The long flight is finally over. You look outside and see the mountains, the planes from such airlines as Asiana, Thai, and Air India, and think to yourself, "I'm actually in Asia. In a few minutes, I'll be walking on Korean dirt or tile or carpet or some such thing." While you attempt to grasp this new reality, the plane pulls up to the terminal and begins to unload.

Sluggishly, as the seemingly interminable time in the air and the three glasses of wine you drank conspire against you, you grab your bag from the overhead compartment and lurch toward the exit.

Carpet. Grey Korean low-pile carpet is your first Asian footfall. This and other similarly random and meaningless thoughts percolate through your prepared, yet thoroughly unprepared mind as you walk the concourse toward the baggage retrieval.

The various signs pointing the way are useless to you. This is not due to any language barrier, English is quite prominent, but because your brain has basically ceased to function on any level above simple locomotion. Thus, you find yourself in a sheep-like herd of fellow travelers, all silent except for the occasional bleat of uncertainty, wandering the maze of halls toward your luggage.

Slack-lipped, you stand at the carousel and await the arrival of your rather large trunk of clothes and gizmos you figured you would need to get you through a year in a foreign land. It appears much sooner than expected and, after a quick scramble to obtain a cart, you heft it off the belt and wheel it to customs.

At customs, the routine questions are asked and you reply automatically, if a bit slowly. Startlingly fast, though, you are through and come to the realization that you are now legally within Korea. As this dawns on you, you also come to the realization that you have to figure out how to get to the other airport to catch your flight to Ulsan. Then, in a snowball-like culmination of realizations, you realize that you currently only have travelers cheques and need to get some cash. Luckily, money changers are everywhere and are adept at handling befuddled foreigners. Cash in hand, or pocket as the case may be, you begin your search for transportation to Gimpo Airport.

Immediately upon exiting the main terminal, you are accosted by an extremely friendly man in a black uniform. He asks you where you are going and you tell him. He takes control of your luggage cart and starts to head outside. You:

mindlessly follow along.

ask him who he is and retake control of your cart.

scream in panic for security.