Starcraft

Location: Seoul, Korea

My hostel in Seoul was located in Insadong. Insadong is known for being a historic (old) neighborhood with narrow streets, and it didn't disappoint. Small Korean-brand work vans barrel down alleyways at speed, with only a few inches to spare on either side. While on foot in Insadong, I had to back out of several side streets to avoid being run over.

I arrived at the hostel, checked in, and used the bathroom. I flushed some toilet paper down the toilet and it clogged the plumbing immediately. I told the guy at the front desk. He was upset, and told me that the plumbing in Insadong is not robust enough to handle toilet paper, as if I should have know that already. It's expected that people put soiled toilet paper in the small wastepaper bins that are located next to toilets, which is as gross as it sounds.

My room had four beds and a small TV. I flipped through the TV channels. There were about a dozen, two of which were devoted to StarCraft. Watching them was like playing StarCraft, except that somebody else was playing. Presumably somebody famous. There was commentary. I had heard that Korea was crazy for StarCraft but I didn't realize the extent until I saw these channels.

The hostel had a large common area with a polished concrete floor, a vending machine that sold cans of beer for surprisingly low prices, and several desktop computers that guests could use to access the internet for free.

Korea was bitterly cold in November. The common area was heated, but only intermittently. Guests would often wear winter coats. I still met people there. I met a delightful Korean couple who had just been married and were on their way to Jeju island for their honeymoon. They were excited to meet an American, and especially one named Tom, since they were fans of Tom Cruise. They showed me many pictures of Jeju island on Google Images. It's often called "the Hawaii of Korea." (Maybe Hawaii should be called the Jeju island of the US?) Anyway, it looks beautiful. I hope to go someday.