IKEA Korea and the Scary Fire Alarm Incident

Two years ago when we came to Korea, I Googled "Ikea Korea" thinking there must be a store somewhere in this modern nation. Alas, no, but there was talk of building one some time in the next few years. Would it ever really happen? And while we're still living here? I was doubtful. Well...the rumors were true and almost twenty-three months to the date that we arrived in SoKo, the world's largest Ikea opened about 45 minutes away on December 18. Hooray!

We knew it would be crowded so we figured we'd be smart and wait to go in the Spring and maybe on an American holiday during the week when Marc doesn't have to work. But my parents are visiting us again (yea!) so we very spontaneously decided that just Marc and me and the Babes would check it out and leave the big boys with my folks. Hooray again!

The line to get into the parking lot was ridiculous so we just parked farther away and walked. As we got closer we could see a Disneyland-size line just to get in to the store. What the? Oh, well. It was worth it - even in the cold.

Back o' the line. Can you see all the tiny heads in the distance?

Waiting two years + only one portable kid + gleeful excitement = These Faces

The mob at the very beginning of the showroom

Crowded is an understatement. I could barely see the store for all the people. One thing I found pretty amusing is that in the US people usually just walk by the model room cubicles or look at them standing from the edge. Maybe one or two people will go in to look at an item or sit on the couch. Here, each cubicle was FULL of people sitting on the couch, lying in the bed, opening all the cupboards, picking up every single thing, touching the curtains, etc. There was no more room, but they kept packing in. The reason, I suppose, is that unless they've been to an Ikea in another country, they've never seen this stuff before. The simple, clean lines of the Ikea style are pretty much the exact opposite of the bulky, heavy, ornate Korean furnishings I've seen. But I think Ikea will be a hit with the clever, space-saving designs since the typical apartment is so small.

We didn't have the older boys with us, so fortunately we didn't have to wait in the line for Småland, but I peeked in and it looks like somewhere I'd like to play.

This is about one-third of Småland. Its equally as large on both sides of this picture and looks way cooler than any other Småland I've seen. Of course, this is Korea so I would expect the kid area to be exceptionally cool.

 

Once we made it through the showroom, we hit up the restaurant for some Swedish meatballs.

Part of the line to get in

More line. What were we thinking? Oh yeah, its Ikea and we love it.

While we were waiting in line, I needed to step aside to feed Doren. I went to a chair against the wall while Marc continued to wait. A few minutes later, fire alarm lights started to flash and an emergency alert noise began to sound. I glanced around and no one seemed too concerned. But the lights and the noise continued. When it changed to an air raid siren I decided it was time to find Marc so we would be together in case this got real. Then a computerized voice came over the intercom. Something about a fire on the third and fourth floors. We were on the fourth (highest) floor. I figured if a fire was going to start anywhere it would probably be in the kitchen, right where we were, but I didn't see any smoke and there was no screaming. I continued trying to read the faces around me (since I can't understand what anyone is saying) and at a certain point, when the siren still hadn't stopped, some of the faces turned serious and I saw people getting up from their tables, leaving their bags and walking out. We didn't want to freak out because it was probably nothing, but when the sirens still didn't stop, something snapped and a little bit of anxiety set in because it could be real. Marc just left the food trolley in the line and we walked toward the nearest exit. Its one thing to think about exiting a building, but with the sheer number of I-don't-know-how-many hundreds of people, I was pretty concerned. If this was real, there was going to be a massive stampede to the exits and people were going to get hurt. The stairwells would be FULL of people, as in no gaps between us. Marc reminded me that, this being a new building, there was probably a glitch in the complicated fire alarm system. Still, we didn't know for sure and it was getting kind of intense. People were just leaving their bags and food and grabbing their kids. I was only holding Doren and when I saw the mob of people heading for the stairwell I pictured him getting pulled out of my arms, so we stopped to put him back in the Ergo so he would at least be attached to me. Then, just before we entered the fray, finally, a voice (in English!) came over the intercom that it was a false alarm! By this time, I'm sure some people were already outside.

Marc had another good point that since the Sewol Ferry tragedy earlier this year, people here are probably more likely than before not to wait around and take chances. I was actually really surprised at how quickly they responded.

So all of that for a false alarm. Its amazing how, when faced with a possible emergency, the amount of thoughts that flow through the brain. Is this for real? Are we overreacting? Are we going to make it out? Am I going to be trampled in a stampede of hundreds of people? My baby!?? Is this really happening to us? Am I going to die in Ikea? etc, etc. It got scary there for a few minutes.

When it was confirmed again that it was nothing, we wandered back and found our food tray and continued on our merry way. It kind of felt like a parallel universe thing where in one life we're getting pulled down a stairwell with a mob of panicked people because there really is a fire - OR - that fire never started and we're just a family enjoying a few hours at a new Ikea. Fortunately, it was the latter and I thoroughly enjoyed my meatballs.

An abandoned food trolley.

It just wouldn't be a proper Korean cafe without little sides of kimchi and sundries.

Thank you for coming, Sweden!

The whole restaurant

Moving along...

Coming down the moving sidewalk to the warehouse.

We made out with just a few essentials. I was on the last of my dish brush stash that I brought from the US so we bought more of those, a few packs of napkins and a couple of bins for toy organizing. The prices are definitely higher than in the US but not too bad. Despite the crowds and the scary alarm, its so great having this here. Now, if they can build an entire Ikea here is it too much to ask for a Trader Joe's??

Yellow Brick Trip

I'm a procrastinator. The following blog is about something we did five weeks ago but I'm still going to write about it just to have it for our memories.

Last month we decided it was time for another sleepover in Seoul to get a much-needed dose of urban civilization. We usually stay at the Army Lodge because that's the easy thing to do, but we like to make things more difficult on ourselves, soooo...we used our miles to stay at a hostel for free.  A hostel, like for single 20-somethings? Correct. You get what you pay for, right? Ha ha ha ho ho ho! Ohh (drying the tears), you sure do. No, it was fine...just a little tight.

We picked a place called Yellow Brick right in the heart of Insadong, a fun, trendy area of Seoul. Unlike the Army Lodge, it was nice to just walk out the door and be in the thick of things rather than having to drive across the post, walk to the metro, take the metro, etc. We took the train up this time so we could be car-free.

Train ride up to Seoul. And Baby Bingsu's first trip back since being born there!

The hostel was really simple and minimalist. Like most hostels, its typically for young single travelers, but it worked for us because they had a few family rooms with four beds.
 

Lockers instead of a closet for our stuff.

Time to get cozy! Really cozy!

The bathroom: a typical Korean wet bathroom and not much bigger than an airplane lavatory. The bathroom is the shower and the shower is the bathroom.

As you can see, it was tight. And with two crazy boys (and a baby that we couldn't put down anywhere) it got pretty hectic in there. This is one of those experiences that we'll be able to laugh about in years to come (right?), but at the time it was just a means to spend more time in Seoul for really cheap. That doesn't mean I want to do it again, though!!
There is a common kitchen in the basement of the building. Breakfast is provided and includes bread, peanut butter, jelly, juice and eggs that you make yourself.

Breakie. Toasted pb&j, tangerines, and fried eggs.

Checking out the decor

Marc frying eggs and someone else doing their dishes.

It was cute, clean, minimalist.

Brick pets outside the hostel

Marc likes the narrow alleyways...

...so we usually end up exploring several of them. We just passed someone's front door!

Hot steaming dumplings in the morning.

After wandering around Insadong we made our way to my favorite area in Seoul, Samcheongdong, where I bought my backpack last year. It's so lovely in fall.

Thai Noodle Box for lunch. Jonah tried some crispy pink sweet potato rolls.

Looking over Samcheondong shortly after purchasing our selfie stick.

 We found a trail head at the end of the street and checked it out...

We think its hilarious when Toby overextends his legs into the splits on these ubiquitous exercise machines. Cute little butt.

Trending now- Upside down hat.

We opted for the Childlike Forest

Koreans are really serious about keeping their shoes clean. At the end of almost every trail are these high-pressure air blowers to clean their shoes before getting back in the car, because that's the other thing - they're really serious about keeping their cars clean.

On the same street as our hostel I saw a sign for Thai massage, specifically a foot massage, which sounded really great after walking around carrying a baby all day. I ran inside to see if they had any appointments and they did, in one hour. So we took the boys back to the hostel, got them settled I and headed over to my spontaneous massage!! Yippee! The spa was gorgeous. Very dark and warm-incense-smelling and zen-y. I had to change into a pajama outfit even though I was just getting a foot massage...and later found out why. The therapist led me to a room with a floor mat. I have never experienced a Thai massage before and it was intense! She worked (and I mean worked) my feet and legs for 40 minutes. When I thought it was over she still had more to do. Thai massage therapists use their whole body to work on you. So she sat me up, wrapped one of her legs around my shoulder, bent me forward, then twisted another leg somewhere. She basically contorted me into all sorts of complicated stretchy positions while using her own body as resistance. I'm not as flexible as I used to be so a few times I worried I would be injured. "Uh! (gasp) lady, I can't...(gasp)! Uncle!Uncle!" But she knew just how far to go. I was as loose as a goose after that. Whew! And that was just the foot massage!


~~~~~~~~~~~

Aaaaand back to the chaos in the tiny hostel room...It was dinner time so we headed back out to restaurant alley. And by that, I really mean narrow little alleyways with one restaurant after another jam-packed with people. They come alive in the evenings when Koreans like to do their social eating and drinking. The restaurants are all open-air but it doesn't feel cold because every table has a fire in the middle and there are so many people!

I'm not sure why, but whenever I see Buddhist monks I feel like I've gone back in time.

My guys at an open-air barbeque restaurant.

Waiting for the hot coals in our barrel table.

This would never be allowed in the US - coals on fire in the middle of a very small table, crammed around a bunch of other people...in an alley...with no firetruck access. But that's how it works! And kids learn quickly what to touch and what not to touch. 

Trays of used-up coals just laying around in the street.

Trying to get Doren to fall asleep so I could eat dinner with both hands. Success!

After our dinner of Korean BBQ I really wanted to check out this other place. Its a soup restaurant where all they make is one kind of broth and homemade noodles. As full as I was, this was our last opportunity and I cannot resist fresh noodles, so we went there for dinner, Part 2. It was amazing watching these women and the process of making the soup.

This gal is washing out the equipment right in the alley - another thing that would never be allowed in the US but is totally normal here.

Scrubbing outside because there isn't enough space inside. Plus there is a hose and gutter. What more do you need??

Making the noodles by hand. Bless you, good woman.

Ahh, the final product. The bowl is much larger than it looks here. Its a full meal by itself. Handmade noodles with broth and a sprinkling of dried seaweed on top. You add as much chili paste as you want for flavoring. I want more now!! Its so simple and satisfying.

We spent our second night at the hostel, had more toasted pb&j and fried eggs and packed our stuff. We let the boys play at a school playground down the street and then headed back to the train station to go home.

Thanks for more memories, Seoul!