besides doing a lot of shopping (clothes that fit me and american food! woohoo!), ashley and i did a lot of fun things over the last 10 days in korea. here’s a pictoral exhibition…
1. we went to an ancient palace – gyeongbok palace. it was actually mostly burned by the japanese when they occupied korea, but the restoration is nearly complete.
(the throne room)
(royal guard. with fake facial hair. haha.)
(part of the queen/concubine area of the palace grounds. incidentally, where the queen was murdered.)
(there were so many cool doors in the palace. hundreds, in fact. this was one of my favorites, in a newly restored area of the palace.)
2. we went to jeju island. it’s like the bahamas of korea. everyone and their uncle goes there on vacation. oh, it’s also the number one honeymoon destination in all of korea. there’s even an entire sex theme park on the island! and no, ashley and i did NOT go there.
(the day we got there was the only day we didn’t experience rain. too bad we got there in the evening!)
(i found peaches in the jeju market! they were far from ripe, but who cares?! i haven’t bitten into a peach for 2 years!)
(we were looking for indoor activities, due to the rain. so we went to the jeju botanical gardens. this is in the water plants exhibit. the biggest lily pads i’ve ever seen!)
(the locally famous – and very pretty – jeju bridge)
3. while on jeju, we went to visit lava tunnels, a network of caves made by the underground flow of lava hundreds of years ago
(it was about 50 degrees and raining inside. so much for escaping the rainy weather!)
(the tallest lava column known to man. that’s right, that’s lava. old, old lava.)
4. we ate at taco bell! repeatedly! even though it was 2 hours from home. it’s the only one in korea and SO worth it!
(is it possible to have heaven on a plate?)
(because korea is so small and crowded, they tend to build things UP. this taco bell is 4 stories tall! you order on the first floor, then eat on the 2nd or 3rd floor, and the 4th is for storage.)
(this is what happens when you don’t eat taco bell for 2 years. be careful, kids. don’t let it happen to you.)
(i bet this would be funny. if i could read it.)
5. we visited seodaemun prison, built in the 1800s. the japanese used it to imprison and violently torture korean revolutionaries and patriots during the occupation.
(one of the buildings. i took this right outside the extermination house, where cameras were forbidden)
(a cell door)
(there were lots of… umm… interesting… mannequins depicting the horrors of the japanese torture. this is probably the tamest one. she isn’t having bamboo shoved under her fingernails, bleeding out the mouth, or being raped.)
(after occupation, this became a republic of korea prison until 1987 when it was closed down. it reopened as a monument and museum in 1998. many famous korean patriots died within these walls.)
(just outside the prison is this famous korean monument representing freedom and victory.)
6. we hung out with students! we got to meet up with 6 kids, one of whom graduated last year and has been studying in america, and 3 of whom just graduated and will be going to america. it was great to see all of them!
(we didn’t hang out with all 6 on the same day, in case you’re confused. but here’s 4 who went to taco bell and prison with us! all awesome kids. the two guys in the middle were both my teaching assistants in 2 consecutive years! i love both those guys.)
7. we went to an outdoor concert that we randomly happened to find in downtown seoul! there were some different independent bands playing, and we were initially attracted by the sound of korean rap blaring… it was in a park area, so we just sat in the grass and listened for awhile! rap always sounds funny in a different language.
(the rap band)
(sitting in grass + listening to music + summer evening = funfunfun!)
(the lead singer of the second band we heard. they were much more melodic. however, i really don’t understand this “look”. artists…)
8. i saw lots of people petitioning or demonstrating on behalf of north koreans. know how americans are all about saving the whales? well, south koreans are all about saving the north koreans. i never really realized how bad it is there. people are tortured and killed every day. and the south koreans really have a heart for them. they consider themselves one nation and one people, not two separate countries.
(in insadong, seoul’s art district, raising money and awareness for north koreans.)
9. FOOD! ashley actually hates korean food, so i only convinced her to eat at a korean restaurant once. the rest of the time we ate things like pizza hut, taco bell, some other really good mexican food, indian food, starbucks deli sandwiches (delicious, btw), muffins and smoothies, burger king, and kfc, to name a few.
(bibimbap. a traditional korean dish. also a funny word to say.)
(korean noodles are the best in the world. especially with dumplings. i brought a ton of packages of noodles back with me. ashley laughed as i crammed them all in my luggage.)
(i don’t actually know the name of this dish. but it’s like pork fritter cordon bleu. it was breaded pork with some delicious cheese inside that i’ve never tasted before. the sauce looks sketchy, but it was pretty delicious too. korean rice tastes funny, and i didn’t even try the orange mayonnaise over carrots.)
(korean condiments. you’ve got your coleslaw, your radishes pickled in vinegar, your kimchi (like blazing spicy saurkraut. the smell makes me nauseous. a staple food in EVERY korean household. the whole country smells like it.) and your unidentifiable green stuff.
