of rice very difficult. Japanese have some kind of wooden or plastic chopstick. The Chinese have the longest chopsticks of them all!
Can you guess what this is? The picture on the far left is one of many varieties of street food that we saw. If you guessed Octopus salad, then you're right! When I saw the jars on the right I guessed that it was some kind of sea creature. This time it wasn't! It's the root of a Ginseng plant. Asians use Ginseng for many medicinal purposes. Korea is famous for it's Ginseng tea. It's not cheap...but it is delicious and works wonders!
Another great experience we had was going to Kukje Market! You can find anything at this Market, if you take the time to find it! Kukje Market is a maze of streets with stores that sell items from food to fish to clothes to backpacking equipment to electronics. It's all fairly cheap if you love to bargain. Markets like this always seem to capture the essence of a culture. Our friends in this picture will soon be moving to Dallas, Texas to attend Bible college!We had a great time in Korea! After visiting both Korea and China we've felt the sense of "coming home" to Japan. We are truly blessed that God goes before us and knows what is best for us. So far, we've had quite the adventure!
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