5 things Cebuanos might miss while in Seoul

A meal at the Dosirak Café (Lunchbox Café) in Tongin Market costs almost P200. As a tourist attraction, you can choose your own dishes and drinks from participating market stalls. (Photo by: Frauline Sinson)

If you’re going to Seoul in South Korea, chances are you might miss these five things in Cebu.

Well, my mother and I certainly did when we visited the sprawling metropolis, famously known as the world’s K-pop capital, last March.

It was the first time my mother and I ever went on an overseas trip just the two of us. Usually, we go solo or with family. You could say we were crossing off an item in our bucket list.

The goal of our trip was to last six days and six nights without arguing with one another. It was not an easy feat considering our personalities are vastly different and, at the same time, similar in the most non-complementary way. If we were animals, I would probably be a red ant briskly marching on predetermined path and biting anything that crosses my way while my mother would be a colorful butterfly flitting from one fragrant flower to another, chatting with the bees and the dragonflies.

THE FORK

My 65-year-old mother liked most of the Korean food we ordered in Seoul but the novelty of using chopsticks wore off quite quickly.

Since Koreans often eat with a spoon and a pair of chopsticks, you won’t always find a fork especially when you’re in local restaurants. So we plead guilty to the occasional stabbing incidents involving our chopsticks and the meat in our dishes.

We also used our bare hands when we could get away with it.

THE DOGGIE BAG

While we would not stoop to bringing our own plastic spoons and forks at the restaurants (okay, we did but it was only one time!), we often wished we brought plastic containers for our leftover food.

It wasn’t that Korean restaurants didn’t have takeout boxes, it’s just that we were too embarrassed to have the leftovers wrapped up especially when all that remained were a handful of bites.

It was rare for us to see locals carry a doggie bag outside a restaurant.

No matter the amount of leftovers, my mother and I always find it hard to leave it behind. Either we eat everything on our plate or ipaputos (have it put in a doggie bag).

At Tongin Market, we threw out what we thought was a huge amount of food – three rolls of mini kimbap (julienned carrots and radish wrapped in rice and seaweed), half a serving of sweet and spicy chicken with rice cakes, half a serving of Japchae (stir-fried sweet potato noodles and vegetables), and two spoonfuls of vegetable salad. Initially, my mother said we should ask for a doggie bag but I looked around and could not see any plastic bag near the cash register so I told her, “Ikaw lang, Ma (You do it, Ma).” Then she said, “Ikaw lang gud, ‘Day (No, you do it, girl).” We kept saying variations of this to each other like a pair of nervous toddlers.

Ultimately, we caved in and followed what the rest of the people did.

The thought of our wasted food still makes me sad that it almost eclipses the marvel that I had for the Dosirak Café (Lunchbox Café) at the market.

While eating there, I could not help but think that Cebu could copy their style. Imagine a section of a market here in Cebu that would sell native delicacies.

Tourists can buy a special set of fake old coins that comes with a plastic food tray. Then they would go around the market buying local food and drinks from participating stalls.

Tourists can bring their laden trays at a food court and enjoy their meal with other foreigners. If Seoul could make it as a tourist attraction, perhaps Cebu can too!

((From Left) Cebuano engineers Jues Optina, Bryan Alforque, Jaydie Castro, Faye Gantuangko, Quintiano Roiles, Melodino Alao and Alvin Jumamil strike a pose for CDN after the Easter Sunday Mass at Myeondong Cathedral in Seoul. (Photo by: Frauline Sinson)

THE TRISIKAD

While I do not approve of trisikads (bicycle with a side car), we could not help but jokingly wish for one in Seoul. It was our old age and lack of regular exercise speaking.

The subway was our wallet’s preferred choice of transportation. Unfortunately, it meant climbing up and down several stairs and walking in a maze of tunnels. Topside, there was still a lot of walking involved especially when we got lost. If only we got lost while riding on a trisikad. Sigh!

The most memorable and tiring walk was going to the Blue House, South Korea’s equivalent of Malacañang.

We had just exited the 14th-century Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Based on the map, we had to turn left because the Blue House was just behind it. Every 50 meters or so, we would meet guards standing and keeping a careful watch on the people and vehicles passing by.

We asked them all how far the Blue House was and all of them said about 10 minutes. It seemed like a never-ending 10 minutes.

When we finally arrived in front of the Blue House, we learned there was actually a shortcut to the palace. The back gate of the palace opens to the designated public area in front of the Blue House. We were so tired and stressed from the long walk that I ranted why the first guard didn’t tell me about the shortcut and saved us a lot of walking.

My mother helpfully suggested, “You should have asked for directions.” I retorted, “Why should I be the only one to ask? You could have asked, too!”

And so we had our first and only “heated” conversation. Fortunately, it didn’t last longer than 10 minutes.

THE WEATHER

I’ve jokingly said I wish it would snow in Cebu. Well, I take it back. I would gladly suffer a hot summer in Cebu than spend winter in Seoul.

It was actually the second week of spring when we arrived in Seoul. Unfortunately, spring didn’t get the memo as temperatures would drop to 0-2 degrees Celsius at night. A heater that looked like an ordinary electric fan but glowed a fiery orange-red became my best friend at the guesthouse.

CEBUANOS

While it’s nice to mingle with locals in a foreign country, meeting a kababayan (countryman) is simply awesome! It’s even better when you find another Bisdak (Cebuano) in Seoul.

It was Easter Sunday when we met seven engineers from the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) II who were assigned to work at an automotive company in Incheon.

They travel about an hour every Sunday to hear the English Mass at the Myeongdong Cathedral. It was refreshing to hear and speak our dialect with fellow Cebuanos.

We came back to Cebu with lots of memories to cherish. And despite that single minor argument, we marked our mother-daughter bonding trip a success!