Gyeongju: Love Consultant

Gyeongju feels much more rural relative to Busan or Seoul. It has very few high rise buildings and definitively missing are the bright neon lights. Similar to Xi’an, one of its sister cities, its attraction is that of an ancient city with valuable historic remains. All students in Korea visit Gyeongju as part of their school excursion program.

We arrived at the Gyeongju express bus station in the late afternoon, in the rain. We were not motivated to venture into the city on this wet and cold evening. Fortunately the guest house is quite interesting.

Our guest house is a modern version of a traditional Korean hanok. It has an ondol (underfloor) heating system for winter and a wide front porch for keeping the house cool in the summer. Directly facing the main entrance is the owner’s quarters. Stretching forward from both the right and left sides at right angles to the owners’ quarters are the guest rooms. A clean and well equipped kitchen is located at the end of the row of guest rooms on the left. Within the square bordered by the buildings and the main entrance is a well maintained garden. Outdoor benches are available in the garden, but at this time, guests preferred to share their travel tales in the kitchen instead of the garden.

It was here in the kitchen that we met a group of travelers, among them a young man named V. V wanted some advice from Kim. Between sips and gulps of soju, he poured out the pains he suffered and the challenges he faced trying to keep a long distance relationship with a sweet Korean girl. If he cannot figure a way to stay together with his sweetheart, he will call it quits. O... heart wrenching love story.

Kim turned Love Consultant that night, right through midnight, despite the fact that she did not sleep much the previous night. I wonder where she got so much energy.