My first Saturday: Sokcho, Seoraksan, and Soju

On my first Saturday in Korea, I went with Fathima and Jonlyn and two of their South African friends (Astrid and Maserati) to a coastal town called Sokcho. Sokcho is on the east coast of South Korea and it's about an hour East from Inje.

In Sokcho we went to the Seoraksan National Park, and hiked around the base of the mountain. There were tons of Koreans at the Seorakson mountain and they were all decked out in serious hiking gear, it was super awesome. Most of them were just hiking around the base like us, but if they were to climb up the mountain it would take roughly four hours. Regardless how far they were hiking, they all had hiking boots, hiking poles, serious outdoor vests and pants, and some even had huge packs as if they were going on a week long hiking trek.

Panoramic view of the Seoraksan mountain range

After our hike around Seoraksan we walked around Inje and went to some shops to grab supplies that they wouldn't have around Inje (like mouthwash and ground meat). We took the bus back to Inje and then the real fun began. I experienced my first soju night.

Soju is best described as a watered down vodka-like beverage, and cost about a dollar for a bottle. I met up with Andrew and Zaaid (a guy from South Africa) at Black and White (a Korean restaurant). When I got there they were already working on a bottle of whiskey, and when I left the whiskey was gone as well as five bottles of soju, and some Hite (Korean beer). At Black and White I met Ra-ra a Korean girl who was drinking with us as well as serving us, and Ken who studied in Canada for 7 years and whose English skills were much appreciated. We drank and hung out until Ra-ra got off work (about 1:00 - 2:00 AM) then we headed to my first Korean 'nore-bang'. A nore-bang is a karaoke bar and literally means "song room".

When I first walked in, I thought I was lost and in a hotel. But the nore-bang is full of individual rooms that people rent out to use. When I entered the right room, Ra-ra's mom and her friend were there jamming out with a bottle of whiskey, lots of Hite, and two platters of food: one with fresh fruit, the other with m&ms and dried squid. There's a large TV, two microphones, couches bordering the room, and lots of flashing lights. Lots of them. Vegas style.

Ra-ra and her mom picking out a song

Everyone sang songs varying from the Beatles to La Bamba to the Foo Fighters to R. Kelley to K-pop. Lots and lots of K-pop. It's amazing how well Ra-ra could sing R. Kelley's "I Believe I Can Fly" with perfect enunciation and yet we can barely carry a conversation in English besides yelling at each other to take shots.

Andrew passed out with Ken cheering him on

Overall, I learned a lot of things from my first night out in Korea. Koreans are incredible at Karaoke, they can drink you under the table with whiskey, they can drink you under the table with pretty much anything, Korean beer tastes like poop, and soju gives you a really awful hangover. The end and good night.