Myeongdong Cathedral

I swear, I'm still alive!

It's hard to make time to post anything because in between all the things I HAVE to do, there are still the things I WANT to do. But, fortunately, I want to keep all (two? three?) of my loyal readers informed.

First of all, without going into too much detail, I've managed to locate an apartment. It comes pre-furnished and is really really small (like, small dorm room small). But it has a kitchen, washer, bed, fridge, desk, mirror, dresser, and tv. I have zero complaints. Okay, one. The bathroom has a distinct mildew smell. But that's what bleach is for, right? The landlord, it turns out, is Catholic. The building is decorated with giant portraits of the BVM, and he was suuuuper excited to find out I was Catholic too. After we agreed that the apartment would do nicely, he helped me move in, and then took me shopping to buy a few things. Right now, though, I'm still staying at the hotel because it's less lonely.

I've also managed to find a church! Before I came to Korea, I was worried that my experience would be like it was in Japan. In Japan, I found a mission church, but the music wasn't very good, and, as we all know, I'm kind of a church music snob. So, while the community was great and the priest incredibly sweet, I got so distracted by the music that I had trouble concentrating on what really matters at Mass. Not so in Korea. I decided to go big right from the beginning. I went to Myeongdong Cathedral in downtown Seoul. Amazing.

Myeongdong Cathedral, as seen from the streets at the bottom of the hill. Note all the people. Those are not tourists.

At 9 am, the cathedral was packed with people of all ages to the point that it became standing room only. By the end of Mass, people were lining up outside so they could get inside for the next Mass. The priest gave an excellent homily on the importance of the Eucharist, and at the offertory, every single person stood up and gave money to the poor. Even the music was good! At the end, they sang O God Beyond All Praising, and I actually burst into tears because I was so happy. I guess I really missed Lit Choir. It was a standard Roman Catholic novus ordo Mass done the way Vatican II intended. I don't know if all churches in Korea are like this, but since the Cathedral is the center of Catholicism in Korea, I think it's safe to say that the Church is in excellent shape. South Korea, this tiny little peninsula of crazy ambition and economic prosperity, has more church-going, devout Catholics than Europe.

Here's a bit about the area. The Cathedral is on a hill in the middle of the busiest shopping district in Seoul. On the way there, I pass every kind of shop, each of them blaring Korean pop or featuring at least one yelling shop owner trying to convince passersby that he has the very best product. Even that early in the morning, there are shoppers out and about and enough flashing neon lights to cause an epileptic fit. And pervading all of this is the ever-present smell of kimchi. It's a great place to eat and shop, but not really the environment one would expect to find a church in. However, Myeongdong Cathedral is on a hill. The higher you climb on the hill, the more the sounds and smells of the city below vanish, until finally you're in front of the Cathedral and all you can see around you are trees and the vague outline of the convent where the nuns work and pray all day. Behind the Cathedral is a statue of Mary, where most people go to light candles after Mass. It reminds me fondly of the Grotto at Notre Dame.

View from the top of the hill. It feels like you're in a completely different world. 

And with that, I'll stop. I was going to talk about the subway and my adventures with spicy food, but I'll save that for later.

Theresa