Korea!

We have arrived in Gwangju, after an uneventful yet disorientating flight. We landed in Seoul at 3:40 am local time, and took a bus to Gimpo, the domestic airport. After a delicious breakfast of Japanese Ramen (when your body's not sure if it's dinner time or breakfast time, it is helpful that soup is served here for breakfast) we flew in to Gwangju. I passed the short flight reading the Korean Herald, one of two English language daily newspapers in Korea. It will be nice to keep up with world events with the cultural slant of the area I am visiting. We were greated by a rather large banner carried by not a few Korean Rotary memebers. They whisked us through downtown to the Palace Hotel where we'll be spending tonight.
We were able to explore a little on our own this morning, and learned that our hotel is located in a very hip and trendy fashion area. We browsed the tiny boutiques for a while, stretching our legs and stimulating our appetites. Lunch was in a small restaurant where we ordered by pointing at the non-descriptive menu and other diner's plates. The meal was fantastic-5 or 6 different kinds of pickled or seasoned vegetables, a dish of itty bitty little cooked fish, dried seaweed and other savory treats that were merely a side note to the beef and vegetable soup that was placed on a hot plate on our table. Though the amount of dishes seemed slight overkill, since each item had just a few bites on the dish, we were able to have a taste of everything and feel energized and fortified for the next step in our day--much needed naps.
That very important activity accomplished, we are now on our way to dinner in our honor. I'm not sure what to expect, though I did remember to wear a long enough skirt so that if we are seated on the floor I am not embarrassed.
We start our more formal cultural explorations tomorrow at 9am, so I expect to sleep soundly if shortly tonight. Pictures soon. So far, it is a great time.