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15.104 Yang Galbi

katch4246

April 18

Cycle 15 - Item 104

18 (Thu) April 2024

Yang Galbi

3.0

at Igane Yang Ggochi

-Pangyo, Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

solo

GSIS Book Fair Spring 2024 (Day 1 of 3)

- Day 1 (15.104 Yang Galbi)
- Day 2
- Day 3

In Suwon. Here to supervise a book fair at GSIS (Gyeonggi Suwon International School), the first in the age of IRIS. Set-up on Thursday, book fair on Friday and Saturday.

ACCOMMODATION

Facing an early start on Friday, I booked a hotel for Thursday night. To save money, I got the cheapest room that I could find on Expedia: Hotel M Story, which cost USD 29.14 (inclusive of tax). (Prior to this, the cheapest hotel that I can recall was Hotel Casa Bocobo in Manila (see generally 3.244 Steamed Crab in Chili Sauce), which had cost around USD 34 - and that was 12 years ago.) If memory serves (from my days of philandering), these kinds of "motels" (as they're called in Korea) used to charge around 60,000 won for a full night, 30,000 won for a 4-hour "rest." Presumably, the internet has increased foot traffic overall - back in the day, only someone physically passing by would even be aware of the place; however, as with all businesses these days (including the book business), on-line competition has driven the prices way down. I don't get how the hotel could possibly be staying afloat.

The tiles are mounted so shoddily that leaning on them could break them loose.

For various reasons, I volunteered to drive the truck carrying the books - a box truck, relatively small for its kind, but the largest vehicle that I've ever driven. Due to its height, the truck wouldn't fit in the hotel parking lot. While trying to park it in front of the hotel - long story short - I ran into the wall and cracked one of the tiles. At first glance, the owner declared that he'd be unable to source the same tile, so the entire facade would need to be replaced. In the end, he settled for 900,000 won - that would pay for 30 nights at the hotel - I'd bet 900,000 dollars that he'll just mend the cracked tile, probably at a cost of around 100,000 won, and pocket the rest.

DINNER

Igane Yang Ggochi is a Chinese restaurant. Specializes in grilled lamb. Part of a franchise chain, currently 43 locations.

Located in KCC Tower, 610 m from Pangyo Station (Exit 1).

As GSIS is located down the street from Ajou University, I took advantage of the proximity to have dinner with my two best friends from the school. Only the second occasion to see them since my return from the Philippines (see most recently 12.142 Dongpa Yuk).