Whether or not is is the heart of the multi-faceted continent we call home is probably up for debate, but let me say this-- Seoul was a lovely surprise. SEoul (emphasis on the E... I'll learn to type this city's name soon!) is just a short 60 minute flight from QD (shorter even than it is to Beijing or Shanghai.) We stepped off the plane and were met by good smells, familiar brands, clean public spaces (and even-- or perhaps especially-- clean toilets.) The city was kid friendly, polite and head bobbing.
Korea has a delicate way of greeting people with a simple nod of the head, an abbreviated version of what was once, perhaps a bow. I used to tease our Korean neighbors that they were going to give their kids whip lash by bopping them on the back of the head every time they saw an adult they knew. I used to think it was cute, but now I realize its as much of their culture as eye contact and firm handshake are an integral part of ours.
It wasn't long before I was bouncing my own head like a caricature bobble head doll. The girls greeted taxi drivers with a friendly An yung, and Millie threw in the extra phraseology she's acquired after three years of mainly Korean classmates at her international schools.
We'll post pics soon.
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