Soju juseyo!

By Mary Bergin | 3/30/2006 9:50 am | ...

That means "I would like to have soju," which is something at least one of you warned us about online. Oh well. Too late.

The traditional Korean alcoholic drink, taken by the shot, is kind of like vodka. The alcohol content is only 25 percent, but you'd be amazed at how chatty some people get after just one or two, served with dinner.

So we headed to a singing room in the basement of the Hotel Hyundai, a gorgeous property that faces the manmade Bomun Lake in Gyeongju. Many Koreans bond and unwind by singing and drinking, we are told, and prefer a private setting for this.

This is what we had, too, a seemingly soundproof room that was big enough to accommodate a dozen people. There were three couches, with a big coffeetable in the center and a TV-like screen that would flash the lyrics to all kinds of songs, in multiple languages.

A waitress appeared periodically, to serve drinks. You page through a songbook, to decide what to sing, then grab a microphone and belt it out. In our case, thanks to the soju, there were few solo performances.

It was a jovial end to a long day of traveling, touring and better understanding the rich history and distinct culture of this country.

Our bullet train's speed exceeded 300 kilometers per hour. The ride was amazingly smooth and quiet, getting us from Seoul to Daegu in less than 90 minutes.

From there, it was a couple of hours by bus to lunch at a restaurant in the country. Many, many dishes, including smoked mackerel and squid. Eating fish eyes will bring good luck, we heard, but the people at our table apparently felt lucky enough.

"It's good - just a different type of presentation," Ed McManus said of the meal. He and wife Melanie are from Madison, too, as are my partner -- Dick Franken, and our group's sites coordinator, Gary Knowles. Gary has been the Midwest Travel Writers Association conduit with the Korea National Tourism Office, and he has done a great job.

We toured Andong, one of the last Confucian communities left in Korea. The name means "safe village" and it is rich with both old-world crafts - wooden masks, rice rope basketry - and traditions.

This is where a large, earthenware container of soybean paste takes a year to make, where women routinely walk five steps behind their husbands, where a honeymoon night (by arranged marriage) would involve "peeping time" for relatives - so they could shout out instructions to the newlyweds.

Villagers attach written wishes to a rope that circles a 600-year-old zelkova tree and every January gather here, to pray for the well being of their family and friends. It is Samsindang, a sacred space, and it will be the first of several stops of spiritual pilgrimage during the next couple of days.

The Buddhist influence remains significant, although our guides say the country has roughly the same number of Christians. The former is a well-preserved symbol of both faith and priority. The latter is a newer influence that does not have anywhere near the intense presence.

Anybody can drive to Seokgruram Grotto today, and it is a slow, twisty climb to a mountaintop - the type that requires a horn toot while rounding a corner. The urge is to look away when buses from opposite directions meet. No shoulders, no guardrails.

Before the road was built, the faithful would walk this same path. It would take an hour or longer, all steep and uphill.

None of these observations do justice to what we've seen and experienced. It is another world, and it is full of goodwill, pride and hope.

More to come in a couple of days or so, as time permits.

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