Itaewon and the World Cup Stadium

Another day of aimless wandering. I went to Itaewon, basically the international district. It was full of American brand names and probably a lot livelier at night.

One interesting thing I noticed was that there were a lot of advertisements for “Big Size”. Korea does after all have one of the lowest obesity rates in the developed world, and the U.S. has the hightest.

Then I decided to go to the World Cup stadium.

Bikes for rent outside the stadium

It has been turned into a shopping mall, with a giant Home Plus, the Korean equivalent of Walmart, and a Spa Land built in. I ate lunch, bibimguksu, mixed noodles, in the store for 3,500 Won, just over 3 dollars.

Mixed noodles with a side of soup and pickled radishes

I tried to find the river Han, but ended up wandering through a few parks and along one of its tributaries for a while. There were hundreds of ajummas and ajeossis walking, running, and exercising. I got to the river eventually, but the day was too hazy for it to be all that impressive.

A few kids goofing off near a frozen lake

Another exercise park

A tributary of the river

The river Han

Heading back to the stadium, I found a giant indoor market. There were fruits and veggies of all kinds and fish and seafood laid out on tables and in tanks.

There was also a bakery. To purchase items, you put them on a tray and take them to the register where they package everything up for you. I also got a free sample of something sweet.