Frustrated with watching television on a 15″ laptop screen, I made a trip to Seoul yesterday along with a couple other guys from work. It didn’t quite pan out as expected for a number of reasons.

1. January 30th is the Lunar New Year, a national holiday here in Korea .. so half the city was closed, including most of the big electronics marts. Oops.

2. Seoul is big. Really big. It’s also not exactly traveler friendly. Outside of a few tourist districts, you have to have a rather clear idea of where you want to go and how to get there to really see the city. We knew neither.

3. Korea apparently still hasen’t quite gotten over that whole “Decades of occupation and subjegation” thing Japan inflicted upon them earlier in the 20th century. Consequentially, Japanese electronics are hard to find over here, and when you do find them they cost even more than they do in the States. As it happens, the TV I wanted to buy is made by Sony. Morale of the story; you can buy anything you want in electronics district of Seoul, as long as it’s made by Samsung or LG (and it’s open).

That being said, I did have a good time, and have a better idea of what to expect in the future. I also learned my way around the public transportation system a bit, which never hurts. Ironically I had a hundred and eighty four page guide book specifically for Seoul sitting back in my room, that I didn’t bother to bring with me. Next time will be better.