KOREA PART 2

Rather than waking up at 6 am and trying to figure out how to get to and hike one of the many mountains in Seoul, we slept in! I am glad we did since we had a full weekend and late night.

The morning started off in Myeongdong - a popular shopping and tourist district in Seoul. If the DDP was the night hot spot, Myeongdong was the place to go to during the day. It was also full of make-up shops.

We had more grilled meat (beef) with leaves and spicy vegetables as well as bibimbap. The bibimbap was delicious: a mixture of a fried egg, rice, salt, seaweed, and vegetables in a hot stone bowl. The rice definitely helped us through the spicy parts; however, there was one point where we each had something and had to spend about ten to fifteen minutes holding back tears and getting through the pain. Why must food hurt? And did you know how sensitive the underside of your tongue can be? However, two more things to say on this lovely restaurant: one, there were a bunch of Japanese tourists also having brunch and this

adorable Japanese kid did not understand the concept of language barriers and kept trying to talk with the lady working the store (he also walked around, carrying a long bell pepper and proclaiming it was a cucumber). Second, the lady working the store was kind enough to show us how to properly eat our food without plates or chopsticks - cut with scissors, use tongs to pick everything up and place it on a leaf, and eat it. We felt like children eating at a kind aunt's house. It was great and the connection across the language barrier and lack of familiarity was much appreciated.

We followed our handy-dandy map and library guidebook to see the famous Myeongdong Cathedral; but we first stumbled upon a smaller Presbyterian church that was also beautiful. We were a bit confused, thinking that it was supposed to be bigger and red brick rather than stone grey. We turned and saw the cathedral's tower behind other buildings across the way and made our way over. It really was beautiful. It has been a while since I've seen such Western and European-style buildings. The brick-work tower was just beautiful. We did not enter either of the establishments since it was Sunday and we did not want to disrupt the masses going on or mess with the other tourists lining up alongside the doors.

While sipping a Korean version of Calpis called Milkis, we made our way to Seoul Tower...a very round about way, walking through a street of rainbow tented booths, seeing Seoul's Theater, and City Hall. Trying to figure out how to cross the long, wide street was interesting - we did a lot of backtracking since crosswalks were few (later on, we learned that there were ways to walk under the street, which were very useful).

To get to Seoul Tower, we first rode up a diagonal, air-conditioned, rider-operated elevator that slightly reminded me of a scene from Code Geass. Then we bought round-trip cable car tickets and rode the crowded, speedy cable car up the side of a small mountain. Next, we walked up a set of stairs and saw the colorful love locks of Seoul and some beacons that used to be use to signal Rohan...I mean...other parts of Korea....why did Seoul keep throwing Gondor vibes at us? Anyway, we found out that we could get a combination set for two people in which we get entry tickets, one bucket of popcorn, and two soft drinks for the price of two tickets plus one dollar. This, and the following, slowly taught us that Korea is a very couple-based society, especially compared to Japan:

• Many places apparently refuse to seat you if you are by yourself so, if eating out, you should always have at least one friend
• Many places also have great couple's deals
• There were couples literally everywhere - holding hands, snuggling, being all cute. Especially since living in Japan for the past few months, we were shocked.

Seoul Tower was awesome. We went up the observation deck, ate candy (including mint-chocolate malt balls), and just sat, chat, and enjoyed the amazing view. Sitting there in my tank top, sipping orange Fanta, escaping the heat, and relaxing reminded me of summer so strongly. On the first level we went to, many windows had international cities' names and distances on them. The lower level had places of Seoul with information. This is where we learned that the museum we would head to next, the National Museum of Korea, is the biggest in Asia and sixth biggest in the world.








Some things we saw from the tower before heading down:

• Really tall buildings in the distance
• Hordes of extremely similar, white tall buildings that made parts of the city look like a bar code or some computer simulation.
• Lots of neat bridges spanning a large river cutting through Seoul
• Part of an ancient wall still standing on the mountain/hills surrounding the tower
• Some castles and the shrine we saw the day before
• An awesome view from the...bathroom...stall.......It was an interesting experience, but we both really needed to use the bathroom. On the windows were little signs saying something along the lines of "Don't be ashamed of snapping that picture! You'll probably here the shutter sound from other stalls! It's a shame to just look!" 
• A flock of white birds in the distance
• Someone spinning a large yellow flag

We descended the paradise of a tower and, still on the tower's base, in the plaza with an old-fashioned gazebo, were traditional performances! I enjoyed these even more than the previous day's performances. These started with dancers and drummers wearing white, yellow, and black garments
as well as round hats with a stick and long ribbon attached. They would slightly "head-bang" and the long ribbon would whip, twirl, encircle, and dance as well. It was mesmerizing. I was particularly impressed by the drummer for not only could he dance and whip his ribbon around, but he did this all while keeping a consistent beat and then giving a resonating solo.













Next were plate spinners who use varying lengths of sticks, would throw the spinning plates to each other or up into the air, balanced the sticks on single fingers or mouths, balanced with the tip of an open fan, and interacted with the crowd. Then, there were the weapon performances. These were extraordinary. Of course, I took photographs, but I also took videos so that I can use them for reference for my light-saber choreography. Long spears, twin swords, long bamboo spears, literal giant twigs, long swords made specifically to combat Japanese swords, and more. There was a warrior woman dressed like a general (?), lots of sword spinning, cutting hay, and a gorgeous imperial dressed actor who performed a heart-echoing dance with two swords to a beautiful, echo-ing, voice-heavy song. The emotion he poured into his every movements and facial features was amazing, even after, when he was exiting his solo and "commanding" an attack. Also, I love when people are obviously extremely happy while performing or doing whatever they are doing. It is just beautiful, that smile. 

Our way to the museum was also very roundabout. We saw the beautiful architecture of Seoul
Station, the outside gate to the one place we didn't go on our combination ticket, and the other of the two remaining gates in Seoul. We agreed that we liked this one better. I did like the wall surrounding the other and the pattern of the ceiling of the other, but the general look, swirly patterns, colors, and history of this gate, Sungnyemun, were much more interesting. This gate was ritually important for the emperor during times of floods and drought, was partially torn down by the Japanese, was damaged during Korean War, and was heavily damaged by an arsonist attack. Repairs and reconstruction were completed just recently in 2013.

Our museum trip was short due to it closing at six thirty however, I am glad with what we saw: Buddhist statues, celadon pottery, statues from Korea, India, China, Tibet, Nepal, and Japan (and more), Silk Road goods/tools, Japanese paintings, scary Chinese grave guardian statues, a 10 level pagoda of stone, a

two-story renewed colorful painting, more Korean couples, and the largest amount of security I have ever seen (this museum had a lot). We did not have time to get anything from the shop or go to the special exhibit focusing on Arabian goods, but we saw glimpses of ads and books and so on. I really enjoyed the museum. We also spent time taking pictures on the large set of stairs and enjoying the gazebo and reflecting pond once we had to exit the building.






Next, we returned to the DDP for another meal of meat and veggies. We walked inside the very long "Fashion Plaza" which was less like a mall and more like the largest, longest second-hand store I've ever seen. It was really neat, but not what my buddy was searching for (looking for a specific fashion) and the bored-ness of the shop-minders was a bit off-putting (though I would probably be bored too). We explored other malls and saw a "Marvel" store that had some marvel shirts and merchandise plus star wars and one piece (this was on the "men's fashion" floor that also had some *coughs mediocre coughs* arcade games that were surrounded by Korean men in white button shirts and black pants), a "comics" cafe that did not have windows (so we passed it), an Outback Steakhouse, more couples, nice fashion, and a nice view of the DDP building from the elevator (thought not good for photography due to the double glass and the giant ad stickered to the window). We decided to eat at the same cafe as the night before. As soon as we walked in, we made eye contact with the same person at the register and we all just giggled. Without communicating or really knowing each other, there was a little connection. My buddy and I fantasized of going daily or weekly, slowly learning Korean, and slowly becoming friends with him. Oh well. We had the snow
thing again, but a coffee themed one over which we poured actually hot coffee (surprisingly, it did not melt! Just soaked!) as well as more honey bread. It had gotten later than expected and since we did want to navigate with a taxi or without sleep, we headed back before the subway closed. We had been excited about staying out later, so we turned on the television and watched something like American Idol but with K-Pop. It was very entertaining.

Next up, Korea Part 3, another month anniversary, and Hiroshima+Miyajima Adventures!

Before I leave for sleep, some more pictures from Sunday in Korea!

KOREA PART 1

Here we are! Part one of an amazing adventure of a weekend!

Friday was my first time skipping class for something other than an illness or health-related appointment (thankfully I was able to talk with my teacher). Then, my travel buddy and I started heading towards the bus at the nearby train station. On the way, we stopped at my house for me to switch bags and my host family were so kind and had cold tea prepared for both of us. My travel buddy (V) lives in the dormitories rather than with a host family so truly enjoyed the experience. My host family also lent us an adapter! I was shocked and my host dad said this house is truly international. We then took the hour and twenty minute bus to the airport, sped through customs and security quite smoothly, and had some matcha drinks before boarding the plane. Once again, we went through the system quite quickly (though the person working the counter was not enthusiastic, kept silent, and tossed us our passports). We bought our T-money cards for the subway system, got some won, and headed to our hostel. It was nice to note that the airport is connected to the city by the subway and there were signs with English everywhere. Also note that the subway system of Seoul has multiple lines that are all connected so you don't have to leave the station (though the stations are huge, with long walkways and tall stairs that are usually ignored for the escalators (for good reason)).





We slept in a bit, until around eight or so, and then headed off to start a day of palaces and sun! The temperature was not too bad, but the sun was so brutal that it felt hotter than it was and we sweat a
lot. I was grateful for my sunglasses because, when I peaked at the world without them, it was just ridiculous, bright, and white. The subway we got off at had an entrance that led directly to a palace so we ate at the palace cafe for brunch. We each had beef bulgogi with glass noodles. V had hot chrysanthemum tea while I had iced Chinese quince tea that was very sweet and delicious.

While waiting for the restaurant to open, we were able to witness the first performance of the day. Based off of historical records, we saw a reenactment of a guard procession and shift change. Bright reds, blues, and greens flowing in the wind: tinny sounds of bells, drums, and a trumpet on the main gate; tall flags bearing the four directional creatures of continental cosmology and mythology (black turtle, white tiger, red phoenix, blue dragon); long weapons. 

This first palace complex, North Palace, Gyeonbokgung, was just stunning. It was huge. We just kept entering new courtyards, passing new gates, seeing various buildings, and seeing a lot of Korean people dressed up in traditional dress (some couples, some family members, some friends). We later learned that if you come in traditional dress, you get free admission. However, we bought a $10 combination ticket for several palaces and a shrine, so we were satisfied.
I loved the bright green background with vibrant rainbow detail that adorned many of the structures. It was neat to see kanji labeling many of the architectural pieces as well.
Near the back of this huge complex, there was a library - it used to be a library and meeting place for foreign diplomats and has been converted into an actual library. We looked at the books, enjoyed the
circular windows, detailed ceiling, and refreshed ourselves with some water in the octagonal tower cafe section. We both just adored this building.

We walked through the Folk Museum, seeing a neat zodiac statue circle and inaccessible pagoda topping the building. The palace complex was also neat because of the informational panels, the usage of sundial bowls that also chart solstices and such, and the feeling of walking through a movie set or through time. Nearby the folk museum was a part of the palace where Empress Myeongseong was murdered by Japanese invaders. It was neat to learn about such a strong diplomat who was so unfortunately and brutally murdered - it was also interesting to note the language that was used and showing some hints of Japan-Korea issues.

Next, we started heading towards the next palace, stopping at a temple on the way. Jyogesa temple was very different from Japanese Buddhist temples I've experienced. For one, it had the white tree of Gondor...I apologize...a 500 year old National Treasure of Lace-bark Pine that just happens to be
large and white. Inside were little red lanterns completing covering the ceiling, fans, people praying on seated floor cushions, and three giant Buddha statues that were just stunning. On another tree beside the temple were multitudes of various colored lanterns. In the entrance gate were rainbow lanterns and Buddha wheels as well as four bodhisattvas. The temple building itself was quite colorful and vibrant, having detailed window screens (not just with motifs but with carvings of flowers and birds) and painted panels depicting Buddhist stories. It had an almost Indian feel to it, even having the occasional small elephant or leopard statue. 

Next, we walked around Changgyeonggung and Cheokgung palaces which were practically connected. Once again, bright colors and the feeling of walking through time. I loved the architecture in these palaces, but they were quite similar (probably because they were all built during the same era (Joseon)).

After relaxing in some of the buildings we were able to sit inside (after see concubine's courtyards and houses, and the asymmetrical layout of Changgyeonggung which was built along with the natural
landscape), we took the Secret Garden tour. That was the moment when we were surrounding by the most foreigners and English speakers the entire trip. Anyway, seeing the various gazebos, rivers, and smaller buildings among the trees was quite nice. I especially liked this old library by a lily-pad-containing pond.

Then, after getting our fill of palaces, we went to the historical Jongmyo Shrine that houses monarchs and imperial treasures. The size of it was immense - extremely long with tall pillars forming a beautiful corridor. Unfortunately, we could not walk through the pillars. Also, large, barren, stone courtyards were quite popular in the set up of these structures.

 

We also saw a creature that we still haven't identified. Possibly a tanuki? But we thought that was only Japan? Which brings me to a point: we saw a lot of birds species that we see in Japan and heard

talk of boar and foxes just like Japan.





Once we had used up all but one of the sections of our combination ticket, we headed to
Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) - a bustling night-life shopping district with malls that open at 8 pm and close at 6 am, food trucks with strobe lights or Bob Marley, mini stages with k-pop performances, and more. As soon as we stepped out of the station, we saw a little stage set up and we might have been on Korean TV. A dance audition was finishing, people's names being called and excited, smiling young dancers hopping up onto stage (one with a broken arm, I might add). Then, the camera man turned around and got the audience in a 360. Anyway, the main draw of DDP besides shopping is the huge architectural masterpiece of DDP. The curves of this steely gray, gigantic building were mesmerizing.

We took a plunge and had grilled pork served at a table with a little stove built into it. We could not communicate with the employees other than hand gestures, but we were able to enjoy a delicious dinner (and somehow make it through eating some spicy kimchi). Then we cooled off with honey bread and

chocolate "snow" at a cafe called Wicked Snow. Apparently this thing called "snow" is more popular than ice cream in Seoul. It is a mixture of shaved ice and ice cream and feels like snow but softer and with flavor. It was quite delicious.

While enjoying the area, we also saw one of the two still standing important gates of the city.

Then, we headed back to our hostel for some rest before another full day. Before heading off to bed, here are a few more pictures from the first day (I will write more notes in the next part(s)). Good day and good night!