Gangnam Station is one of Seoul's busiest stations. During weekdays, commuters crowd this station on their way to their work at buildings and establishments located near the station.
(I forgot the name of this K-pop girl band)
On weekends, couples and friends wanting to meet up at cafes and restaurants in Gangnam pass through Gangnam Station as well, although some would also get off at Sinnonhyeon Station, which is right next to Kyobo Building.
(Gail, Therese and some Korean guys
giving away free t-shirts)
But with the addition of the Shinbundang Line that connects the Green Line through Gangnam Station, this station even gets more pedestrian traffic every day! And night!
And speaking of traffic, that spot at the main Gangnam intersection, the one next to Exit 11 where Psy's silhouette stands under 'GANGNAM STYLE', the words he made famous with his monster hit, has become a venue for marketing events.
(A very crowded Gangnam Station spot)
A few years back, when I toured my friend Maria around Gangnam one early morning, it was only Psy who welcomed her to the spot. But last week, when I toured my friends Gail and Therese, there were some upcoming Korean actors, and K-pop boy and girl band members, who were promoting an advocacy and giving out t-shirts. And since we were already there, why not join the crowd and get some freebies as well? Ha-ha-ha!
Gail and Therese had fun mingling with the celebrities (we didn't even know their names!), asking for photos with them and their autographs on the free t-shirts. I also got a t-shirt but I didn't have it dirtied with autographs as I plan to wear it during weekends and I don't want my neighbors to think that I don't know how to wash my shirts. Ha-ha-ha!
(A mime in orange)
So, if you're passing through Gangnam Station this summer, you might want to swing around Exit 11. Who knows? You might get a free shirt, too!
More than a week ago, on May 16, the very colorful and very extravagant lotus lantern parade rolled through the streets of Seoul.
I opted not to join the thousands lining up along those crowded Jongno streets that day. I decided to watch the parade as it rolled out from where it started, the Dongkuk University stadium.
But last Monday evening, on Buddha's actual birthday, a holiday in Korea, I went to the Gangnam Station area with coffee and stretching my legs in mind.
And as I was for scouting a good coffee shop, I saw a couple of traffic enforcers blowing their whistles in the middle of the main intersection, which meant just one thing: something was going on, or going through.
My curiosity lead me towards the intersection.
And there it was. Big lanterns glowing while being towed by cars followed by participants making a U-turn from Exit 2 to Exit 7 of the Gangnam Station. I realized, this was a mini-lotus lantern parade! And it was not happening in Jongno! It was happening in Gangnam! It's a lotus lantern parade, Gangnam-style!
Although it wasn't as long as the one in Jongno, and there weren't as many participants, but it's still a parade.
So, I guess, next year, in case you miss the lotus lantern parade in the Jongno District, we now know where to catch the next one.
I had to look for a new blood donation center when the only English-speaking staff at the Red Cross blood donation center at Seoul Station left. Min-Jun became a friend after my several visits to this center as he always helped me with the English translation during the screening procedures.
With no English-speaking staff to help me at the Seoul Station center, I sent a message to the Korean Red Cross through its Facebook page asking them for help. They suggested the center near Gangnam Station. So, I called that center and finally visited it last week!
(Exit 2 of Gangnam Station)
The blood donation center is just a few meters from the Exit 2 of Gangnam Station. Right after the Meritz Tower, you will see Dunkin' Donuts. Get inside the Dunkin' Donuts building and take the elevator to the 9th floor, where the blood donation center is. It's so easy to find, actually.
(Dunkin' Donuts is at the ground floor of the building)
(Head to the 9th floor)
The screening procedures are basically the same: register your visit through the Red Cross portal using your Alien Registration Card, read the questionnaires for any conditions that would disqualify you to be a donor, a test on your blood coagulation thingy, blood pressure test, and the filling up and signing the blood donation form signifying the veracity of your representation.
I was glad most of the nurses could speak basic English, and Miss Park, who helped me through all the screening procedures, was very accommodating. I told her I used to go to the Seoul Station center and why I had to switch centers. I also told her the view from the center was quite interesting as one was looking down on the very busy Gangnam area, where priciest real estate in the whole of South Korea could be found.
(The center's lounge)
The actual extraction of about 400 milliliters of my precious Type-O blood took only about five minutes, after which I was told to rest for ten minutes at the lounge and observe any change in my condition. I was also told to drink three times my normal water intake. They had iced cold water, juice and choco pie by the television where other donors were either waiting for their turn or taking the required ten-minute rest. I thought this experience in the Gangnam Station was more fun than at the Seoul Station location. Why? At Seoul Station, there were always some drunk ajussis milling around the area, usually holding a soju bottle and talking to themselves. And although I would always ignore them, walking past through that area wasn't always pleasant. If you've been there, you'd know what I mean.
And here, well, what can i say? It's Gangnam!
(It only took about 5 minutes!)
(A token from the Korean Red Cross)
By the way, every donor always receives a gift from Red Cross, ranging from coffee coupons to movie tickets, to BB creams. I would have wanted a movie ticket, but there isn't any Megabox cinema in Yongsan-gu. I opted for that nail cutter set, which I can always give away.
The Gangnam Station center is open from Mondays to Fridays from 10AM to 7PM. But you need to call them before coming over to make sure about their schedule: 02-564-1525.
I plan to donate again after two months, the proper interval between full-blood donations. And when I do, it will giving blood again, Gangnam style. :-)
(The view from the center)
Before the monsoon rains ruined another trip south of the river, I hurried to meet up with my friend James, whom I hadn't seen in a year. The last time we met up was last year when another friend Soo-Jin and I drove down to meet him at Gangnam to enjoy a chat over dinner at Bae Yong-Joon's restaurant.
This time, we decided to just venture around the block near the Gangnam Station, where, even during a week night, was still full of people. If you visit this area on a weekend, you would find pedestrians and vehicles competing for space at the back alleys. And most restaurants, cafes and bars would be packed. Gangnam was already very popular even before Psy sang about it. Before, you could only see a lot of locals here. Now, with that hit video, international tourists have added this place to their itinerary.
But tonight, with cloudy skies hovering above the Gangnam skyline, I didn't see any tourist. Only office people and groups of friends flocking to the back alleys to have dinner or a drink. I asked James to pick a restaurant as this was his territory. He works in one of those tall buildings and during lunch, he would just pick one of those hundreds of dining places within a walking distance.
As my good friend suggested, we finally ended up on a restaurant that served ojing-eo bokkeum, or the spicy stir-fried squid dish. 'Ojing-eo' means squid and 'bokkeum' refers to any dish that's stir-fried. And what a dish it was! Paired with another huge plate of calamari and our funny stories, this dinner couldn't have been more enjoyable!
Before we finished off the squid, veggies and spicy sauce off the huge hot plate, the Korea ajumma added two cupfuls of rice and thinly sliced kim or edible seaweed, which she mixed with the remaining ojing-eo bokkeum. The whole hot plate then transformed into another picture of red, spicy rice with squid and veggies, and looking like another dish unto itself. By this time, although I felt a little bit full, not from our exchange of stories, anecdotes and jokes, but from everything else on our table, the image of a hot plate filled with meticulously mixed rice with the red pepper paste flavored with the taste of stir-fried squid and veggies was very tempting that we just had to continue. Eating. And chatting. Ha-ha-ha!
After dinner, we needed to wash off the spiciness of our ojing-eo bokkeum dinner with coffee and more stories. And we weren't surprised that most cafes nearby were also full of people as I thought, just like us, these crowds also wanted to spend a fun evening in Gangnam.
Thanks, James, for the dinner! Until the next time in Gangnam!
(Crossing the Hannam Bridge on a bus)
A couple of weeks back, my good friend Woosung promised to share with me a hundred Korean ballads, which he enjoys in his phone. I told him some of these K-pop songs we hear everywhere can be irritating. It was time to listen to slow, real music. He then told me he would be happy to share them!
(Gangnam!)
And today, a chilly Saturday, I crossed the Han River to meet up with him in Gangnam as I needed to get from him a USB full of Korean ballads. We agreed to meet up at a cafe, which I heard of but never been to: the CNN Cafe!
Every morning, when I turn on the TV, I always make sure it's CNN News I hear when I roam my apartment to prepare for the day. It's always a good start for me to be updated with what's happening around the world. And today, I had another excuse to cross the river and spend a lazy afternoon in a cafe which just doesn't serve breaking news, it also serves iced cafe mocha!
(The view of Gangnam street from the cafe window)
CNN Cafe in Gangnam (I think they have another branch somewhere) is just a few meters from Exit 11 of Gangnam Station, and it's on the second floor next to the YBM entrance. I felt immediately comfortable when I entered: the place is spacious with lots of tables, seats by the window, electrical outlets everywhere, a couple of desktop computers that one can use for free and of course, a flat-screen TV showing, what else, CNN News!
A few minutes after I got there, Woosung came with a gift of a hundred songs! Thank you, Woosung! Now, my ears won't be tortured anymore by these K-pop songs. Ha-ha-ha!
As he told me earlier he couldn't stay for long and had to be somewhere else, I wanted to spend a couple of hours in the cafe to continue reading a controversial autobiography of an ageing Philippine politician that my friend Fay bought for me in Manila, and especially handcarried by another friend, Cielo, to Seoul. (Thank you, Fay and Cielo!) Since most of the customers around me were studying and reading, I decided to join the club. The dinner birthday party of another friend was still a few hours away; I still had time to spend with a book, an iced cafe mocha and CNN.
I think I liked it here, if only their iced cafe mocha was in a bigger cup. CNN's news coverage is always impressive, but their coffee was not, actually. Their cafe is actually more conducive to studying and reading, and not for an after-lunch chatting with friends. After all, next door is an educational center.
(A typical Gangnam afternoon traffic)
I hope to visit CNN Cafe some other time when I cross the river. Maybe to read. Maybe to blog. Or maybe to meet up with a friend who's sharing another hundred songs with me again. Ha-ha-ha!
(Crossing the street to take a bus on
my way back to Hannam-dong)
