Whirlwind tour of Seoul Part 2

I had the chance to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace, "the palace of shining happiness." This palace was destroyed during the Japanese invasion and has only in recent years been reconstructed. It is very typical of the Joseon dynasty. To see more pictures from the palace please click here: facebookphotos. During our visit, the guards to traditional armor and uniforms took their stations at the entrances of the palace. On the palace grounds there is also the National Folk Musuem. I can not explain to you how it felt to see the richness of Korean history, culture, and arts. After seeing all the exhibits, there was some extent of pride that I felt at having such a rich heritage to claim as my own. The strangest things I saw were moderately sized erns that were for the Royals' placentas. Two words, eeewwww spppeeewwwww. I am sure that was not very culturally appropriate but the that is kind of gross, you must agree even just a little.

The next site was the Namsan tower, which is around 250m talls and over looks the city. It took several minutes to reach the observatory deck. The deck itself is circular as you can see from the picture above, and is glass enclosed. Several of the glass panes have the names of several major world cities facing their respective directions.

Our next stop was the Odusan Reunification observatory. It overlooks the Han River and North Korea just beyond the shores of the Han. There were exhibits of North Korean products, some which you were able to purchase, classroom, and typical N. Korean interior of a house. There was a short video that explained the tragedy of a group of people sharing the same language, culture, and until 50 years ago rich history. As I looked through the binoculars to the other side, I thought about the sad plight of fellow Koreans as they endure hardship under the communist regime of Kim Il Jong. There was also a wish room with thousands of paper cranes (which is an Asian custom, that if you make a thousand cranes you will receive a wish). I took the opportunity to write down my wish that Korea will once again be one nation and one people. The wishes of the Odusan Reunification Observatory will be displayed in a special room once Korea is unified again.

In Seoul there are several gates, one in each direction. I was fortunate enough to see two of the four:

Namdaemun: (south gate): There is also a near by ginormous street market area, that I would have spent all day in, had my face and extremities threatened to freeze and fall clean off.

Dongdaemun: (east gate)

And to satisfy my artsy-fartsy side we stopped in the Insadong area which is the artisan district. There were several art galleries, hand pottery expos, antique shops, and a huge instrument mall complex. We stopped and had lunch in a restaurant that is in the Hanok style.

Today is Feb. 2, and it is part of the Lunar calender's New Year's celebration. Families all over Korea will be traveling to their hometowns to pay homage to parents and deceased beloved ones. As well as showing respect by bowing to their parents and wishing that they may be blessed in the new year, upon which the parents will give their children money. Traditionally parents would give their children rice-cakes and fruit. I spent the day helping one of my aunts preparing traditional dumplings, called Mandu. To fill my days and work of the 6 lbs I have gained, I have been hiking in the woods behind my Aunts restaurant. I almost wet my pants from fright because a deer jumped through the bushes and high-tailed it up the mountain. Yes, I found a sturdy stick and continued on with my hike. Pretty sure the deer beat it because it heard of what I do to snakes, yup my reputation proceeds me even though it scared the mess out of me.