Smokin'
One of the joys of Korea is the bathhouses. They date back to the days when people didn't have personal baths in their homes. Today, they are more of a traditional social gathering place with friends and family (or a ridiculously cheap place to spend the night). I just got back from one near our apartment. For 6,000 won (about $6), I could use a men's only shower, several saunas of different temperatures, a hot tub and a cold tub. One of the saunas was so hot it hurt to breathe and my lips started to burn. Then, after you are refreshed and clean, you put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt (part of the 6,000 won), and go to a unisex area with more saunas, a workout area, lots of mats and areas to sleep and food. I brought a book and just relaxed. Fantastic.

No respect
I am CONVINCED that Koreans are simply not fans of the Cubs. I was thrilled this morning (last night in Chicago) to find that the Cubs were on TV live, with Korean broadcasters, playing the Marlins. I watched every out from the 2nd inning to the 8th. The Cubs were losing 3-0, but put their first two runners on base and were starting to rally. That was when they cut out of the game, to do TWENTY MINUTES of pre-game before showing Chan Ho Park pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks. For those of you who don't know, Park is the #5 starter for the San Diego Padres. And yes, he's Korean. But the story has a happy ending. The Cubs did rally in the 8th (I found out later) to win the game 6-3. And poor Chan Ho got beaten by Arizona.