Week commencing Monday, 21 September 2026
Quantified Self
- This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 7/7 and Move 7/7. (100%). Holiday time. Total steps: 123,385.
Life
- I am in South Korea. It’s really interesting. And very humid.
- Our first hotel was very strict about check-in, so we went to buy a travel card, lost our way, regrouped in Starbucks, eventually bought the card, saw the Starfield Library and Psy’s hands, and searched the Toys ‘R’ Us Pokémon display. We failed to find what we wanted.
- In the DMZ, we entered the Third Infiltration Tunnel and ended up underground less than 200 metres from the North.
- Related: getting out is hard work. It’s back along the tunnel, hunched over to get through it, and then up a very steep incline to the surface in a hot, stuffy environment. I had to stop several times, which definitely made me feel very unfit.
- Relatedly related, we peered across the border from the lookout. I think we saw people.
- I unexpectedly saw the changing of the guard ceremony at Deoksugung Palace, which is all very traditional, then saw far too many images of Hechi, Seoul’s official cartoon mascot.
- At Gwangjang Market, we saw a woman who’d been in a Netflix food series and ate dumplings and octopus. Although the octopus is dead, residual nerve activity makes the tentacles and suction cups squirm, twist, and stick to the plate, triggering a range of reactions. Very odd.
- Saw the Seoul Millennium Time Capsule, buried in 1994 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Seoul becoming the capital of Korea and set to be opened 400 years later on 29 November 2394, to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Seoul as the capital.
- On Thursday, we flew to Jeju during the Chuseok holiday; everything ran smoothly.
- On Friday, we explored the scenic 1100 Highland and Hallasan Mountain, visited Cheonjeyeon Falls and enjoyed ice lollies after climbing lots of steps; we shared a lively lunch at what could only be described as a service station, and in the evening, we dined at a Japanese restaurant with delicious food and not much English.
- Saturday: visited Dongmun Market and saw, but didn’t buy, local delicacies; enjoyed coffee and local tangerine juice at the very stylish D&DEPARTMENT café; saw the Dragon Head at Yongduam Rock; and experienced a two-hour flight delay for the journey to Busan.
- Sunday was a tour from Busan to the UNESCO sites in Gyeongju. We visited the 8th-century Seokguram Grotto and its impressive seated Buddha.
- Also, we explored the Daereungwon tomb complex, a historic park with 23 grass-covered burial mounds of Silla kings and nobles. One of them, Cheonmachong, was open to visitors, so of course we went in.
- Before we entered the tomb, we went to find the Cheomseongdae Observatory, which is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia. It’s fascinating to see how they looked at the stars in the 7th century.
- Related, we ended the week at Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond. Lovely lighting.
- The barbecue grills at Daol Charcoal Grilling, on Jeju Black Pork Street and at the unnamed restaurant in Busan were all excellent (even if the latter’s ‘black spaghetti’ dish was way too spicy for me). The Chef’s Table at Kyochon Pilbang in Itaewon is a remarkable multi-course chicken feast.
I added extra photos to a collection on Flickr.
Media
- Watched Tuner with Leo Woodall on the in-flight entertainment. It’s about a piano tuner who has a hearing condition but perfect pitch. When he needs money, he breaks into safes because he can hear the locks clicking into place. It causes all sorts of trouble in the end. I really enjoyed it, though I was a little unconvinced by the ending.