As I previously noted, I had no real plan for a July 4th celebration in Seoul — I couldn’t seem to find any activities for the holiday. I settled on going out with a friend for a burger and beer in Noksapyeong, a trendy neighborhood near Itaewon filled primarily with non-Korean restaurants and brewpubs.
We settled on dinner at Thunder Burger — a small shop that offers a variety of hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. It’s a no-frills establishment with only a few tables, but that also explains why the burgers only cost $5-7. While my friend went with the classic cheeseburger, I couldn’t pass up the chance to eat a spicy burger — it had sliced jalapenos and crushed chili peppers (it wasn’t overly spicy, but it had a decent kick to it).
After our meal, we headed down the road in search of Magpie, the lone brewpub I haven’t tried in the neighborhood. As we passed Magpie, we ended up at Room H, a rather simple bar that serves beer brewed by Korean brewery Weizenhaus. I’ve been to this place before, and their stout was the best dark beer I’ve had in Korea. This time around, I tried their hefeweizen, which was alright for a humid evening, but nothing special.
As we were finishing our drinks, we heard some loud noises outside. “Do I hear fireworks?” I said. Sure enough, we could see fireworks off in the distance — presumably from a US military base nearby. We finished our beers and walked up the pedestrian bridge just outside Room H for a better view of the fireworks. It was definitely a better view than I had last year in Boston, and the display was rather impressive.
The following day, I met up with other friends for some Korean barbecue and managed to introduce them to a quiet bar in Itaewon that serves Korean and imported microbrews (my one friend was a little upset that the visitor was introducing new watering holes to the locals).
To fill out the weekend, I headed to Incheon on Sunday. The city is of historical importance as the landing point for American forces during the Korean War. As part of my wandering through Incheon, I headed to Jayu (Freedom) Park, which is on a hill above Chinatown. Within the park is a statue to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who led US forces into Korea.
It turned out to be a pleasant July 4th weekend away from home.
