Weekend in Seoul

Only had a weekend this time around so I only got to see small part of Seoul. I was amazed again by how much is open at two in the morning. The bars and restaurants I understand, but shoe stores? Who is buying shoes in the middle of the night? Are there that many insecure girls who haven't picked up by two am and are thinking "Maybe my fuck me shoes need to be even more fuck me-ish"?
As I walked by the US embassy I had to wonder if it ever crosses their mind that needing seven buses full of Korean police guarding them might indicate some problems with their foreign policy.
Finding a place to spend the night gave some definite insight into a few aspects of Korean culture. I had booked a bed in a hostle dorm, but when I showed up I was told the room wasn't ready and I would have to come back in a few hours. No problem. I come back, and what do you know no bed. Turns out the girl on earlier had screwed up my online reservation and placed me in the girls dorm (not a problem for me, but they were having none of it). Rather than admit to her mistake to my face she let me come back when someone else was working, I get the feeling this isn't uncommon in Korea. After a bunch of apologies, and some polite insistance on my part they arranged a room for me at the motel two doors down. Not just a motel, but a love motel. Love motels are very common in Korea and probably just what you'd expect from the name. No ID to check in, pay by the hour or night, entrance obstructed so you can't see who is parked there. Typically they are used by young couples who don't have a place of their own, or by men to be with their mistress or whores. The red light in the hallway and the condoms waiting on the bedside table made me think it was a pretty sketchy place until I saw the ISO-9001 label on the condoms. Ahhh quality. When I checked in I was soaked from having just been caught in a downpour and had to dry everything I had with the blowdryer, while doing this I got a glimpse of myself in the complimentary robe and thought it was definitely worth a timer assisted photo.