I think we’re past the tourist phase of our trip. Grace arranged a spa treatment for my mom in the morning. Liv loved shopping in Hongdae, so she and Grace went back there in the morning. Lucas and I stayed at the hotel and had a Lightroom training session.

We were having dinner with the Rhee side of the family in Gangnam, so we went in that direction for lunch. We went to the Hyundai department store and had a very nice Japanese lunch. The main thing left on Liv and Lucas’s list of things to do was to go to the Stüssy store in Seoul, which was walking distance. There was of course a line to enter and merchandise and sizes were very limited once inside. It’s crazy how popular it is again.

We met up with two of my three cousins on the Rhee side. Jiyong’s kids were able to join us, but Hyeyeon’s son is in Japan and her daughter wasn’t feeling well. The last time the kids met up, they were too young and shy to get to know one another, but now they have so much to talk about. My dad’s cousin also joined us. She remembers him so fondly and she also reminds me a lot of my grandmother.

Jiyong’s daughter, Kiwon, will be studying in NY for a year, so we hope he and Gina will come and visit her (and us). I’m really glad Liv and Lucas feel a new connection to their 2nd cousins and hope they stay in touch.

Yeonoo, Jiyong’s son, suggested that Hannam-dong was a popular neighborhood in Seoul for young people. We went there the following day and found it to be really cute. We were briefly in Itaewon, but Liv wanted to go back to Insadong to shop. We went to a restaurant Jaehong had pointed out as Clarence’s favorite place for Bindae-tteok. It should be noted that I haven’t once been hungry on this trip.

Saturday evening we met my cousins on my mom’s (Im) side of the family. Two of my uncle’s three daughters live in Seoul and took us to dinner. Seock-Ah and her husband visited us a couple years ago, so the kids remember them, but they don’t remember meeting Jeanah. We had a beautiful dinner inside the Kukje Gallery, which is just outside the palace.

Of all the things the Liv and Lucas have experienced on this trip, I hope it is the kindness of family they didn’t even know they had that will be the most memorable. All of my cousins are very sweet and thoughtful. I’ve only met them a handful of times myself in my life.

Despite being out the latest so far on this trip, Lucas wanted to go out and shoot after we got back. He is just recently showing an interest in photography so I was happy to oblige. He had been shooting my other (perhaps favorite?) camera this trip and I had to assure him it was not necessarily lesser than the camera I have been using.

We experimented with some long exposures and low-light pictures. Seoul at nighttime is stunning especially after the rain. This was our last night and we were out pretty late. I’m glad we went.

It’s day four and we’re reaching peak tourist. We’re staying just a few blocks from Gyeongbokgung Palace. Pro-tip: if you rent traditional Korean Hanboks for 20 times the price of admission, you get in for free! There are many rental places right nearby the entrance.

It turned out to be a lot of fun and Olivia and Grace even got their hair done so beautifully. Even though I had a king-style hat, I liked Lucas’s look a little better. It was way more crowded this trip than the last and I noticed that there were so many more foreign visitors, and many of them dressed in Hanboks, too.

We took a break from Korean food and tried the Italian in our hotel, which was excellent. They are not stingy with the truffles here. Grace and Olivia enjoyed the spa while Lucas and I took advantage of the best amenity, an all-you-can-play golf sim.

My mom and her sister came to Seoul to stay with us for the rest of our visit. Jaehong, my cousin’s cousin, was very kind to take us to a dumpling restaurant in Insadong. It was delicious and the Michelin guide agrees. We capped off another productive day with dessert at the hotel. Lucas was still talking about his the next morning.

Rather than spend another break doing college tours, we opted for more international travel. It has been 11 years since our last visit. Olivia and Lucas don’t remember anything from that trip, so this is effectively their first time. We left on Friday and arrived on Sunday. This wrinkle in the space-time continuum caused me to break my Wordle streak and I’m still not over it.

We arrived at the hotel a little after 5am and though our rooms were not ready, they kindly gave us one to relax in. Breakfast opened at 6:30am and that’s when we started eating … non-stop. Last time we stayed in Gangnam, but our hotel this time was in Gwanghwamun, near City Hall and Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was also very close to the Cheonggyecheon Stream, which was the first touristy thing we did.

My mom and aunt were already in Korea, which was part of the reason we wanted to come. We just missed my uncle’s 90th birthday the day before our arrival. In the afternoon, we went to his home in Ilsan to see him.

My mom’s oldest brother is the one I spent the most time with growing up because he lived with us for about a year in the 1970s. My aunt asked him if he remembered that we fought a lot and he didn’t, which is probably for the best. We were both strong-willed and had different ideas for after-school programming on the one tv we shared. It was so nice to see him and my aunt, who took us all to lunch.

After two meals on day one, I was done eating for the week. We did our best to adjust to the time but the kids crashed out early. My favorite Canadian, Joe, was also in Korea and came by to catch up. We had a great first day in Korea.

The kids had another day off from school, so we used it for a quick trip to LA to check some schools off the list. While I think both kids are very open to going “away” for school, I sense a new appreciation for life in California.

We only had time to see the big schools. Both of them loved USC, but Liv was especially excited to learn about all the sites that stood in for fake-Yale in Gilmore Girls. It’s ironic that UCLA is coming at the end of our travels as the LA grandparents have lived and worked on campus for decades. Both campuses are beautiful and sell themselves.

We actually spent the most time at Century City, though Lucas and I were not much help for prom-dress shopping. Most importantly, we had a nice dinner with Dave and LA grandma and grandpa. Sometimes an overnight is just the right amount of time for a trip.