South Korea - Random shots from the mom's visit

At the end of October, my mom had the opportunity to come to Korea to come visit. I'm incredibly slow, so I'm just getting these posted now, but here's a selection of my favourite pictures from her trip. Some of these may look familiar, but I like the new angles.


Suwon Buddha hand detail





Insadong, one of the guys who makes cookies out of 32,000 strings of powdered honey


Gyeongbokgung


Palace details


Tiger overlooking the palace grounds


Roar!


Steadfast


Feet!


Look familiar? I can't imagine why... (I couldn't pass up the blue sky on this day, I had to re-shoot this)














The Princess' Pagoda


Elephant at Jogyesa Temple


Free hugs! Apparently this is some big worldwide campaign. My mom saw it on Oprah when she got home from her trip.


Grrrr I'm on this site already!!





Grrrrrr ME TOO!!





You weren't supposed to take pictures inside this temple. So I found a crack through a side door and shot from there. I kind of like the effect that the doors had on the sides of this shot. The monk who came out the door didn't seem so impressed, though...


Temple detail (oh yeah, these are from Gyeongju)





The hungry goat at the Suwon folk village. It might have been my fault that this thing ate a pamphlet... but I blame the goat.

















I was just waiting for one of these kids to fall in... none did... I suppose that's a good thing.





Doing a traditional farmer's dance - sorry, there are a lot of pictures, but this thing was great.

North Korea and China

Last week I finally made it to two places I've wanted to see for a long time: China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, aka: North Korea.

Our visit to China was short but sweet, and left me excited to get back again in February. Click on the link for the pictures here:

http://chinaonlyglamorousinretrospect.blogspot.com/




The DPRK can't be described in a few short words. Here's my visa to enter the country - there is no official record aside from this. Nothing in my passport and nothing I could show you except this picture.

Here are pictures of my trip to the Axis of Evil:

http://nkonlyglamorousinretrospect.blogspot.com/

Hagampo, Taean

This weekend we made it out to the west coast and visited Hagampo beach, outside Taean. It took some time to get there, but it was well worth it. (Especially as the weather was beautiful, and it continued to rain in Osan.) The weather was good and the water was ridiculously warm.

Here's a shot of the sunset just outside of where we were staying. I'm not going to bother with descriptions of every picture here (because it's obviously a beach).


High tide, late afternoon


These zigzagging fences along the shore marked where the tide crashed














Jeff would have hated this. A little girl kept chasing the seagulls down the beach, and there were TONS of them.








The island later at sunset





The next morning the tide receded and left these tidal pools across the beach. The island that seemed miles away the night before, but here we could walk straight out to it.








An old woman clamming among the barnacled rocks





The clouds were unreal, and I loved how they reflected on the wet sand


We found this starfish on the sand - about 20 minutes earlier, we saw it floating in the water, puffed up and looking like it might have been a strange ashtray... then we found it again when it had returned to its normal shape. We might have poked it for awhile...





A fisherman working in a ridiculously deep tidal pool


A case of empty soju bottles


A woman sitting on a wall that rises about 50 feet above the sea floor. At low tide the clammers come out and search the mud.


Boats in their harbour. Yeah, I know, there's no water.





Giant fishing poles reaching high above the boat they were on


Fishing baskets, piled high


Boats lucky enough to be in the water


Some fishermen off the rocks

Jeju-do

On the weekend Craig and I flew down to Jeju-do, and island south of mainland Korea. Unfortunately, we got rained on most of the weekend (our lucky vacation weather streak finally ran out), but the island is beautiful. In this picture is a Harubang. These guys are all over the island, and although no one knows for sure why they're there, they are now the symbol of Jeju, a 'grandfather' who looks over the island.


Here's a farmer working in his fields.


More fields. Throughout Jeju you'll find fields lined with fences of volcanic rock (because Jeju's a big dormant volcano).


The vegetation across the island reminded me of South Africa, with palm trees and tropical plants dotting the landscape.


The gardens outside a crater. I don't have any real pictures of the crater, because it's so ridiculously big that you can't make it look like a crater in a picture. It just looks like a bunch of trees through the lens.


A path in the grassy fields around the crater.


The grounds on the site.


The green roof of a gazebo at the crater with the sun shining through.


The ocean crashing on the rocks.


One of the waterfalls near Seguipo - I can't remember the name, but we got right in and it was awesome. It's also the only waterfall in asia that flows right in to the sea.


Many sidewalks and streets in Jeju are lain with volcanic rock. Here's a bridge shortly after the rain. These are unfortunately slippery when wet, especially when you're wearing flip-flops...


A statue adorning a bridge near the falls.


Near Seguipo was a giant Buddhist temple. It was an interesting contrast to the rest that we're used to , with the palm trees dotting the ground.


A monarch butterfly resting on a golden flower.


The path leading up to the palace was made of tree stumps.


A giant seated Buddha inside the temple. He is flanked by smaller Buddhas and dragons.


The full scene


A section of the temple illuminated by hundreds of red lotus lanterns.


An elephant supporting the weight of hundreds of Buddhas in a case.


Dragon detailing on the stairs leading up to the temple.


Two dragons spitting at each other.


Lotus detail with the main building in the background.


Some of the 500... arahan? Maybe? I'll look it up and update. Anyway, there was an entire building on the temple grounds filled with hundreds of these guys.


A prayer candle set before Buddha.


Harubang in the rain.


Anyone who's been to Northern Ireland (or Scotland) will know about the Giant's Causeway, giant hexagonal basalt columns created by magma. We couldn't remember the name of this same phenomenon in Korea, so we dubbed it the Korauseway (Korea + Causeway). It was pretty stormy, so Craig was afraid that I'd fall in/fall over/drop the camera. The closest I came to disaster was my umbrella smacking me in the face.


More Korauseway.


Awwwww....


Many of the beaches in Jeju are known for their black sand. Apparently it's iron-rich and cures everything that could possibly be wrong for you. I just thought it looked funny.


Enjoying the ridiculously warm water as the sun lowers.


More walking in to the ocean.


Yeah, we're hot ;)


Mmmmm Hite...


A windsurfer left on the shore.


A rowboat pulled up on the dock.


Boats


More boats in the harbour.


Palm trees


Hahaha. Nice lighting.


The propeller of our plane. Yup, propeller.

Japan

Japan!! Yay!! Craig and I finally made it there. I've been wanting to see this country since I was a kid, and we finally got the opportunity when our school closed for summer vacation. It was a little rushed, since we had so much we wanted to see in such a short time, but it was a great trip.

Anyway, I took far too many pictures (as usual), so I'm putting them on a separate page. Click here to see pictures from Osaka, Hiroshima, Himeji, Tokyo, Fuji, and Kyoto.

http://japanonlyglamorousinretrospect.blogspot.com

South Korea - Boryeong Mud Festival

This weekend we headed down to the Boryeong Mud Festival on Daechon Beach. Basically, it was a weekend of running around in the mud, getting dirty, playing on big inflatable toys, and drinking. It was awesome. Here's some of the mud wrestling at the flats out of town.

Apologies for poor photo quality - I shot the weekend with waterproof disposibles to avoid destroying my real camera.


We went on the weekend with Adventure Korea, a company that runs trips to events all over the country. For the mud festival they ran two full trips, with over 200 people going Saturday and another 100 coming in Sunday. Here's our 'Military Training' session on the mud flats.


Craig and I - clearly the girl who took this for us has no idea how to point a camera, but at least it gives you some idea of what we were playing in - miles and miles of squishy mud.


Craig looking all 'military'. Over his left shoulder you can see Amy and Liz.


More mud wrestling in the flats.


Saralyn, Melina, Brenda, Craig and I, all completely covered. At this point I'd given up on the pants - they were WAY too heavy with mud, and I was pretty sure I was going to lose them in the flats.


Some of the 220 of us muddy foreigners (almost all English teachers) trying to clean up after the flats in a dirty little stone pool.


Saralyn getting 'clean'.


The buckets of mud. You could see these everywhere, and they were transported with forklifts (one at a time).


My legs, shortly after painting them.


Don't be silly!!!


Some people completely covered.


At the festival if you're not covered in enough mud then they'll throw it on you in the 'prison'.


Some of the kids jumping on the bouncy castle.


Me, Saralyn, and one of the city mascots. She's a red-headed hottie. :D


Some kids climbing up the giant mud slide...


Craig and Saralyn coming down the other side.


The difference between the muddy and not muddy... yum...


Craig in his muddy finest.


Craig and I, looking awesome and muddy.


Me kissing one of the mud-covered statues by the beach. Yeah, my hair was ridiculously heavy from the mud.


The rain started to come down just as we were heading in to the water - not terrible timing


Daechon Beach, during low tide. This place was packed with muddy people.


Trying to get all the mud off. We weren't terribly successful.


Some festival go-ers avoiding the rain under a sun umbrella.

South Korea - Canada Day

This year we were lucky enough to Canada Day fell on a Saturday. It meant that we didn't have to take a day off work to go celebrate with our fellow Canucks in Seoul. We headed to the Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon (which is the ugliest neighbourhood ever, by the way), and listened to the Hip while eating poutine. It was awesome and drunken. Apologies for the drunken mishmash of pictures that I'm just now getting around to sorting and posting. :D


Classic Blue Jays penant - nice


Craig and I didn't really bring any summer Canada wear, so we decided to make our own shirts. Here's Craig's, it was pretty popular.


Here's the back of mine. Yes, that is Don Cherry, and yes, he did say that during the 2002 Olympics.


Crappy politicians, but great cow. Thanks Alberta!


Here I'm very sad that I could not drink my beloved Keith's. Luckily, Cass is cheap, so several pints helped ease my pain. Thanks Korea!


Across our table to the next. Look how big that pitcher is!! It's ridiculous!!


Hahahahaha, so very true


This guy lost his pants very early on.


This bottle of Canadian says 'Who needs pants?' Behind the beer are a bunch of American G.I.'s who decided to hang out with us. They were pretty annoying. Especially white shirt there.


Me and Brenda, drinking to my mom's birthday! Happy birthday, Mom! Those flowers are to you from Brenda!!


Drunkenly happy - note the cowboy hat - this guy came in shortly after the flower guy, and for $5 I really couldn't pass it up.


Saralyn, all decked out - yes, those are flag pins in her ears


My awesome maple leaf


Brenda, my hat, and my mom's flowers :D


Brenda and Craig - this seems like as good a time as any to mention that Brenda's not actually Canadian, she's our awesome Australian friend who joined for the day and broke out in to occasional Aussie cheers - it was pretty entertaining


Megz - she was a little concerned that her maple leaf was so big, but by the time she came we'd pretty much worn our face paint crayon down to a nub, so it was either a big leaf or a big scribble.


Harrison


Saralyn and Brenda


Saralyn marking up yet another random in the bar


Saralyn, Brenda, and Craig


This girl's wearing her see-through Canada underwear over her jeans - I thought it was great


Oh yeah, this was officially a toga party - here's one of the half dozen people who actually came in one - i felt bad for them all night, they had to keep re-pinning

The tall one turns 25!!!

So Craig is now officially a quarter of a century old, and we celebrated by throwing him a surprise party last Friday. We all thought it had been blown when two days earlier someone at the bar started talking to him about a party - at our house - but apparently he didn't catch on.

We didn't get quite the impact we were hoping for, because apparently as he was coming in the building, some friends called to check our apartment number, so when we heard someone at the door, we thought it was them. I opened it for them, only to find Craig at the door and everyone unprepared. My little 'surprise' brought some pretty good laughing from Stacey's husband Tom in the other room. Not overly surprising, but entertaining, nonetheless.


Craig, still looking a little confused.


Sarah, the beer, and the cake. Mmmmm cake that didn't have fruit.


Brenda and her beer


Melissa and Ryan, just 3 months till everything's nice and official.


The birthday boy


Craig, Brenda, and Melina, doing one of the many rounds of shots of soju for the night.


Sarah and Saralyn... talking about their arms?


VERY attractive, Craig. :D


Cheers!! This is strange because it makes Ryan look like he has giant hands... but I don't think he does... I'll have to check next time he's in town...


Yesterday was Craig's actual birthday. Since we had to work, I thought I'd try to do something fun, so we decked out the school. Along with some 'Happy Birthday' banners and balloons, we stuck pictures of his face EVERYWHERE. In the elevator, on the doors to the classrooms, in his books, in his desk drawers, on the front of all the desks...


Here he is, on his monitor.


A line of Craig's on one of the walls in his classroom.


The front of all the desks.


The view from the top of Craig's podium.


Ha ha ha the garbage can. He didn't even see this one until he went to empty the trash at the end of the night and he realized he was looking at his own face.


The inside of Craig's classroom from the door. There's actually a bunch of balloons up with the banner on the window, but you can't see them because of all the light. Stupid sun. From here you can't see the billion Craig faces all around the room - not until you get to where he has to teach from. :D


This is Yhe Eun, one of my phonics students. She was ridiculously excited that it was Craig's birthday and couldn't wait for him to come so she could sing to him. But then no one else sang, so I think it lost some of the effect.


My phonics class all made pictures for Craig. Check out how angry the people look on Kelly's. (Sidebar, until 2 days ago, all of these kids just used their Korean names - suddenly two of them came in with English names that completely don't suit them, and it's driving me nuts. Whoever named them sucks, because they were way off base.)


This is Craig's 5:00 Basic class. These kids are hilarious. I haven't taught most of them since the first month when we had a 'game' hour for winter school, but they're all so funny and smiley. Before Craig came in to class, they all did their best to hide in his classroom, and he actually couldn't see them when he came in. Which is pretty good when you look at the picture of his classroom.


I could never get the kid on the left in a shot. He moves around a lot, so he just missed being in this shot, but apparently he's the oddball in the class. The other four are like a little gang, and that kid's the random one.

Notice on the board above the girls that someone wrote 'I love you'. Awesome. :D


Every day I have my classes write sentences about the day. In honour of Craig's birthday, this is what they came up with.


Craig and his monitor - he tried to change it back once during the day, and that lasted until he left the room.


Mmmm... birthday cake. In the background is Jack, the driver who didn't get fired, and the new driver who replaced the fired one and got dragged in to the police station for physically assaulting her. My job is fun!


Albert and Jin Ho. These are two of my favourite students. I don't get to teach them anymore, which sucks, but I still love them to death. They spent their 'test' period running around to all the classrooms writing 'Happy Birth Craig Day' on most of them, with a few variations.

대한민국!!! (DAE HAN MIN GUK!!!) - random week: chicken feet to World Cup

대한민국!!! So the World Cup has started, and last night was Korea's first game. The fan base here is unreal, and is probably due largely in part to the fact that they hosted 4 years ago. Everywhere you go you're bombarded by the energy, and the country is currently drenched in red. Walking through the streets there's a sea of team jerseys. I'm most excited that they'll probably stop showing the Korea v. Italy game from FOUR YEARS AGO in favour of a new 'amazing game'. I hope.

Here's Minju, our favourite waitress, celebrating the first Korean goal of the night.


Initially Craig and I attempted to take in the game at City Hall. The city set up a giant screen to show it, but there were thousands of people there and just not enough space to accommodate. It was amazing, though, with a sea of glowing red horns in the dark. This was the only shot that kind of came out.


After leaving city hall we headed over to the Wa Bar, which was packed with an energetic crowd. See that bell? Never ever ever ring it. It means you're buying a round. For the bar.


Minju, serving up the mekju.


Brenda, Liz, and Melina. Note the little one asleep in a stroller. There were quite a few tired little babies, I felt pretty bad for them. Stay home, put your kids to bed.


Goal!!! 대한민국!!! (DAE HAN MIN GUK!!!) Literally translated, 'Big Korea People Country'.


Saralyn getting Claire decked out in a tattoo.


Craig and I in our Korean soccer finest.


Everyone getting excited over a close shot, then cheering 'it's okay!' in Korean.


This guy wanted his picture take with foreigners.


Me and Mark. Apparently my shirt's reflective... how odd...


Victory!!


Melina, giving us a classic Korean picture pose, and Craig, being hot. I guess.


Amy, Saralyn, and me, enjoying the beer and the game.


On Sunday I went shopping in Seoul with Saralyn, and we stumbled across this great Buddha on a side street. This one looks very different from what we've traditionally seen here, so I'm not sure which country's style he is. Take a look at my Suwon, Songnisan, or Gyeongju pics for more traditional Korean style Buddhas.


I like how jolly this Buddha is.


Detail of his hand and prayer beads.


Here's me and the Colonel. It's tough to see here, but he's definitely got a distinctly Korean look to him.


Now for some more awesome Korean t-shirts. Here's a gem: "I agree with the cosmetic surgery". Bold statement. Actually, it's kind of funny, though. Apparently plastic surgery's huge here, with the most popular surgeries being eye surgeries, to make eyes appear bigger, and nose implants, to give a more defined bridge. Seems unnecessary, Koreans are really beautiful people, but there's constant pressure here to be 'thinner', have 'whiter' skin (seriously they sell skin whitener here), and have various features that aren't genetically present here.


And the classic line: "Shut happens!" Yeah it does. All that shut.


On Wednesday I went out for dinner with a bunch of the other teachers in town. Craig and I had been to another one of these restaurants before, and it was awesome, so it sounded like we'd be eating well. After some unfortunate menu picks (chicken hearts really aren't very good), this plate of 'spicy chicken' arrived. We were all really excited (and hungry), so everyone just sort of started eating without a second thought.


Melina diving in.


Wait, what are we eating? Why is it crunchy?

*Pause to check the dictionary*

They're feet. Here's a nice little close-up.


Reactions to the feet.


ET's severed hand, trying to climb out of the bowl? Yeah, no, really still just a chicken foot. Yummy...


Hanging from the ceiling in the restaurant were hundreds of soju bottle caps, hooked together by the extra metal. Soju = death, but this really looked awesome.


After the restaurant, we went on to a few other places and ended up at our usual haunt, running in to Craig, Mark and Melissa. Here's Melina and her new phone charm. MinJu, our favourite waitress, kept this aside from a promotion and gave it to Mel. When you squeeze it it chants 대한민국! in the World Cup fashion. Everywhere in Korea people put little charms on their phones, and sometimes they get ridiculously big. Mel decided to step it up.


Melissa, against the wall. Just because.


A typical table at the Wa Bar, cigarettes and all. It's going to be amazing to go back to the smoke-free bars in Canada next year.


Who likes beer? This guy!


Mark started tossing little styrofoam bar snacks in to everyone's beer. Here's Melissa scooping some out and eating them. We got back at him, though. With a bowl of styrofoam snacks, parsley, and a spoon. He probably shouldn't have left the table when a new beer was arriving. :D


Here's Mark drinking the beer of death, complete with Melina's phone and 'phone charm' snazzing it up.

South Korea - Gyeongju - Temples and Tombs

This weekend we (finally!) travelled south to Gyeongju, a historic city that once served as the royal capital of Korea. We've previously planned 3 weekends there, but it has rained each time, and we put the trip off each time. Finally the weather was with us.

Gyeongju's known for it's temples and tombs, and there's far more than you can see in a weekend. We'll have to head back another time, but here's what we saw for now.


As we were walking towards the sites, we suddenly looked up and saw this big green hill. Then we realized that it wasn't a hill. It was a tomb.


Silla tombs in Gyeongju. These things blew me away. I was expecting them to be big, but I was shocked at what they actually ended up being. Each of these has been constructed for a member of the Silla royalty, some dating back to the 5th century. Tombs can be found throughout Korea, but nothing of this magnitude. Generally they are a few feet tall.


How big? Well, here's Craig in front one of the larger ones (not the biggest, even!). And remember how tall he is...


The artwork on the front gates of a temple.


Beopjangsa Temple, near Tumuli park.


Tombs and scenery reflecting in the still waters of a pond in the park.


Some teenagers relaxing (napping?) on benches near the pond.


Two old men observing the tombs from a bench across the pond.


Another reflection shot. (Sorry, I like these.)


In the park they opened up one of the tombs and constructed an interior cross section. Unfortunately you can't take pictures in there, but as big as they look on the outside, the feel even larger on the inside. The inner chamber around the body is made of wood, and all around there are thousands of rocks piled. On top of that you'll find several metres of dirt, then grass.


Parasols for cheap in the park.


The park is shockingly green.


One of the crazy trees in the park.



Craig and the Silla Queen. Every city in Korea has its own mascots (the one for Osan is a little naked red-haired child), and Gyeongju has a King and queen, due to the city's royal history.


Cheomseongdae. This is Asia's oldest oberservatory. Now, I got two different stories about the numbers here - one from my guide book, and one from the actual park, so I won't give you either. Apparently, though, there are stones here to represent every day of their calendar year. to use the observatory, you climb up a ladder to the window (in the left picture), then climb up another to a platform on the top. It was constructed between 632 and 646.


Nay!! We were walking along and I went to take a picture of this horse. Then he apparently liked me and came straight for me.


The former site of Banwalseong, the 'Castle of the Crescent Moon'. Once there was a grand castle here. Now all that remains is this one building, which was used as a food store.


'Stop right there!', says the King. I guess.


Anapji Pond. This was constructed by King Munmu in 674, as a celebration of the Silla unification of peninsular Korea. The actual buildings were burned down in 935, but you can go now and see these beautiful structures still reflecting in the water.


I really liked this picture, so I posted it. No special story here.


A close-up of the brickwork that surrounds the pond, and the lily pads that grow heavily in this part of the water.


One of the remaining structures, reflected in the pond.


A pond near the entrance of the Bulguksa temple. everything had beautiful green tones this time of year.


The front of the Bulguksa temple. It has been designated part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. The original structure dates back to 528, and was expanded in 751. Much of it was destroyed by the Japanese in 1593, but it has been carefully reconstructed and restored to its original street.

The stairway here is the main set of steps (now closed for use). There are 33 steps in total, representing the 33 stages to enlightenment.


A side view of the front of the temple.


From the top of the front steps, but now functions more as a balcony as the steps are closed off.


A sign warning you to stay back from the steps. Dangere!!!


Dragon Fish!! Craig always gets pretty entertained by these guys, but this one in particular because of its antlers.


Artwork above the doors leading out to the front steps.


Grrrrrr I'm a doorknocker.


This pagoda is Dabotap, and it's one of the more ornate that can be found in Korea. It's thought to have been built in 751. It's also very different in structure from those found in other Buddhist countries.


This pagoda is Seokgatap. It's plainer than Dapotap, but it's more typical of Silla design, and many like this one can be found throughout Korea.


A wall of Buddhas... for sale...


Artwork on gate doors, similar to what we saw earlier in town.


Walking through some gates sometimes you find giant carvings like this - two on each side - and you have to bow to each side as you go through. I really liked this guy. He's holding a dragon. ROAR!


Craig, as i force him to take another break from climbing this stupid mountain to get to the grotto. Stupid mountain. Stupid climbing.


The Sitting Buddha of Seokguram Grotto. This was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. This Buddha is surrounded by more than three dozen other deities (which you can't really see because of the angle), and faces the East Sea. Because of this, this particular Buddha is regarded as a protector of Korea. The whole thing is kept behind glass, so this is about the closest you can get, but on the ground in front of the Buddha is a small prayer cushion. The chamber around the statue is actually round, with the other carvings encircling Buddha.


Outside the grotto where the buddha's kept.


A mother taking a picture of her son playing with a lantern.


Craig and I at the top.


I can't remember what these stone things are called, but you can find them at any temple.


A wall of lanterns strung up outside the temple.


At the grotto you can pay to write on a roof tile for about $10, and until they're used, some of them are displayed so you can read peoples messages and wishes.


The rest are stacked in a giant pile where no one can read them.


From further back on the trail, this woman's fanny pack definitely looked like a bum, so I had to take a picture of it.


Images of this face can be seen all over Gyeongju. Apparently it's the face of an important Silla king, but Craig can't remember where he read it so I can't confirm any details. I'll update if I find out.


The outside of our hotel. We decided to splash out for the night and get something with a bed, and ended up getting cable TV and A/C, as well. There are places like this all over Korea, and they're all ridiculously tacky. Pretty cheap, though.


The hotel provided us with these sophisticated escape measueres in case of fire. What fine tools have they given, you ask? Well, there's a gas mask of some sort, gloves with rubber on the palms for better grip and a rope.... What's the rope for?


Tying to the balcony and climbing out of a third story window. Pretty happy we weren't on the sixth floor.


So... we're hoping we weren't videotaped in the hotel...


The hotel next door at this glamorous palm tree that lit up at night. Beautiful..


'The Ritz', just down the street from us. Or Korea's version, anyway...


We found this picture on a mirror in the bus station, and Craig had also spotted it earlier on a city bus. Classy, Korea, classy.

South Korea - 'Wlecome to Osan'

Today we took in the Osan market. We've been before, but usually just quickly passing through. This place is great, full of energy and colour. Everywhere you turn people are bargaining, talking, and laughing. Here's the sign at one of the gates. Notice anything...?


How about now? :D

Yay, Engrish!!


Inside the market, vendors selling their goods under brightly coloured umbrellas.


Dried red chillis. A lot of Korean food is really spicey, so you can find a lot of things like this.


One of the covered parts of the market, packed with Sunday shoppers.


Apples? Pears? We're not really sure... They keep them packaged pretty tightly, though, so I guess they bruise easily.


A small child running past these tiny yellow melons.


Yeah, this is what they do to their dogs here. Ridiculous, isn't it?


Women sorting through giant piles of onions(?) for sale. Seriously, GIANT piles of these things.


A close-up of the.... onions?


A view down one of the less busy streets in the market place.


I don't know WHAT these things are - but people eat them. They look even worse in person, because all they do is squirm and bulge around. Yuck.


Green things!


Someone with a great sense of humour must design t-shirts that get sold in Korea. This is one of the tamer one's we've seen and heard about.

South Korea - Seoul Ridiculousness

Saturday in Seoul was the day nothing went as planned. To the point of ridiculousness. We still had a great time, though. Here's a bridge over the Han River. We came to the park to take a ferry ride that would get us to the Sports Complex to watch the bears play. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be another ferry until after the game would have started. So instead we had to take a very round-about subway ride to the game. The park was really pretty, though, and we did get to eat some ice cream.


After getting off the subway, we tried to make our way over to the 63 Building in Seoul, which has an aquarium, and Imax, and a number of other fun things. The problem - we could see it, but couldn't see a direct way there. On the way in our attempts, we found this fish market.

Here's an overhead view.


Customers walking along and observing the fish.


A vendor helping a customer with her fish.


Shellfish for sale!


Yes, this is a sign that tells you the propper way to put a bag over your head. There are a number of these on the Yeouido line in the stations.


Here's a close-up, in case you were confused about how to tighten the plastic bags over your head.


And here's a supply in case you don't have your own plastic bags.


Eventually we got to the Sports Complex for a ball game - Doosan Bears v. SK Wyverns.


In the background you can see the large Doosan crowd, all with cheersticks.


The crowd for the SK Wyverns wasn't quite so big. Especially because that one huge group right behind the dugout was actually Bears fans.


The seats ahead of us. The best part is....


The cupholders. This was great.


The CassMan!! Yes, that's a keg of beer on his back. This guy walks around the crowds with his tap and cup dispenser, so you don't have to go inside for your beer. Greatest thing ever.


Green! The grass is green! Grass in Korea isn't so much a regular occurrence, and certainly not of this colour, so this was pretty exciting.


These kids were sitting behind us. The couldn't figure out how to make their cheersticks make noise, so I showed them. Then I realized they were sitting right behind us and now knew how to make more noise.


Fight!!


The stadium lights over the crowd. This guy sitting next to us must have been drunk. He kept making strange noises and gazing off in the distance.


The stadium at night. Hardly compares to the Skydome (screw you, Rogers Centre!), and there aren't many fans here, but it's a great time.


A Bears banner.


Hustle Doo!!!!


A fan cheering on a Doosan runner.


The Seoul Olympic Stadium, just next to the baseball stadium. The games were boycotted by North Korea and Cuba, on the basis of South Korea's refusal to share hosting duties with the North. However, these were still seen as extremely successful games as it was the first time in decades that they hadn't had more extensive boycotts from communist nations.

This was also the Ben Johnson year.


We trekked all the way in to Gangnam to find the Dublin Irish Pub. We hadn't had a decent pint of Guinness since we left Canada, and Lonely Planet said you could get them here for about $5.00. When we got there, it turned out they were $12.00.... Ridiculous, so we got up and left.


A rare calm moment in the Seoul subways.


Mmmmm, Splite...

South Korea - 'Hi Seoul' parade and the N Seoul Tower

This weekend we were lucky enough to have 3 days off. It poured Friday and Saturday (yay, lazy weekend!), so we made sure to take advantage of Sunday. We took in the 'Hi Seoul' parade in the afternoon, and ventured to the N Seoul Tower later for a great clear view (low dust weekend) and the sunset.

Here's a belly dancer mid-performance.


Tallest. Clown. Ever.


Walking around Seoul Plaza we saw a ton of soaking we little kids. Then we found this fountain and understood why.


Here these kids are escaping the scorching heat of the day.


Another little boy playing in the fountain.


Near the stage in the plaza you could sign your best wishes to the Korean World Cup soccer team. Here they are being tied to a giant display for the team. I liked my ribbon and the small amount of Korean I managed to write, so I kept it.


Chairs.here was a performance aspect to the day, held at Seoul plaza, with music and acts. I think they were expecting a lot more people than they got...


A busy day for a traffic cop.


Police 'controlling the crowds' at the parade. Actually, before it started. It was funny how psycho they were about it.


Some costumed performers.


Belly dancers with their flowing costumes.


A close-up of another dancer.


A dancer doing a fan dance.


The lion dance. I got a great close-up of the mask, but my camera deleted it. Stupid camera.


These dancers put on a fantastic show. Here's a detail shot of the costumes.


Devils and lions, dancing down the streets.


Drumline!


Drummers in action.


A foam bobble-headed looking version of the Korean soccer team. They were a little creepy, but entertaining.


A fan car. See? They love their soccer here.


There were some very very slow parts to this parade, so I took the opportunity to shoot some of the people around me. Who were also apparently unimpressed with the goings-on.


Too old men who snuck through the crowd to watch the parade. The guy in the grey hat kept sitting on my feet.


Some face-painted girls looking as bored as the rest of us were.


A marching band. I love the reflection in the tuba.


Now that's some fine marching.


The U.S. Army. Marching and music. This was a weird thing to see in the parade. I think the marching band was even more in sync, though.


What every good parade needs: hookers!

Wait... the Jazz Dancers Club? ....Really?


So tall!!


The Young Astronauts of Korea. I'm sure these are the kids who get beat up at school. One of my students does this. He's awesome.


These guys were in the parade, and they were awesome. They definitely looked like old pimps in their Korean flag gear.


Craig with the Seoul pimps.


When we were leaving and heading towards the tower we came across a bunch of performers relaxing after. Here's one in her full make-up.


Walking towards the tower we came across this structure with the greenest and strangest-posed statues ever.


Pointing at the Magritte-esque floating men.


Quick! Grab the cloud! GET IT!


Sillouhetted against the sky.


I really like the greens in this shot, but I think she looks like she's putting in her contacts.


This is the greatest Starbucks I've ever seen. At least it tries to blend in to the cultural landscape a bit.


The N Seoul Tower from a distance.


Operating since 1962, here's one of the cable cars coming down from the top of the mountain.


Our cable car careening to a stop before it unloaded and we got on. They really pack people in to these things...


The N Seoul Tower. I have no idea what the N is for, but Craig told me the website said the only way to get this shot (with the sign) is by lying flat on your back as close as possible. But they're wrong. I only had to sit on the ground and lean back on my backpack. So there website. Ha.


The setting sun cast a shadow of people looking through a telescope towards 'Madrid' on the back wall. Each window on this floor gave the name of a famous city and its distance from the tower.


A large crowd milling around on the lower deck of the tower.


The women's washroom. Which are windows and which are mirrors? Trippy...


Before sunset from the tower.


Some of the weird things sold in the gift shop. I really wanted the bracelet but Craig wouldn't let me buy it.


Seoul lit up from the top of the tower.


The tower at night.


And again from a little further away.

South Korea - Lantern Festival Part Deux

Today we returned to the Lantern Festival to catch the parade, and it was fantastic. Thousands of people, just as many lanterns, and some great floats.

Apologies for the photographic quality - not really adept with night photography yet. ;)


Monks! Hundreds! Coming...


...and going.


Drummers winding down their performances.


Some performers relaxing once they've finished.


A close-up of some of the lanterns with Buddha's image.


Yup. Looks strange, but I really like this one. Everything was passing by so quickly, and here you can see the movement of the event.


Girls in pink satin.


A large group of monks carrying hundreds these beautiful lotus lanterns.


A parader waving as she passes by.


Elephant! Yeah, I know, I love them.


Well hello to you, too!


The white lanterns against the background of this ridiculously blue sky.


Lanterns lit up and for sale.


A basket of lotus flowers in a shop.

South Korea - Protests, Riots and a Lantern Festival

Next Friday is Buddha's birthday, according to the Lunar calendar, and so this weekend Seoul is hosting a huge lantern festival, with a parade and lanterns everywhere. We came across a temple in the Jongno area and were blown away by what we saw.


The view when you first enter the grounds.


Here a large tree on the temple grounds stretches high through the ceiling of lanterns.


A close-up of the tree poking through the strings of lanterns.


Seriously, thousands of these things.


Rows of the coloured lanterns in front of the temple.


White lanterns strung near another part of the temple.


Women performing a traditional lantern ceremony at the temple.


Close-up of hanbok and shoes.


A parade float resting on the temple's platform.


A nearby female float.


Buddha with a traditional lotus flower.


Soccer Buddha!!


An elaborate structure of the big guy.


A more cartoonish version.


A Buddha at the temple. He has received gifts of bottled water and digestive cookies.


A woman admiring the handicrafts in a local shop.


Elaborate gold Buddhas in a store window.


The side of a building.


The Jongno Tower. We think it's the Samsung building. Regardless, it's cool, and you can see it everywhere in Seoul.


Another side of the same building, reflected in the glass of the one across the street.


A gold pagoda on a random sidestreet.


The river in Dongdaemun again, this time apparently with a fountain. I love this area of Seoul.


Police. Hundreds. Running down a major street in Seoul. How did this happen? Well...


Nearing what we were expecting to be the lantern festival area, we heard a ton of orientation week-type cheering and saw flags waving everywhere. As we got closer, we happened upon this giant protest.


To the best of our knowledge, this protest was about education.


Waiting for the speaker to start again.


More students on their way to set up.


One group with their banners.


Towards the 'front' of the protest was a large group of drummers. At this point they were all sitting and watching all the activity.


More drummers, taking in the rest of the chaos.


Here's part of the main set of police - above you can see where they've created a full wall barricade and are positioned on top, as well as all around - and in large units throughout the area.


Here one of the forces blocked off the street and the cops were ready with their riot gear.


Barricades and police vans were everywhere.


Craig, lookin studly with the flowers.

Why I love my job

Little kids are hilarious. Like when they draw pictures. Like this wagon. Kids are great. :D

South Korea - Baseball at its finest

On Sunday we went to Suwon to catch a professional baseball game. The local team is called the Hyundai Unicorns. Yes, Hyundai as in the car, and their sponsor's name is in their actual name. And also yes, Unicorns as in those horses with horns in their heads. Because unicorns are fierce.

Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty entertaining game. The score was pretty bad - 4-0 Unicorns (battling against the Kia Tigers - yes, Kia like the car), but the only four runs were scored in a grand slam during the first inning. Which made the rest of the game pretty slow. We kept ourselves entertained with the cheesy mascots, bad cheerleaders, and Cass.

Here a little one is getting a closer look at the game.


This kid just loved us. He spent more time watching us than the game. He was cute until he started eating... and then didn't stop. He got pretty gross looking by the end of the game.


This kid loved us to, and she wasn't nearly as gross as the last one.


At one point they gave out free flags to fans, and all the kids went nuts. Then half an hour later they'd apparently gotten bored, because there were flags all over the ground.


A really young fan. He was having some trouble holding this thing up.


Detail of a Unicorns flag.


Oh yeah, those are some tough mascots. Especially the one with a bow in her hair. Look out, Tigers!


During the national anthem, the kids kept trying to pull on the unicorns' tails. These guys weren't too happy about it and spent two minutes swatting kids away.


After the grand slam in the first inning, the crowd went nuts and these giant unicorns just appeared out of nowhere. They were gone almost as quickly, but they were pretty cool.


Fans paying very close attention to the 'action'.


Some very excited Unicorns fans.


Craig chillin before the game.


A warm-up batter. Note the colour of the grass. Not so much 'green' here.


Putting the lines on just before the game. Again - nice grass.


The scoreboard before the game started, complete with everyone's names in characters. I still love seeing the English and Korean letters all together.


The lights over the park against the blue sky. We got ridiculously lucky with the weather, because it definitely looked like it was going to rain.


The Kia Tigers fans. We initially sat over there till we realized we were on the wrong side, so we left and came in another entrance, which got us a free hat!


Shot on the way to the subway station. May 5th is Buddha's birthday, so lanterns with his image are being strung all over Korea right now.

South Korea - Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival

So it's cherry blossom season in South Korea. Every year everyone goes nuts for these things, and wherever you can find the blossoms, you'll find thousands of people. To see them, we took the subway up to Yeouido in Seoul. It was crazy up there, but really beautiful.


This is what all the fuss is about. Thousands of trees sprout thousands more of these pretty little white blossoms every spring. They don't last long, but the streets are incredible while they're out.


The yellow flowers that seem to grow all over the place.


A young couple taking a break from posing for each other's cameras. The one thing I've noticed a lot here is that people LOVE having their pictures taken, and an amazing number of people will just stand around taking their own pictures with their phones for ages.


These flowers are my favourite.


A small child playing in the water from the previous night's rain. I didn't really know who this kid belonged to, there didn't seem to be anyone around him...


A child and his father walking along the street near the National Assembly. These trees show some of their blossoms turning fluffly and white, but most won't be there for another week.


Some of the more fluffy white blossoms along the street.


Along the street there were quite a few painters willing to do your portrait, all with much of their work on display as samples.


You can even get your child's portrait painted with... Harry Potter!! There's a keepsake...


Heh heh heh.


So these clearly aren't a traditional Korean flower, but I love tulips, and they looked gorgeous so I had to shoot them. For the festival they bring out all kinds of flowers, and it's just incredible.






More of these flowers that I love.


A truck full of lucky pigs! Seriously, it's a whole truck that drives around selling them. I have a couple in Osan, I think they're awesome.


Mmmmm, bugs.... Actually, when Craig and I took a closer look at these on the street, we realized we actually ate them in a restaurant last weekend. And they're really good! But they smell terrible when they're being cooked, so we just couldn't buy them on the street. Seriously, awful smell.


This is why you don't try to take a bus in Seoul near the festival - this lady was literally falling off the bus because it was so packed, and in the front doors they still had a line for another 15 people. Ridiculous.

South Korea - Songnisan

This weekend we travelled south to visit Songnisan national park. Here you can find beautiful temples and statues, as well as a body-killing climb to the top of the mountain. Still feeling ever step up, but the view was just incredible.


Songnisan contains the largest temple complex in Korea, and it's beautiful. It also means you have to bow everywhere. This temple in particular contained three beautiful gold buddhas that were all just huge. Unfortunately, no pictures inside the temples.


A hanging dragon, used to sound a giant bell.


One of the temples in the complex.


The tallest Buddha in South Korea. At 33 m (100 ft) tall, this thing is amazing to just stand under and look at. It's made of solid bronze cost US$4 million (CAD$4.7 million) to construct in 1990.


To give you a little perspective on this thing, here it is from a little further away. Seriously, ginormous.


Here's a shock! A roof! But this one's ridiculously good, I couldn't resist. Also, I almost fell over backwards trying to shoot this properly, so I feel justified in posting it.


A little more roof detail. These things can just be incredible. I'll apologize in advance, there's bound to be many more to come.


We were crossing a little bridge and looked down, then saw hundreds of these things. I don't know what they are. I'll edit if/when i find out.


A bridge heading towards the temple in the park. Most people in the Western world see this symbol and immediately have negative associations, and it's been a little strange being here and seeing it all over the place. Regardless, this is an ancient Buddhist symbol that existed long before the Third Reich, so it's pretty common here.


The 'thousand people cup'. Not actually it's name, but we figured that's how many people have drank out of these things. Anyway, this is cold spring water direct from the mountain.


A bridge crossing a river running through the mountains.


This river below the bridge was so clear you could see straight to the bottom.


One of the last parts of good trail. Shortly after it was muddy rock stairs, which made for an AWESOME climb.



The sky and trees from a resting place on a giant rock.


Jill: Ooh, a hermitage! That sounds interesting!
Craig: Oh, but look, it's that way to the rock.
Jill: Yup, 4.5 km to a rock. Or 0.9 km to a hermitage...
Craig: But I think the rock will be good! Let's go find that!

2 hours later and still climbing up the longest '4.5 km' ever...

Craig: So that hermitage sounded neat.


Carvings in a rock. These are Chinese, as Korean used to be written in Chinese characters before their own alphabet was created, so we have NO idea what this said.


A tree growing out of the side of the peak as the sun lowers behind.


The mountains surrounding Songnisan from one of the peaks. A day later I'm still dying from the climb, but the view just might have been worth it.

Craig's note: this view is almost from the rock.


The bridge taking you towards the park entrance. This one also has the buddhist symbols that I've had to get used to seeing everywhere.


The Yellow Ocher Field. It is recommended that you walk barefoot along this path. Apparently it makes your feet smell better and increases your metabolism, among other such things. That's some special ocher.


Crazy trees in town.


Some of the mountains from in town.


While in Songnisan we stayed in a Yeogwan, a traditional Korean style lodging. It's ondol heated, which means that the head comes from beneath the floor (this is great, by the way, and really cheap - we have it in our apartment). It also means that you sleep on a cushion on the floor. Surprisingly comfortable, though. And cheap!


Here's a surprise - the doors to the Yeogwan are a little too short for Craig. He definitely hit his head almost every time he walked through.

South Korea - Folk Village

Yesterday we visited the Korean Folk Village near Suwon. It was fantastic. Kind of like Black Creek Pioneer Village (for all you Ontarians), but much more interesting, with ceremonies and shows, and food to eat everywhere. Oh, and it also has an amusement park. Because nothing says Korean tradition like bumpercars and the viking ride. Regardless, great time.

Here's a man ignoring me while I take his picture. He full on refused to look at me. Turned out pretty well, anyway. Take that, old man!


Many, many giant urns.


The wishing stones. This structure is covered with ropes. You write your wishes on a small piece of paper and then tie it around the rope. Keep it secret, or it won't come true!


Detail of the wishes.


A thatched hut with a cow living in it.


Moooo... this cow looked pretty angry. It lives in the hut shown above.


Giant urns.


A potter in his shop.


Handcrafted pots and baskets outside a house.


Grass mats stacked beside a house.


A woman spinning silk.


Helping each other with the details.


Adjusting their hanbok.


Sneaking in to a shot with the women.


An old man.


Two women in hanbok waiting for a ceremony to start.


Around the village there are a lot of trees with coloured fabric streamers. The Koreans believed that everything had spirits, so they used lots of colour to ward off evil spirits. This is how it was explained to me, anyway.


A really giant version of a traditional mask. This is the smiley one who's name I can't remember.


On a log bridge. It got a little windy... we were pretty happy we didn't fall in.


A worker making traditional Korean shoes out of straw.


These guys traditionally are found on Jeju island, but they have some up here to show the differences in traditional Jeju life. Aren't they cute and silly? And I'm talking about the statue, by the way...


So this might be the coolest thing ever. Remember those little rides in malls that you could go on when you were a kid? This is like that. But it walks around. Like, wherever you want it to. I was happy because the giraffe was the coolest, but in the background you can see little kids riding the tiger.

And the pointy hand? In Korea a joking punishment or threat is dong chim. Literally translated it means 'anal accupuncture', and the accompanying gesture is a pointing finger (or two). One of my co-workers regularly threatens the kids with it when they're being bad or speaking Korean in the school, so when we stumbled across this thing she couldn't pass it up as a prop in class.


Yup. The 'Fork Village'.


Craig and I really managed to make some shopkeepers look angry. Apparently 'foreigners don't normally touch things unless they are going to buy them'. But I really didn't want this hat. I just wanted to put it on. So I did. And I made Craig put one on, too. Take that, salespeople with your dirty looks!

South Korea - Suwon

Ten minutes from Osan is a city called Suwon, with about 1,000,000 people. This is another place in South Korea where you find both the old and the new at every turn, bringing history into the present. Coming from Canada, it's difficult to fathom things this old still existing today in harmony with everyday life, so I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing things like this.

Here is a close-up of a giant Buddha statue overlooking the city from a temple.


...and here's the full-size shot.


A martial artist at the Suwon palace. He made a pretty good face, first, and I tried to shoot that, but he got serious just before the click. I kind of wish he'd held the face.


Managed to catch a martial arts demonstration in front of the palace. It was incredible to see, and the next stack of shots are from that, so bear with me.



















The Korean national symbol painted on the gates of the palace.


Traditional helmets.


Two 'guards' working at the palace.


Roof detail. (I love these things!)


More roof detail. (See?)


The entrance gate to the palace.


A man in traditional dress walking near the fortress walls.


The stairs leading up to the high points of Hwaseong, the fortress walls running through Suwon. With so much activity in the city, the walls are a peaceful retreat from the craziness.


Below a lookout tower you could see the old men playing cards through a spy window.


The North Gate of the walls.


While climbing, a group of children decided to tag along - here they were more than happy to hop in a picture I was taking.


A wider section of the wall at one of the higher points.


The 'Secret West Gate' along the walls. 143 metres up, you can see a lot of the city up here, but still feel miles from everything. I think this was the first time I felt like I was actually travelling since I left. Random, since I've been away almost two months now.


Dragon detailing on the ceiling under an archway.


One of the trees along the wall on the hills.


Dragon detail on the side of a building along the fortress walls.


A giant bronze statue of King Jeongjo the Great. Seriously, giant.


A close-up of the king.


A carving in the wall near the king's statue.


Dragon Train!! Kind of a random thing to see coming towards you on the street...

Korean - learning to read...

As the weeks go by it becomes clearer every day that being able to read Korean will make life much easier, so I'm trying to figure it out now. Earlier this week we picked up the Korean edition of Monopoly, and we realized pretty quickly that they aren't the classic 'boardwalk' and 'park place' spaces on the board. So now I'm learning how to read. By playing Monopoly.



Actually, I'm surprised at how ridiculously well this working...



I'm also surprised at how angry the jail guy looks. I'm sure it's the same picture in every edition, but this guy looks really mad.

South Korea - Seoul

Children's hanbok. These are traditional Korean garments worn for formal occasions and celebrations. These are all hand-made, and the woman who created them seemed very excited to talk about them. I have no idea what she said, but they're beautiful work. (Added March 4)



Food vendors in Dongdaemun. In this section everyone seems to be making slight variations of the same thing, and they all want you to eat theirs. See the stack of orange round things? We nicknamed them 'vomelets' - vomit + omelet. Oh, I'm sure they're really good, though.



A memorial on one of the bridges crossing the river (in the next picture). All around the statue the ground has inscriptions in ever language, and although I found one in English, I actually have no idea what the memorial is actually for, so I won't even bother writing the vague description a friend was able to give me. Apparently it's new, though.



Running through the middle of Seoul is this beautiful little stream. It's all man-made and apparently was only created within the last two years. Being in the Dongdaemun section of the city, which is saturated with markets of every kind imaginable, it allows you to just walk down a set of stairs to be completely away from all of the street craziness.


(Feb. 18) Today I fell in love with Seoul. In my travels I have visited a lot of big cities, and many have left me unimpressed. Seoul was amazing. At every turn you find a mix of Korea's rich history and its modern life. Here is a shot of traditional handmade masks, on display in Insidong.


Walking down the street, and taking everything in, we suddenly saw this. She acted sort of like a mime. It kind of freaked me out a little, but it was interesting to see.


Men in traditional dress. Just walking through the streets. I really don't know why.


One of the statues at the memorial for Korea's proclamation of independence. This was in a little park in the middle of Korea's busy downtown.


Another monument in the same park. This small section of land was remarkable, because outside the streets are insanely busy and there is so much activity, but inside was incredibly peaceful and quiet. Here some Korean men relax and chat in the calm of the park.


A close-up of that monument's statue.


I was fascinated with the detail and colour in these traditional roofs.


Even underneath these structures is beautiful detail. (still in that park)


The top of the monument of Wongaksa. It is almost 5 metres (15 feet) tall and represents the history of the Wongaksa temple. This was carved in 1471, and here are two intertwined dragons holding a 'wish-fulfilling buddhist gem' toward the sky.


This is the bottom of the statue, a giant turtle carved out of granite. Its shell depicts lotus blossoms.


Here are many carvings depicting Korean history - unfortunately we still can't read Korean (ahem, likely never will be able to), so we couldn't be exactly sure what story this was telling, but it did involve a battle.


This 12-metre high pagoda dates back to the Josean dynasty in 1467. It also stood at the Wongaksa temple. It is unique because it is far more ornate than any others from that period. The top three tiers had been knocked off and were left on the ground for some time, but the full structure has now been restored. Today it is kept in this giant glass case for protection.


A group of ancient traditional statues near the Korean Folk Museum.


Here is a ring of the 12 animals of Chinese astrology. This is the year of the dog (yay, me!), and so here is the dog statue.


More ancient statues with the palace rising in the background.


You're not allowed to climb up here. Which made us want to climb up here.


The same structure from a little further away.


The palace with one of Korea's five important mountains rising behind it. Today the official residence of the president is on the palace grounds, so no one is ever allowed to climb the mountain for security reasons. Only two of Korea's mountains now lie in South Korea; the other three are located in the north.


The front gate of the grounds. Along the sides are walls which line the entire grounds.


The front view of the gate. On the second tier there are Chinese characters. This is because until less than 200 years ago a Korean alphabet did not exist. Although they had their own distinct language, all reading and writing was done with Chinese characters. Japan was in the same situation, so that while all three cultures spoke completely different languages, they used the same written system, allowing them to communicate.

However, the Chinese system with over 10,000 characters was too difficult for average people to learn, so a Korean alphabet was designed, but not heavily used until much later. Even today children spend many years studying Chinese characters in school.


The changing of the guard at the palace. We were lucky enough to be there at that time.


A close-up of one of the guards in traditional dress.


A ranking stone. Along the main walk in the courtyard of the palace were many of these stones. They designated where people were allowed to stand based on their status.



Statues guarding the steps leading up towards the palace's main buildings.


This structure, used for parties and reflection, is also featured on the 10,000 won bill.


Detail of the window shades.


A Korean family enjoying the grounds among the king's personal buildings.


The building on the right was the main 'party room'. No furniture was kept in there, in fear that someone could hide behind it and then assasinate the king, so all of the furniture was kept in the walls across from the building. The ladies in waiting would have to bring it all out every night.


Detail of the underside of the roofs. The have to be re-painted every now and then to maintain the vibrant colours, but inside the structures you can see the original paint, never touched since it was originally done.


More detail of the double-tiered roof. Along the top is a gargoyle of a dragon, dipping in and out of the roof.


Craig demonstrating again how much taller he is than people in ancient cultures ever were. This was even shorter than the entrance at Foulksraith in Kilkenny.

South Korea - Osan fine dining and entertainment

Last night we got our first authentic Korean dining experience. We went for 'barbecue', where they literally put buckets of hot coals in to holes in the table, place a grid over top, and then grill up the meat. To prevent the smoke from becoming too overpowering, they lower extendable vacuums to just over top of the grill. I can't even express how good this was, but we definitely pigged out.


Soju. This is not my friend. It's similar to vodka, but it's made from rice. Cheap as hell, very little taste, and it will hurt you, as I learned Wednesday night. What we learned last night - if someone offers you a shot of soju, you dishonour them by turning them down. So I spent my night embedded in conversation with people who also did not want to get trashed, and all was well.


Some of our dinner companions - along with the staff, some of our adult students came. A rule was made that any time someone spoke Korean, they would have to take a shot of soju. Thank God the only things I know how to say are 'hello' and 'thank you'.


After dinner, we went to a karaoke house. I'd heard of this before, but had forgotten, so it was a bit of a surprise when we arrived and they gave us our own private karaoke room. Here's one of the teacher's jumping right in to the action.

South Korea - Osan at night

Downtown Osan at night. The whole area just lights up and looks electric.


When we first arrived, we were confused about the double swirling barber shop poles everywhere. There just seemed to be so many, and it seemed like a weird thing to have all over the city. How many barber shops do you really need?

Then we were asking some co-workers about this, and one of them - Mark from Australia (you're welcome) - filled us in on the reason why they were there. Apparently during the Korean war, a large 'hospitality' industry sprung up, but this obviously isn't something that's really legal. A lot of barber shops became fronts for this type of 'business', and you could tell the difference based on the poles - one was a barber shop, two was, well, not. Today these are still everywhere, and even though this is still illegal, it isn't really cracked down on.

South Korea - Work

The building where we work - Han's Berkely English Institute is on the fourth floor here. It's a pretty small school, which is nice. Really small classes make it easy to work closely with students.


My keyboard at work. This satisfied my curiosity. For years I have wondered how you would type characters on a computer. Apparently you can switch your settings on the keys for different characters, and I have to re-set my keys every time I use Microsoft Word.


My screen, telling me that my friend's blog doesn't work. I don't know why it won't work on that computer, but regardless, you can see all the characters on the screen - I can't figure out how to switch my computer off Korean settings so most of the time I have no idea how to do anything on there.

South Korea - Home

We were quite pleasantly surprised when we first got to our new apartment in Osan. Much nicer than the last place we had in Canada. This is our dining room.


Here is our kitchen, the central room in the apartment.


Another kitchen view.


The entrance. You also may note a bathmat on the floor in front of one room. This room is, in fact, the bathroom. So why is the bathmat on the outside?


...because most Korean bathrooms are also showers. As in, at home, the shower is in the bathroom. In Korea, the bathroom is in the shower. This results in a very wet bathroom, hence the bathmat outside the door. This might take a while to get used to.


Our bedroom. I think this might actually be bigger than the last apartment we had at home.


Another view of our room. I love this apartment. Everything was here and set up for us when we arrived. Some of these schools really treat their teachers well.

Here... and exhausted

So we have just begun our year-long contract at Han's Berkeley English Institute in Osan, South Korea. The city's about 30 minutes south of Seoul, and so far the weather and the people have been kind.

Seriously exhausted, though.

We did the math and from start to finish, we spent over 30 hours travelling from Brampton to our new apartment, with less than 3 hours of sleep in that whole time span and not much before we left. I am quite impressed with the apartment, though. Not the best view I've seen, but the unit itself is great, and close to the school.

Anyway, pictures and stories will come as I can post them.

Coming January 31st, 2006...