the evening of saturday, february 10th, i went down to the 압구정 (apgujung) area of seoul to meet hyejin and soyoung for dinner. we went to one of my favorite restaurants in seoul. they specialize in 닭갈비 (dalk kalbi, chicken barbecue), and my favorite variety is a very spicy one called 고추장불고기 (gochujang bulgogi). with my departure from korea coming in less than two weeks, i felt that i had to really savor this meal since i knew it was probably the last time i'd have a chance to eat there.

after dinner we went to a japanese style bar for some sake and chatting. we didn't stay out late, at 11:00p we said good night to hyejin and soyoung and i caught a bus together since we lived near each other on the other side of town. all the public transportation in seoul shuts down around midnight, so a lot of people start drinking early enough for their evening to finish before then. on the bus i noticed a girl sitting near the front bending over with her head at her knees. i thought she might be sick but later i noticed she'd sat back up so i figured maybe she was just looking for something she'd dropped or in her purse or something. i guess she got off at the next stop, i didn't really notice she was gone after that. then all of a sudden a bunch of people from the front of the bus made their way to the back. it was then that i started to see the vomit seeping out from under that seat. as the bus twisted and turned along its route, the vomit slipped and slid all over and around the aisle of the front of the bus. people had to decide whether or not to get up and move more to the back, or to just open the window and hope the smell didn't get to them. lucky for us we were already in the back with a perfect vantage point of the situation but without being in the spillage danger zone. probably the funniest yet saddest moment was when the bus driver finally noticed the huge splotch of puke in the middle of the front row. he was the only person on the bus who reacted noticeably and out loud. this, of course, can be attributed to the fact that without a doubt he would have to be the one to clean it up.

tagged: apgujung chicken korea korean food spicy 닭갈비