Spring Break… Interrupted

[성김 대사]

At the end of March, my daughters had off from school for spring break, and I planned to take a week off for a nice family vacation.  But as is often the case here on the Peninsula, my break was interrupted by important developments and urgent issues, so my week off turned into just one day.

But finally, we decided to take a three-day weekend and drive down to Korea’s second largest city, Busan.  On the way, we stopped in Jinhae to see the cherry blossoms.  I was told that the official opening date for Jinhae’s famous Cherry Blossom Festival was actually this past Monday (April 1), so we were very excited to get a sneak preview.  The blossoms were stunning.  If you have never been down, I suggest you go.  It is like driving through a tunnel completely made of cherry blossoms.

Erin and Erica in Jinhae

So the vacation started just fine.  The girls didn’t complain about the long car ride, and Jinhae was great.  And we arrived in Busan ready for fun sightseeing and good food. 

The first night in Busan, we ate very fresh hwe, or raw fish, at a famous local restaurant.  My daughters would not let me eat anything that was still moving, but everything we did have was delicious.   

However, starting early that Saturday morning, as new threats started coming from North Korea, I got busy with work.  I had many calls and emails with Washington policymakers, senior South Korean officials, and U.S. Forces Korea.  My BlackBerry was very busy. 

Several of these calls happened when we were at Busan Aquarium.  Since it was a beautiful weekend morning, the aquarium was packed with happy (and loud) visitors, and it was very difficult to find a quiet place to talk.  At one point, I had to send my daughters to the aquarium gift shop and then find a somewhat secluded stairwell to take part in what I hoped would be a 10-minute conference call.  Unfortunately, the call lasted 40 minutes. 

What I did see of the aquarium was really terrific -- great variety of very interesting fish like the one below.  My teenage daughter Erin surprised me by asking whether we could swim with sharks!  Lucky for me, we could not do it because we didn’t have enough time for the necessary training. 

One of the more interesting looking fish at Busan Aquarium

After the aquarium, we took a nice stroll along scenic Haeundae Beach.  Next, we were off to do a little shopping.  First we went to Kukje Shijang, a street market where we were able to eat some great chungmu gimbap and the kids were able to do a little shopping.  Next, I wanted to go to the famous Jagalchi Fish Market, but as we were about to enter, my youngest daughter Erica noticed all the dead fish being cleaned and sold.  She said, “Daddy, we were just at an aquarium seeing beautiful, live, happy fish.  Why do we want to go see dead fish?”  So much for the fish market.  

Delicious chungmu kimbap

During this terrific visit, we also had a chance to take a nice stroll on the tiny island near the Westin Chosun Hotel.  If you have not been there, it is definitely worth the short walk.  There is a beautiful wooden trail along the ocean, including a cool little suspension bridge.  When you finally come off the path, you wind up right near the entrance to Nurimaru, where the APEC Summit was held in 2005.

Now Nurimaru is sort of a free museum open to the public.  You can see all the rooms where the leaders met, you can stand in their footsteps at the group photo, and there are stunning views of the new Busan Marina and Gwangan Bridge.  We walked around this very unique structure and had fun looking at pictures of former leaders and officials including President Bush and Secretary Rice.   

Erin and Erica outside Nurimaru

And just like that, we were on the KTX back to Seoul.  The KTX is fast, smooth, and just awesome, and in less than three hours we were back home at the Habib House.

Despite all the phone calls and having to work through my vacation, I had a very nice time.  We all wanted to stay longer, but the kids had to go back to school, and I was excited to participate in a very special ceremony with Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun the next day. 

If you have seen the U.S. Embassy recently, you would have noticed our giant banner marking this very special year in U.S.-Korea relations.  This is our hwan gap, as we are celebrating “60 Years of Partnership and Shared Prosperity.”  2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the Armistice, the Mutual Defense Treaty, and the founding of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.  So the U.S. Embassy, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a very special contest asking Americans and Koreans to create a logo that the U.S. and Korean Governments could use throughout the year.  To make it interesting we offered a prize of 2,000,000 won.  The results were impressive!  In just two weeks, we received 210 entries.

Congratulations, Mr. Kim Se-ung, for your outstanding logo entry!

There were so many terrific logos but we were happy to congratulate our winner, Mr. Kim Se-ung (김세웅), whose logo was chosen to be the face of our hwan gap. 

After seeing beautiful Busan, meeting wonderful people, and walking through places like Nurimaru, I think back on how our 60-year partnership has been truly amazing, and I am confident that our enduring security alliance, increasing global cooperation, strong people-to-people ties, and vibrant economic relationship will help us prosper together for another 60 extraordinary years and beyond. 

What are your favorite vacation spots in Korea?  Please let me know in the comments, and I will be sure to read them.