Early autumn tour to outskirts of Seoul

Early autumn sunset in Pyeongtaek.
(Photo: Rahul Aijaz)

Winter is coming. No, seriously, winter is coming. But for now, it is autumn in Korea (which is quite similar to winters in Karachi, Pakistan). Chilly winds, moody weather – sometimes sunny; at others, rainy, and at times, both simultaneously. And upon stepping away from Seoul for a day, even waving green fields, scarecrows and a ton of bugs.

So, we set out to Incheon to visit ‘Ssang Yong Machine Industry’, a factory producing machinery for qualitative analysis of rice. Factories, to me, are full of rusty machinery, grease-dripping metal parts in a low-lit arenas where men, drowned in sweat, work. This was not the case here. There were workers, there was machinery, but everything was as clean as a showered baby wrapped in a blanket. Not a perfect analogy but still.

I paced around the grey machinery, surrounded by dull walls and the organized microscope look-alike machines on the tables, taking a photograph every now and then. We were given a tour of the storage of rice and machinery as well as demo of the process of qualitative analysis. Next was the visit to a mattress manufacturing office. A number of mattresses made from the outer hard skin of coconuts, lay around me. The CEO of the company, Mr. Kim explained the process, showing us multiple examples. What surprised me was how it was not only used to manufacture mattresses for hospitals and children beds but also used in police jackets and other multiple objects. Learning something new, having a coffee and red ginseng tea, we left for Pyeongtaek.

A mere one hour drive later, during which a good nap reenergized me, I woke up surrounded by vast rice fields. A tour of the ‘Nam Yang Agriculture’ company followed. The president Mr. Shin accompanied us throughout, detailing every process with his narration.

During dinner, I realized what occurred during lunch, when I tried eel and octopus, wasn’t the strangest moment. I usually enjoy fried shrimp. Dead. Fried. Shrimp. Not alive. Not by any chance. When asked if I would like shrimp for dinner, I nodded in excitement. Then I saw the shrimp in the plate, moving. That was enough to stop me from eating them. I thought, poor souls, I am not going to eat them alive. Technically, they were dead but just the sight of seeing them move freaked me out.

But then I was distracted by the beautiful calm night, listening to the sounds of the sea beside, as I fed on raw fish and consumed beer.

The night came to an end and we drove back to Seoul, while I stared out the window remembering the beautiful autumn sunset I saw earlier that evening.