Day 39
In c. 1961, a boy named James entered a giant peach and found himself among new garden bug friends. In 2026, at the ripe hour of 3:30 am, 14 Dins hopped on a giant Peach (Airlines flight) and found themselves jettisoned from the sunny banks of Osaka to the bustling metropolis of Seoul. Clearly, the city had expected our arrival. Never have I been showered with so much rainwater. I have never been here during the monsoon season. When it rains, it POURS.
Walking to Jonathan Stawicki's apartment in Itaewon, we marveled at the narrowly threaded streets curling up the hills. We also marveled at the curled edges and smeared prints of our posters, which, under the torrential downpour, had turned into what can only be described as papier-mache. Hunkered in the apartment, Allegra and I celebrated our arrival with Korean pork cutlets and spicy tofu soup. How snappy the bite of that crust. It was so good—excusing the fact that, to my disappointment, I have laughable spice tolerance (sorry, Ama).
In the evening, the skies cleared as we made way for the Harvard Club of Korea’s New Admits Reception! The audience was so lively, and it was such a treat to meet so many incoming students. I can’t wait to see all of you on campus! Afterward, we celebrated with an obligatory trip to GS25, picking up ramyun to snack on for the rest of the night.
Day 40
My second day in Seoul started at a bright and early 12:30 pm. I’m not sure if it was the previous day’s early call time, or some wacky episode, but I slept a handsome 12 hours. While Ben and Alex ventured to Gyeongbokgung Palace in traditional hangbok, Allegra, Mark, Khang, Kiesse, and I headed to Lotte World—one of the largest indoor theme parks in Asia. As a rite of passage for attendees, we each rented Korean school student uniforms. For the gents, slacks, a button-up, and a tie complemented with a vest or blazer. For the ladies, the gyobok, consisting of plaid skirts and ribbon ties. While outdoor attractions were closed due to the rain, we made ample use of a delectable food court and the fated indoor pirate ship ride. While Mark led us through healthy screaming exercises beforehand, I fear I made a practical error. My chords were raw for the rest of the day.
That evening, we made our way to Insa-dong Culture Street for our final gig in Korea. Located in an intimate art exhibition gallery, highlights of the evening’s gig include: a Sh’Boom cameo from Eric Swanson #94, a visit from a fan in Saipan, and a spoken word intro from Mark that I’ll let speak for itself.
The first line: “Seoul, Seoul, city of Souls”
- Mark Snekvik, #290
After the gig, some Dins went bowling, while Ria, Allegra, Mark, Kiesse, Cassidy and I went for a round of streetside Korean BBQ. With myriad pork cuts, my heart was filled as much as my stomach. Shoutout to Allegra for being an amazing BBQer! And to top it off, we made a pitstop for Chimaek—Korean fried chicken and beer. I have never had a soy garlic wing as good as the one that night. I will be dreaming about that chicken for a long time…
Day 41
On our last morning, Ben and I made a fledgling decision to visit the DMZ. At 6 am, I left my room to meet Ben and his friend Rishi at City Hall Station, where we caught a bus for the 1.5-hour ride to the demilitarized zone. First, we stopped at Imjingak Park, where we viewed Korean War relics and purchased North Korean banknotes as souvenirs. Then, we went to the Dora Observatory, which offers a sweeping view of the DMZ and North Korean territory. While the JSA is currently closed (a US soldier crossed the border to North Korea in 2023), through binoculars, we could see the nearby villages and towns of the DPRK.
It’s quite an eerie sensation. Peering in at the neighboring country, we seemingly turn North Koreans into spectacled objects. That’s not to say the experience itself isn’t surreal—the North Korean town nearest the border is, quite literally, a falsified object. No one lives there. It’s a pseudo-town with mirage status. After a guided Q&A session with a defector, we trudged down the Third Tunnel, one of the underground passages built by the North Koreans to conduct a surprise invasion in South Korea. Once discovered in 1978, it was turned into what is now a heavily traversed tourist stop. As we’d find out, the tunnel’s height is quite low. I bonked my head several times as we traveled 250 meters below the surface. Thankfully, we had hard hats.
Once back in Seoul, we rallied our troops and made way for Incheon Airport. Our stay was too short. I plan to be back again someday.
- Christopher Schwarting, #284
Update:
I did, in fact, dream about that Ganjang chicken on a flight from Guam to Manila…