2025 South Korea

23rd - 27th September 2025, Seoul.

This was a trip to Seoul for the Korean Congress of Radiology 2025. I was encouraged by RL to submit an abstract for this conference, and I am glad I did. It was a short but fun trip. It started quite terribly, with a 6 hour flight from SG to KR. This was followed by some walks around the street. After which I started having shooting pain down my back. I had brought alot of camera gear, and probably was not in the most ergonomic position while on the flight. This also comes after a full day of bending over in a lead gown doing fluoroscopic procedures. Not a good mix, and I can really feel it. Thankfully one of my buddies Henry who is also here for the conference helped me out abit with the baggage. 

We stayed in a small Airbnb just a few mins walk from Seoul Station. It was very affordable for its location, and was simply but adequately furnished with everything we needed - most importantly the washing machine and a stand fan. 3 of us were sharing this place - Henry, Jeremy and myself.

I was never particularly fond of the use of preserved food in Korean cuisine, but found myself enjoying the meals there. I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of Pojangmacha, where a bunch of people would sit in stools at makeshift outdoor carts. There was a stretch of them at Jongno 3-ga. There was also a raw beef place that Henry brought us to - Buchon Yukhoe Main Store. I was skeptical about it but the raw beef was soft and creamy, almost a buttery texture that melted away in your mouth. The added sauces contributed to the sweetness.

Hiking was on my agenda, but plans were scrapped due to the back pain. I did go up Namsan with H and JC, but was unable to do any more than that. What I was able to do was to share meals with the various people here on the conference as well. We had many meals together, and it was nice to follow the recommendations of the other more seasoned Korea-explorers. 

The conference itself was packed with panel discussions, article reviews, poster presentations etc. There were many vendor booths around selling everything from used textbooks to 12MP displays for breast imaging. I was proud a client for the free coffee booth and the used textbook booths.

I did some birding at Changdeokgung, Seoul Olympic Park, and Seoul Forest Park. The Olympic park was the better of the 3 sites, with Brown-eared Bulbuls and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker amongst others. It is always nice to bird in a different country. The common everyday birds are different and unique to me. Things like the Oriental Magpie, probably treated like a pest in Korea, is actually very beautiful with blue shimmering feathers and white finger wings.

The takeaway from this trip is that health should be up in the priority list. Maintaining our quality of life is especially important with the longer life expectancy we now have. The other learning point is to consolidate the heavy items into a wheeled luggage and carry minimal load. Gone are the days where I backpacked with a 30L pack in the middle of winter, somehow fitting winter wear, clothes etc in it. 

I plan to return, hopefully to summit Bukhansan without back pain, and also to do the Han river ride. 

gear review.

• OM1 

• Lumix GX85

• 12-100mm f4

• 100-400mm i

• 25mm f1.4

• DJI Osmo Pocket 3

• Lowepro Photo Sport 300 AW II - very ideal pack on paper, as it had a side pocket where the 100-400mm could lay length wise and still fit the body + 12-100mm attached above. It was not ergonomic and I could not find a comfortable way to wear the pack. Perhaps it is a little small / short as the hip belt never rested properly at the hips.