SK Holdings is a megaconglomorate that owns pretty much everything in Korea from banking to energy to telecommunications. Although most people in the US have never heard of SK, the company is a big deal in Asia. SK Telecom is one of the many divisions of SK and also the largest telecom service provider in Korea.

Here’s a picture of T-Tower from the front entrance, looking upward. T-Tower is intentionally built crooked to capture the whimsical and innovative culture of the company. Click the link below for more photos.

Here’s the HSBC building that’s next to T-Tower. Normally, Seoul is covered in a hazy gloom. However, it rained earlier in the day and the sky was really beautiful.

Here, we walk along a sidewalk. The financial/business districts are pretty much pristine. It reminds me a lot of Singapore. The roads are perfectly paved and the glass is immaculate. After midnight, we walked back to the hotel and saw a group of women cleaning the windows here.

Here’s a plaza of some kind.

More buildings. The sunsets in Korea are really pretty. Some unknown substance in the smog bends sunlight in colorful ways unfamiliar to Americans.

In the spirit of photographing hilarious Engrish signs, here’s a bar called “Ho Bar II.” This place was apparently so popular that they created two of them.

See the Baskin Robbins in the corner? There’s a drinking game Koreans play in which you make cabbage patch motions with your arms while saying “BASSSKEEEN ROBBINS, THIRTEEEE ONE!”

This reminds me of Blade Runner.

Here’s a very traditional Korean meal (or so we were told). It’s blood soup on the left and raw beef on the right. I grabbed my metal chopsticks and put a little clump of blood in my mouth. “Yep, it’s blood alright.”

This is a cool building. There’s a bar at the top.

What a cute mascot. I have no idea what he is trying to sell. Perhaps it’s cat-related.

When my colleagues and I were hunting for a second restaurant/bar, we saw this strange logo of a dude chillin’ on the stairs. Or perhaps he is falling down because he drank too much soju.

There’s a park in downtown Seoul called Cheonggyecheon. It is built on the site of a stream that is sandwiched between two busy boulevards. Apparently, the area looks pretty amazing at night.

My colleagues and I took a stroll after lunch. You can pretty much see all types of people enjoying the stream including mothers playing with children, elderly people taking a brisk walk, and even businessmen taking a quick nap underneath a bridge.

See the remaining pictures after the jump.

This is definitely one of the prettiest places in Seoul I’ve seen thus far. I think the juxtaposition of nature (plants, water, and rocks) and city (brick and steel) give this area a very unique and well-integrated look and feel.

This was a sign I saw next to a planter outside a store. Apparently, you cannot sit on the ledge of the planter because your huge stinky butt will destroy the flowers.

A lot of stores here have funny nonsensical names. I imagine somebody opened the Oxford Dictionary, found a random word, and decided to use it. I guess it’s not too different from Americans who get tattoos of random Chinese characters.

This is a cafe called Caffe Themselves.

This was the cover of a menu. This cartoon girl is really happy for some reason. I think she is saving money?

There is a stereotype that it’s easy to get plastic surgery in Korea. I went up the elevator and saw this gigantic sign.

These images were posted on the doors of all the trains. There’s another version with a man with his briefcase caught in the door.

This store is called Spicy Color. It looks spicy to me.

T-Money is convenient for me to use because I don’t have a fancy Korean credit card. I’m sad to admit that credit cards in the United States are incredibly prehistoric. The card can be topped up at various machines around the city and used (with discounts) at many vendors.

As for the rail system, I am totally confused. I can’t read any of the signs and have no sense of direction. The city is densely packed and I haven’t oriented myself with any landmarks. I think it will take me a few more days (or weeks) to get my legs again.

Yes, this is totally like BART, except 100 times more complicated.

Myeongdong at 7:00 in the morning is really different from Myeongdong at 11:00 at night. It’s quiet and eerily calm. Instead of crowds of tourists clamoring for discounts, the walkways are mostly barren. You hear some scampering of feet and the beeping sounds of delivery trucks backing up. There are occasionally groups of businessmen who scurry to their offices without making eye-contact with one another. A few shopkeepers sweep the sidewalk in broad strokes. You can see my full album here.

Today was also my first day officially working with my IBD client. I visited the office and the team. I was also asked a few times: “Your last name is Sung; are you Korean American?”

Rather than jump into a long conversation about pinyin and Wade-Giles, I simply shook my head and said: “Nope.”

From my office’s smoking deck, I snapped this picture. The tower in the distance is the Namsan Tower, which is also called N Seoul Tower. I’ve been told that couples will buy padlocks and lock them on the tower to symbolize their eternal love. However, this tradition has only been around for about 5 years. Apparently, it was inspired by a K-drama. People are also supposed to throw away the key. (I was told there are signs everywhere telling people not to throw keys.)

Personally, I think it’d be better if people held on to their keys. Then, if the lovers decide to get married, they should climb the tower, locate their old lock, unlock it, and toss it away to create space for new lovers. Otherwise, there will be no more room for locks in the future. South Korean Ministry of Tourism, you’re welcome.

A few companies dominate Seoul. SK is huge. Case in point, there are SK-owned T Stores on almost every corner in Myeongdong. Furthermore, a lot of the ATM machines are also owned by SK. If you are using a smartphone, you are probably using an SK SIM card.

Another ubiquitous company is Samsung. Back in the states, Samsung is mostly known for its electronics such as TVs and mobile phones. Here in Seoul, Samsung has a hand in everything, even clothing. Pretty crazy, huh?

After a really terrible experience with United Airlines on the return trip from the Japan Trek, our team opted to fly with Asiana Airlines (formerly Seoul Airlines). I was told that it is one of the highest rated airlines (alongside Singapore and Emirates).

The flight itself was smooth. The food was actually pretty good too, although the portions were way too small. Thankfully, there was in-flight on-demand entertainment. So I didn’t sit there twiddling my thumbs for 11 hours straight. Instead, I watched 5 movies in a row:

1. Green Lantern – Pretty mediocre and disappointing; felt like they were trying to combine 3 movies’ worth of material into one
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Absolutely awful; too much focus on annoying human characters yet gives audience nobody worthwhile to root for
3. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol – Very entertaining from start to finish; loved the new gadgets
4. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – Better than the first movie; Rachel McAdams still has a terrible English accent
5. The Descendants – Interesting movie that did a great job capturing pain and anguish of losing a loved one but was overall depressing to watch due to subject matter

After landing, my team attempted to reach the hotel. First, we went to the wrong carousel and had to spend 15-minutes walking around the airport to locate the correct one. Then, we struggled to find a cab. Eventually, we found a minivan that charged about 94,000 won. I’m pretty sure we were overcharged. But I guess when you’re stranded at an airport, your willingness to pay is pretty high.

I’m staying at the Hotel Ibis in Myeongdong. (This is the same chain of hotels that I stayed in during my time in Bangkok, Thailand.) Location-wise, the hotel is excellent — it’s in the middle of a bustling part of town with an active nightlife and is also very close to the client’s office. On the downside, the rooms are really tiny. I feel like there is hardly any space to walk at all. When I turn in my bed, I feel like I’m going to steamroll my teammate. I also have a terrible view. When I open my shades, I see the side of a skyscraper.

It was already pretty late when we settled into the rooms. However, we met up with a different IBD team who are visiting Korea, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Together, we walked the streets and looked at the pretty lights. There are a ton of fancy shops in Myeongdong and the walkways are crowded. The overall atmosphere reminded me of Osaka, except with fewer people wearing face masks.

We were also looking at SIM cards for our phones. However, the vendors all had a policy in which they could sell the physical SIM card, but not activate it on the weekends.

I ended the night with a delicious Korean BBQ meal. It is a lot cheaper than in Los Angeles Koreatown or Oakland. Roughly $15 per person if you include alcohol ($10 if you don’t). Here, the ladies even cut and cook the meat for you and there are more varieties of side-dishes. I walked away very fulfilled. (Alas, I’m still not used to heavy, metal chopsticks.)

Unfortunately, the food in my belly made my eyes droopy. Although many of my classmates extended the evening with beers, I clumsily stumbled back to my tiny hotel room, took a shower, and changed into sleepwear.

I will be waking in about 8 hours to meet my client. So it’s off to bed for me. Please look forward to more posts tomorrow!

To end with a festive bang, the culinary club provided a roast pig. I should remind you that my friend Chris (who is also VP of Meat in the culinary club) has been talking about wanting to roast a pig since the beginning of the year. It took an entire year to coordinate, but he finally got his wish.

Well, almost. The original plan was to roast the pig in the courtyard in front of all the students. However, the vendor discovered that somebody had stolen the lid to the roaster from the back of his truck. As a result, he had to pre-roast the big, saran wrap it, and bring it to campus.

Regardless, the pig was very delicious. I think the best part was the layer of fat directly underneath the crispy skin. My mouth is watering as I type this.

I think those kids from The Lord of the Flies were on to something.

First up, there’s a strange billboard for ‘Cream Quiz,’ a game show on TV Asahi. These guys have bingo boards on their face for some reason. This was the first Tokyo-based ad we saw during our bus ride from Hakone.

We received these cards from the J-Crew on the bus ride to Tokyo. The Suica is basically a rechargeable smart card that can be used for shopping and for quick access to the rail system. You can top up at stations all around the city.

A very strange advertisement. I’m not sure what ‘values’ have to do with anything. But I feel like I’m being watched.

“Linking Thinking!” That’s a catchy tagline.

Smoking is prohibited outdoors. In our Tokyo hotel (Villa Fontaine Shiodome), there’s a special room dedicated to smokers. It is always filled with people. I guess you can probably save on cigs with all the second hand smoke in the air.

This sign is on the door leading to the grand lobby of the hotel. I can only imagine there was a terrible soccer accident in the past.

Cute. The lightbulb is sleeping.

Although it felt like everybody ate three meals of raw fish every day, we did occasionally eat cooked fish.

An anime-style poster asking people to recycle? I can’t actually read Japanese.

No idea.

Another mysterious store. I think it sold souvenirs and trinkets. But what’s with the sad bear? Surely he must have an amazing backstory.

Sometimes Japan makes bad movies too. I bet the dog saves everyone on the squad from the bad guys in the end.

This was an envelope store. Famima!! (two exclamation points) is a chain of upscale convenience stores owned by FamilyMart.

Here’s a poster of Titanic 3D outside Mori Tower in Tokyo.

Here’s an arcade cabinet in one of the multi-level shopping centers in Akihabara. It’s basically House of the Dead 2 (a light-gun game). Instead of shooting at the screen, you must type letters on the keyboard as they appear above the enemies’ heads. It’s like Mavis Beacon, but violent!

On a practical note, this is a good way for Japanese kids to learn to type fast in English.

Oh no! Vampires!

The posters are hand drawn and the rules are written in English. Based on the blond-haired, blue-eyed antagonist in the story, the warnings are very clearly directed at a specific type of culturally-insensitive, rowdy gaijin.

“Now, please read this cartoons and learn how to look around!!!” Three exclamation points means serious business.

The purpose of this sign is to keep tourists away from the proper fish market where actual fishermen are conducting real business, redirecting them to a special section of the market filled with overpriced trinkets and sushi restaurants.

I love how ridiculous the tourists appear. “Cool!!”

This is true. If you bring a stroller, your kids will probably get run over. In fact, I was almost run over a few times.

Don’t wear flip-flops. This one is obvious. If you’re dumb enough to wear open-toed shoes to a fish market, you probably deserve to lose a few toes.

The funny thing is two of my classmates may have gotten drunk the night before and caused a ruckus at the fish market.

Don’t touch fish.

The ginger-haired, blue-eyed tourist strikes again. ”Hey dude, let me hold it!!” This lingo is fairly accurate. The Japanese dude on the left looks annoyed.

The fish market opens to visitors at 6:00a, but only the first 120 people standing in line are allowed to spectate. I arrived an entire three hours in advance because I didn’t want to risk getting shut out. On the previous morning, several of us had tried to enter fish auction at 4:00a. But we were too late. Before even leaving the hotel, we were informed that the line was closed. A large group of 60 MBA students from MIT Sloan had showed up at 3:00a and hogged all of the spots.

Thankfully, we arrived early enough this morning to be allowed inside!

After an hour of standing in the cold, the first 60 people in line (including me) were taken to a warm waiting room and given orange vests to wear. We were also told the rules of the fish auction. Namely, observers are not allowed to shout, wave our hands, or take photos with flash. The auctioneers are conducting real business.

Around 5:30ish, the guard led us through the fish market to the auction room. Here’s a video of the process.

This is a picture of the auction ground. The sellers cut off the tail of the giant tuna so that the buyers can take samples. The buyers carry around large hooks which are used to chip away at the tail meat. Experienced sellers touch the meat to sample the texture, check the color, and taste the meat. I have a video of the testing process here.

The actual auction begins with the ringing of a bells. Then, the auction master shouts (to a beat) at sellers who make hand signals. Here’s a video of the live auction. At the conclusion, the seller walks around to the fish and place sheets of paper over the ones that have been sold. The buyers carry away their winnings with a long hook-pole.

Outside the fish market, we watched the buyers load the fish onto their trucks. The buyers are mostly middlemen who resell the best fish to big hotels and restaurants.

By this point, the sun had risen. We followed the guard to the exit point and returned our vests. What an adventure.

What to do now? We decided to go with Masaki (our classmate) to a local raw fish restaurant. But first, we needed to circle around Tsukiji and re-enter the market. This is a picture of a Shinto shrine we passed along the way.

We wandered the streets for a little while. Basically, none of the shops open until 10:00a. However, many of the market stands were available for browsing.

Here are some stands.

This is a cool mural we saw on our way back to the fish market. The frog creature operating the boat is a kappa.

We walked back to the fish market and passed by these trucks. To our left, there was a series of funny ‘tourist rules’ printed on separate signs. I took a picture of each one and will post them separately.

The little shops on the left are actually all sushi restaurants. The are very narrow rooms that consist of a chef and a long table with stools. It takes about 45 minutes to make it from the end of the line to a stool. However, the sushi is worth it!

$8 sushi! It tastes delicious though. Our chef was a fun old man who had prepared sushi for over 50 years! He was also a great salesman and pushed each of us to buy several more pieces with his charming personality.

I checked my watch after walking around the fish market and it was only 9:00a! The day was just beginning and I felt like I had already done so much! I guess sleep really is over-rated. All you need is coffee.