Oh my Seoul

One cannot go to Korea without venturing out to Seoul. That is unless you are one of the brave adventurous souls who live in the chaos of Seoul. Seoul is a city of ten million people, by far the biggest city I have ever visited. This was my second visit to the city and I planned on hitting up some of the touristy sites this time around with a travel friend of mine. So in two days a scamper across the city of Seoul ensued…

Prior to traveling to Seoul it should be common knowledge that you should book a reservation at a hostel or hotel. It should be extremely obvious on a busy Korean holiday weekend. Not for this waygook (foreigner). Seoul is a massive city, chalked full of hostels and cheap places to stay. This does not mean they are easy to find and certainly doesn’t mean there will be rooms available. Seoul doesn’t have easy to spot “love motels” like other Korean cities do either. So after about 3 hours of wandering, a place was found. Surprising success, not advisable.

We stayed in an area around Insa-dong, a very famous shopping street in Seoul known for it’s arts, crafts, and souvenirs. About a ten minute walk from there is Seoul City Center, the heart of Seoul. A massive street splits down the middle of City Center in between is a long walkway and park with famous statues of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin and King Sejong. This area is packed with people, especially on a hot Korean Sunday. A fountain flanks the statue of the Admiral and hundreds of children and there parents play in the fountain. Beyond this is the statue of King Sejong and finally the massive and forboding Gyeongbokgung Palace or “ Palace of Shining Happiness”.

The palace was first built in 1394. It is truly a sight to behold and at it’s height contained 330 buildings and covered about 4.5 million square feet. However, during the Japanese Occupation most of the palace was destroyed. Today only 40 percent of the palace buildings stand as the result of reconstruction by the South Korean Government. As you walk towards the palace today it is still a massive presence and I couldn’t help feel like I was walking into a scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. As you walk in you enter into a massive courtyard and finally through a series of gates you get to the scores of buildings inside, all beautifully painted and adorned in the traditional way. It can take all day to walk through the palace grounds and they are truly massive. It is a beautiful place to get away from the city bustle in the heart of the city itself. It has plenty of places to relax with large lawns and ponds. A must see in Seoul.

After the palace it was off to Insa-dong. If you are souvenir shopping for things unique to Korea this is the place to go. Make sure you go during the daytime to early evening hours since most shops close down relatively early. You will find your fix of Korean arts, crafts, souvenirs and evening some clothing in Insa-dong. Insa-dong is simply a street that stretched maybe a few hundred yards, lined with shops and vendors. I managed to buy Chinese and North Korean military medals from of the more unique shops. Whether they are genuine is another question.

There is all this hype about Itaewon among foreigners in Seoul, way too much hype. Itaewon is a district in Seoul that most foreigners in Korea will hear about. It boasts a unique atmosphere of all things foreign. Restaurants from nearly every culture imaginable can be found hear. If you are looking for cheap knockoffs of brand name clothing this is your place. I wasn’t impressed; perhaps this is because I was there during midmorning to early afternoon. The real strange things kick off at night from what I understand. Itaewon is indeed the destination for a foreign food fix. In fact they even have a Taco Bell, one of only two in Korea. Maybe I will give Itaewon another chance in the future.

The last stop on this trip to Seoul was Seoul Grand Park, a zoo on the southern edge of Seoul. The zoo covers a lot of area and on a hot day it can be an arduous walk. Seoul Grand Park is Seoul’s only zoo and was originally built by the Japanese during the occupation. It contains most animals you would find in zoos in the U.S. or elsewhere around the world. However, it lacks penguins, a big heartbreaker for me. It is a nice getaway from the city and wildlife is pretty scarce in Korea so this was a nice chance to seem some animals for a change.

Seoul is an incredible city. Its size is rather intimidating but is made to feel a little smaller with it’s excellent transportation infrastructure. There are so many things to do that spending 2 days will never do it any justice. So Seoul will always beckon the weary waygook English teacher for it’s change of pace and it’s excitement from the slow and often monotonous daily life of Mokpo. Seoul, I will see you again.

Links: Gyeongbakjung- http://www.royalpalace.go.kr/html/eng/main/sitemap.jsp

Insadong- http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SH/SH_EN_7_2_2_1.jsp

Itaewon- http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SH/SH_EN_7_2_6_1.jsp

Seoul Grand Park- http://grandpark.seoul.go.kr/Eng/html/main/main.jsp

Dreams: What I Learned Today

Today I learned that dreaming about poop is lucky in Korea and a good omen. You can take that to the bank...

Buddha's Birthday

I had the rare opportunity to experience Buddha’s 2,555th birthday in a predominantly Buddhist country. While many foreigners in Korea saw it as a day off I saw it as a great chance to really immerse myself into Buddhist culture. It was especially rewarding being that it was Buddha’s birthday. What better way to spend the day then to observe a Buddhist ceremony and go to one of the most famous Buddhist temples in all of South Korea. It is things like this that leave lasting memories and impressions, to go out and dive into the heart of the culture.

May 10th probably went by like any other day in America. But in Korea and other Oriental cultures the day is heavily celebrated. I could see the preparation for the day weeks ahead. Colored paper lanterns flanked the streets in several cities I visited beforehand. 석가탄신일 (Seokga Tansinil) or “Buddha’s Birthday” is heralded by a month of these lanterns as I would find out. Temples in and out of cities handed out flyers and banners were hung on their walls before the big day. Siddharta Gautama (The Buddha) is certainly a much-celebrated figure in this part of the world. Many of the Korean traditions I had only read about would unfold before my eyes.

The misty morning started like any other morning. This day was especially perfect, the heavy humidity contributed an “other-worldly” mist that hung around for the entire day. I was able to go to a small Buddhist temple in Mokpo with a friend of mine. The small temple clings to the side of one of Mokpo’s dominant geological features, Mt. Yibimsan. Approaching the small temple on the hillside one could hear the chants from the female Buddhist monks and the predominantly female group attending the service. I could only assume that this was a service special for women. Like most temples I have seen, big or small, it was immaculately decorated on the inside with beautiful lanterns and woodcarvings. The smell of incense lingered ever so slightly on the outside. For about thirty minutes we just watched and listened to the service’s chanting and chimes. This was my first experience at a Buddhist service. Each person in attendance had little booklets for the chants so they could join in. Every once and a while the group would bow down in unison to the Buddha. After this we went down to receive the traditional complimentary meal of sonchae bibimbap, a special vegetarian version of bibimbap.

The main event for the day was still ahead. Daeheungsa (aka Daedunsa) is one of Korea’s most famous temples. It is indeed one of the most beautiful sites I have seen. It is a little over an hour east by car outside the city of Haenam. Its age is not confirmed, but it is believed to date back to the Three Kingdoms Period. This is a broad time frame considering it the Period extends from the 1^st Century BC to the 7^th Century AD. The temple itself is nestled into the side of Mt. Duryunsan. Like many structures of its kind, it blends perfectly into the mountainside in a serene and natural way. That same mist that was clinging to the sides of Yibimsan in Mokpo was clinging to Duryunsan, except at this point it was raining. The ambiance that this atmosphere created can hardly be described, much less shown since I forgot my camera that day.

The whole complex is about a 15-minute walk from the parking lots. Along the way the road is flanked by beautiful trees and the walk takes you over several ancient stone bridges spanning tranquil streams. Inside the gates was a beauty that can’t be compared or easily paralleled to things I had seen elsewhere in the world. The temple complex was quite massive with dozens of outbuildings. It took about an hour to soak it all in. Luckily by this time of the day the crowds had gone and we were able to walk around freely and unhindered by throngs of people. Words can’t really describe each building I saw or the experience as a whole. I would like to reiterate that forgot my camera! The history of the place was almost suffocating to the history buff inside of me. A great experience and a great day were added to my list of growing adventures in Korea. I would recommend it to any travelers in the area.

Links: http://eng.koreatemple.net/travel/view_temple.asp?temple_id=21&code=A013021

http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264584

Transmissions Will Resume!!!

After a very long month of non-blogging I have decided to step back into my "amateur at best" blogging. Look for 3 or 4 blogs in the next couple of days as I try and cram one month's events into several posts! Thanks for the patience!