Palace in the City

Since I have come to Korea I have wanted to visit one of Seoul's palaces, but never actually got around to it until this past weekend. Gyeongbokgung is the largest palace in Seoul and sits in the middle of Seoul's busy downtown. Walking through the grounds were many different buildings and structures, each used for specific purposes. I was surprised just how expansive it really was. On one end of the compound was the National Museum of Korea as well. The structures were fist built in the 12th century and have been reconstructed as needed due to damages that occurred during Japanese occupation. Each building was more beautiful and grand than the next. Gyeongbokgung is hands down one of my most favorite places I have visited in Seoul. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I have included lots for you to see for yourself.

the Korean National Museum

structure in the park, beautiful

love the traditional Korean architecture

Sean and I in the palace grounds

stunning

guards overlooking the courtyard

sneaking a photo with the guard

the second gate

the main gate

The day ended with some shopping and lunch in Insadong. We had some delicious food at a little place off the main street. The main dishes were beef with soy sauce and japchae, Korean clear noodles with seafood. Really tasty.

with all the sides, waiting for the main dishes

beef and japchae

Namaste

Weekend Update

This weekend Sean and I ventured into Seoul and explored the areas of Insadong and Myeongdong before meeting friends for dinner in Itaewon. Insadong is always my favorite neighborhood. This weekend it was teeming with foreigners and Koreans alike all shopping for gifts. There were tons of things going on in Insadong like reenactments from ancient times and lots of people dressed in traditional Korean clothing walking around the streets. We wandered around and tried to find this bird cafe I read about in my Lonely Planet until we discovered that my Lonely Planet is outdated and the place closed down a while back. We settled for some coffee bingsu instead.

in Insadong

outside the non-bird cafe

coffee bingsu

Myeongdong was also packed with people, so we shopped around and then people watched from a cafe balcony. I realized I don't think I have written about this yet, but it always makes me laugh. Koreans, especially younger Korean women and girls love to take photos of themselves with their cell phones while sitting at coffee shops and restaurants. Many people have a photo of themselves as a background on their phone. In America this would seem vain, but here it's trendy. Anyways, there was a girl at the table next to us at the cafe taking photos of herself on her cell phone for a good 20 minutes. That clicking sound kept going off and as soon as there was a lull and I thought she finally finished her photo session, another click would sound.

girl at the coffee shop, couldn't resist sneaking a photo

One of Sean's friends from home just moved to Korea with her husband who works for the Canadian embassy. They met us in Itaewon for dinner and we tried out a place called Marrakech Night. There was a buffet of Moroccan dishes, but the food was not my favorite. The conversation was good though, and it was great to meet some of Sean's friends from home.

Next week is Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving, and I have a whole week's vacation from work. Looking forward to it more than I can say.


Namaste

Typhoon Lagoon

Yesterday Typhoon Kompasu came barreling through the Korean peninsula. I was awaken around 6A.M. to the loud noises outside my window from the rain, wind, and debris flying through the air. The sky was dark grey and the trees were all bending, branches scratching against buildings. By the time I had to leave for school the wind had died down a bit, but it was still a little scary looking outside. I tried to find a cab to save me the 15 minute walk in the messy weather, but there were none to be found and a line of people waiting for one. I braved the weather and walked through the rain and wind to work. My umbrella was useless a few minutes in as it kept getting blown backwards by the strong winds. I arrived at school as wet as a dog and to my surprise no one was there except for a handful of teachers and office workers. Apparently there was a two-hour delay but no one called me to let me know. At least I was safe and sound indoors while the rest of the storm passed. There were lots of damages all around, but nothing catastrophic. Only 5 deaths were reported in Korea which is of course awful for those peoples' families, but thank God the death toll was not higher. My school had several broken windows and the giant billboard from the apartment building next door fell into the school. As of today the storm has completely passed and moved on to Japan. I survived my first and hopefully only typhoon and I am just so thankful that the repercussions were not worse.

Namaste

Strange Is Now Normal

I realize I have been slacking on the cultural and social observations in my blogs lately, but to be honest after almost a year here, most things are just normal to me now. Things that used to baffle me don't even phase me anymore. I walk around and observe things and think to myself "this should seem strange to me, but it doesn't". Here are a few things that occurred to me lately while walking around and thinking exactly that.

All restaurants in Korea that serve meat or seafood of any kind all advertise the same way. They show a picture of the meat right next to a picture of the live animal right outside on their billboard. I've never understood this. Is it just to ensure the customer that that is indeed the kind of meat they will be served? 'We say it's beef, but here's a photo of cows grazing in a field, just to make sure you really believe us.'

There is a little clinic that I pass by on my way to and from work where many men are always hanging around outside. They are in their hospital pajamas and are sometimes even seated in a wheelchair or have an IV hooked up to them. They are all smoking cigarettes. It is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. They are being treated for one thing or another and obviously taking time off work and spending money to be healed, all the while they are polluting their lungs and bodies further with smoke from their $2 pack of cigarettes.

On another note, Sean showed me the movie 엽기적인 그녀, My Sassy Girl, a very popular Korean film the other day. I wasn't sure how I felt about it in the beginning because the main female character kept asking the male character if he wanted to die. Sean explained to be that it's just a thing Koreans say to each other playfully. By the second half of the movie I was more interested in learning what had happened in the past (it's kind of a mystery) and what was going to happen in the future for the characters. Of course the movie ended heart-warmingly and I ended up with tears in my eyes. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes romantic comedies and doesn't mind reading subtitles.

My Sassy Girl

Happy September!

Namaste

Seoul: The City That Never Stops

Seoul is one giant tourist attraction. There are so many things to see and do and experience. Just walking around the city is a tourist attraction. For an American like me, it's so different to see a modern city with huge sky-scrapers and fast cars dotted with ancient temples and bell towers. It's just so unique compared to any city in the western hemisphere I have ever seen. There's a real feeling of being in two time periods at once and I find it fascinating.

I wanted to check out a traditional market in Seoul, so Sean went with me and we found our way to the Gwangjang Market near Dongdaemun. This market sells a variety of different things. There are clothing stalls, gifts, household items, food, etc. When we arrived at the market it was later in the evening it appeared to be closing down. The vendors were all closing their shops for the night, but as we walked through the building a little more we discovered a thriving food market. There were lots of little stands set up right in the middle of the market where ajumas were selling all kinds of yummy foods (and soju and makgoli of course). There were kimchi and mung bean pancakes, parts of pig heads, feet, skin, etc., stews with thick pieces of beef and potatoes, and many other unrecognizable things. We sat down and had a kimchi and mung bean pancake. They were delicious. We then traveled a little further into the market hallway and found even more set-ups with lots and lots of men in business suits eating, drinking, and generally being merry. It was a little after work watering hole for the Seoul business men. There were many more stalls of creepy foods such as sundae (sausage) and lots of pig feet and intestines. Not really my thing. I just couldn't stop thinking to myself that people in America eat that stuff because they want to win $50,000 on Fear Factor or something, but people in Korea eat that stuff because they ENJOY it. The Gwangjang Market after hours was definitely an experience.

mung bean and kimchi pancake

serving up some yummies at the market

Gwangjang Market

Sean wanted to surprise me, so he took me to a place I had wanted to see in Seoul for a while; the Banpo Bridge. It is one of the most well known bridges in the world because of it's beautiful Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. The fountain shoots of spurts of water recylced from the river and is set to music with lights to create a fantastic little show. The bridge is in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest bridge fountain in the world. So many couples and families gathered near the water to see the show that goes off at certain times when the sun goes down. It was a very calming and romantic spot, a nice distraction from the busyness of the city. After all, they say New York is the city that never sleeps, but Seoul is the city that never stops.

Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

the Banpo Bridge

Namaste

Masks, Crabs, and Temples

There is really only one word that comes to mind when I think about the Korean countryside: green. The countryside is just an abundance of green everywhere you look. Green hills, grasses, trees, shrubs, plants, leaves, vines, etc. dot the land. It is absolutely breathtaking and refreshing.

green grass

I was fortunate to visit the Korean countryside again this past weekend. Sean’s brother is visiting in Korea and I tagged along for a short road trip to the eastern province of Gyeongsangbuk-do. We were able to see and do a few great things considering our weekend time constraint and the fact that it is monsoon season.

Our first stop was Andong, a city known exclusively for traditional Korean masks. There is a large folk village there complete with traditional homes, museums, souvenirs, and more. In this folk village people still live like they did hundreds of years ago. The government provides money for preservation and restorations. When we arrived, it began pouring rain, so we visited the mask museum indoors first and saw lots of masks from Korea and all over the world. There were so many and they were all unique with their own colors, shapes, sizes, textures, and uses. The rain let up and we hopped a bus into the village to have a look. The scenery was gorgeous and the homes were interesting. Each home was surrounded by a mud and rock wall and the roofs were tiled in the traditional Korean way. We were only able to see a small part of the village before the rain dumped down again and we made a sprint back to the bus stop.

unfinished mask

Korean masks

ajuma visor mask

outside the folk village

wood carving

wood carvings near the folk village

The next stop we made was in a town on the East Sea called Yeongduk. Yeongduk is famous for their snow crabs. As soon as we got near the water we saw tons of buildings with huge crab structures attached to the walls and roofs. They were all equally humungous and ridiculous, competing with each other for the most flashy in order to draw in customers. We chose a less flashy restaurant. After selecting our crabs we sat down and waited for them to be cooked and prepared for our lunch. After breaking apart the crab, we began to dig in (literally) with our hands and utensils. The snow crab was delicious, but a difficult food to eat. The lady at the restaurant even took the liberty of making fried rice out of the left over parts of the crab, AKA the guts for us.

fresh snow crab

guts inside the body, uh thanks

Our final destination was Gyeongju. Gyeongju is revered in Korea as one of the most culturally rich cities. It used to be the capital of Korea way back in the time of the Shilla Dynasty. There are multitudes of tombs, temples, and world heritage sites. We visited a couple of them. One was the Bulguksa temple, a huge temple and grounds that were built beginning in 528A.D. As we walked up the pathway and stairs to the temple it was apparent that it was not an average temple. It was huge. There were many temples within the walls of the grounds and we could hear the drone of the monks performing prayer services inside. The smell of incense filled the temples and drifted outside into the courtyards. I was surprised at the large amounts of tourists peering inside while the religious people were conducting these prayers, but perhaps they are used to it. This temple sight is a UNESCO world heritage sight. The sky showed signs of another approaching downpour, but we wanted to see one more sight before heading home. We hiked our way up to the Seokguram grotto only to find another steep hike into the mountains. As more storm clouds covered the sky, we decided to head back instead, so we didn't actually get to see the giant famous stone Buddha statue that sits at the top. However, we did get to see a beautiful view of the city, some smaller temples, and a large bell tower.

Bulguksa

inside the temple grounds

brotherly love

ok, so I snuck a photo

the inner courtyards

bell tower at Seokguram

The more I see of Korea outside of Seoul, the more I like. This really is a scenic and beautiful country.

Namaste

"I Can Smell North Korea From Here"

One whole week away from school seemed like a dream come true. As soon as 12:30PM last Thursday afternoon hit, I grabbed all of my things, hustled out of school, and jumped in the rental car passenger side with Sean in the driver's seat and we were off. We decided to check out the northeastern part of Korea and typed in "Sokcho" on the GPS and drove for miles until we reached the mountains and the beach. Sokcho is located on the East Sea (or Sea of Japan, although Koreans hate to use that name) and almost right next to Seoraksan National Park, the most beautiful national park in Korea with the tallest mountain top. We found a reasonable motel and decided to walk around and explore the area a bit. Besides the beach there wasn't a whole lot going on in Sokcho, but it was a nice relaxing get-away spot.

The food was delicious and Sean and I both got to try some new things. One night we ate grilled clams and oysters for dinner. They were really yummy. We also tried a local delicacy. Sundae is traditional Korean sausage which is a mix of different things cased in pig intestine. This local sundae, called ojingeo sundae, is made from ingredients wrapped in squid and then fried in egg. It sounds strange, but was actually quite tasty.

seafood dinner

the shells were so hot I had to use gloves

ojingeo sundae

Our evenings were spent relaxing and having drinks on the beach as we watched families, couples, and people of all ages enjoy the summer nights. People were going crazy over fireworks and they were being set off all over the beach.

Sean and I did a few day trips and got to see some pretty amazing things during our vacation. We drove north of Sokcho to a town called Hwajinpo and saw the former North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung's villa where the family used to vacation. There was an old photograph of his son, Kim Jung Il on the very steps that we were standing on and it was a little eerie to think the lunatic himself once stood there too.

We also drove to the very tip of South Korea and got as close to North Korea as possible without crossing over the DMZ line at the 38th parallel. The further and further you drive towards the boarder, the more desolate and creepy the feeling gets. We passed miles of beautiful beaches that were deserted and lined with barbed-wire fences and look out towers. There were even giant concrete blocks lining the roads that will be tipped over and used as road blocks for tanks in times of war. As we got closer, Sean joked "I can smell North Korea from here" which of course he couldn't, but still made me laugh. We reached an education center and had to stop and fill out our information and car number before moving forward on our journey. There were lines of cars and we had to wait until a certain time to go ahead and drive the 10 or so more kilometers to the Unification Observatory sight. Once we arrived at the gate dotted with barbed wire and patrol men, a South Korean solider examined our papers, saluted to us, and let us pass. After parking the car, Sean and I hiked up the steep hill to the look out point. From the look-out point, you can view the shore and mountains that run into North Korea, the most isolated country in the whole world. This is about as close as South Koreans can get to their neighbors in the north. North Korea completely caught my attention as I became more and more interested in the separation of this country and what's happening in the north right now. I began scouring the pages of my Korea Lonely Planet for as much information as possible and as soon as I got home I was engrossed in watching some documentaries that people have filmed in North Korea.

our paperwork

the gate

figured a smile had no place in a photo of me and one of the "axis of evil", North Korea

I want to share some things with you that I had absolutely no idea about and maybe you yourself never realized either.

• North Korea and South Korea are still technically at war. A Peace Treaty has not officially been signed, even though the fighting stopped over 50 years ago.
• North and South Korea are separated at the 38th parallel by the area known as the DMZ. (Demilitarized Zone) Funny they call it that because it it one of the most heavily guarded boarders in the whole world, with North Korean soldiers to the north and South Korean and American soldiers to the south and undisturbed land mines throughout.
• President Bush called North Korea part of the "axis of evil" in his first inauguration speech.
• Kim Il Sung was the original leader and president of North Korea until he died in 1994. He is still the president of the country even though he is dead and his son, Kim Jung Il is now in power. Anyone else find this strange?
• North Korea has the largest army in the world. There are over 1 million people that make up their armed forces. Men are required to serve a minimum of 6 years in the military.
• There are no cell phones and very very very limited internet access in North Korea.
• North Koreans need to have a permission slip from the government to travel to another city or area of the country.
• North Koreans are fed anti-American propaganda every day of their lives. They still believe we are Imperialists and are attacking countries all over the world for no reason. The North Korean people are also taught that Americans are the ones who have caused such damage as poverty and starvation in their country. Essentially, they are taught to hate Americans from birth.
• Kim Jung Il has only ever spoken one sentence in public. He has also promoted bizarre self-propaganda facts to the people such as he is the one who created the hamburger, he is the best natural golfer in the world, the world loves him and all over the world people celebrate his birthday.
• If someone is caught doing something the government disapproves of, that person's family can and most likely will be punished or murdered up to three generations. We're talking husbands, wives, children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins' lives at stake for one person's mistake.
• The population of North Korea is around 23 million, but they don't actually know the real number. It is estimated that about 1/3 to 2/3 of the population is malnourished or starving.
• People are given a ranking according to their servitude to Kim Jung Il and the regime. The lucky people get to live in the capital, Pyongyang, and are said to lead the best lives.
• Only "chosen" people are allowed to speak with foreign visitors to the country.
• If you visit North Korea, you are forced to bow to a giant statue of Kim Il Sung and give flowers.
• Less than 2,000 foreigners visit North Korea a year.

Ok, so I'm done ranting about North Korea, but it just amazes me that we are so close to them here in South Korea and it's like a whole different world. I had no idea that there were so many people only a few hundred miles from me that are literally living in hell on earth. I just really feel sympathy for the people of North Korea and pray that somehow, someday their lives can be changed for good.

After exploring around Sokcho, Sean and I headed west to Seorksan National Park for our last night. We stopped in the park on the way and took the cable car up the mountain. The view of the park was absolutely stunning. The mountain peaks were amazing and the sights were incredible. We also walked through the park a bit and saw a giant Buddha statue which of course amazed me and I had to stop and take tons of pictures of. I read in my Lonely Planet that there were hot springs south of the park, so we hopped in the car and went that way. When we got to the little town we found out that there were no natural hot spring pools sitting up in the mountains as I had imagined, but a hot spring water pool in a hotel. Boo. At least I got to shower with natural spring water from the faucet. Somehow not quite the same.

Sean and I 800 meters up

catching dragon flies

big Buddha

I snuck a picture of the monks praying and chanting

We arrived in Seoul on Sunday a little earlier than expected and since we still had the rental car for a bit, decided to drive south of Seoul to Suwon and see the Hwaseong Fortress, an ancient fortress and fortress wall that dates back to the 18th century. The wall is expansive and surrounds the city. Walking it would take about 2 hours. Since it was about 90 degrees with the sun blasting down on us, Sean and I opted out of the walk, but drive a little around it and climbed a bit for a photo-ops.

Hwaseong Fortress

photo-op, I am becoming quite Korean posing for pictures by myself

I rested up Sunday evening from a fantastic weekend and unpacked and repacked again for my next adventure with Sam.

Namaste