Juwangsan National Park & Andong

This weekend, I went with the Seoul Hiking Group on a 24 hour trip. I was a bit hesitant about going at first, as the sleeping situation was less than ideal, but I decided the experience may be worth the lack of sleep. About 40 of us met at 11:30PM on Friday night to head to Gyeongsang Province. We drove through the night and arrived at the Juwangsan National Park around 4am.

We sleepily piled out of the bus, and the trip coordinator, Warren, handed out bagels, bananas, kimbap, juice, and water. We walked about 20 minutes or so to a lake area and ate breakfast and waited for the sun to come up. When the sun came up, the lake was beautiful; very foggy and a bit surreal. I brought along my new camera and struggled with messing with the settings and trying to find a way to take good photos with the lighting. Luckily, some other DSLR owners were on the trip and were able to help me.

After breakfast, we got back on the bus and were brought to the main part of the national park, where we were to start our hike. We split into two groups, the group that wanted a leisurely stroll around the park, and the group that wanted to ascend to the peak. I was warned that the hike to the peak would be intense, but I wasn't about to miss the opportunity, so I joined on to go to the top.

They were not kidding about the hike being intense. It was a steep climb and we moved quickly. I struggled through it, but even by the time we were halfway up, I knew it would be worth it. We stopped for pictures at the halfway point and I was mesmerized by how gorgeous it was.

After we reached the peak, we climbed along the ridges and then descended. When we got to the bottom, we walked through a river bed and past a few waterfalls. Altogether, the hike took about five hours. I am seldom that productive before 11am on a Saturday.

After the hike, we got back into the bus and traveled about an hour to the city of Andong. Warren had coordinated a lunch for us, where we got to try the food Andong is famous for, Andong jjimdak meaning steamed chicken of Andong. I thought it was quite good, though didn't much enjoy eating on the floor after hiking all morning.

We finished lunch and headed to the Hahoe Folk Village. Visiting the village felt like stepping back in time.  When we first arrived, we went directly to a traditional mask dance. The masks were quite cool, but the plot and storyline were very different from what I expected and not exactly appropriate for the many children in the audience.

When the dance finished, we got to walk around the village. This was one of my favorite parts of the day. While at first it seemed like the village was centered on tourism,  this was a chance to see that it is really a living and breathing village. While many of the townspeople make their living from tourism (people sold snacks and crafts outside of their houses), you could see the more traditional way of life.

We met up to take a boat across a river and climb up to see a view of the village. I took the following picture from a girl on the trip with us.. it was just too good not to include. This was the guy bringing us across the river.. and he didn't seem too happy about it.

 

All in all, it was a wonderful (though exhausting day). I arrived back in Seoul around 10pm, was asleep by midnight, and somehow managed to sleep through my alarms and text messages until 3pm on Sunday. I took TONS of pictures (which I am sure you can tell by the blog post..) but if you want to see more, check out my Picasa site!

new camera and field trip day!

Over the last few months I've been debating purchasing a digital SLR camera. I've always wanted to learn more about photography and being here seemed the perfect time to do it. I finally settled on which model to get, and my brand new Canon 1000D arrived this week.

So far, I am really enjoying it. I was taking so many pictures the other day at work that my boss said "somebody's getting obsesssed." Timing worked out perfectly though, because today held a great photo op: Kindergarten Field Trip.

The foreign teachers didn't have to attend the field trip and had the morning off, but I still got myself to school at 9:30 to take pictures of the kids getting ready to go. For this field trip, they all wore Hanboks, traditonal Korean dress. The kids loved posing and I took over 100 pictures in about 20 minutes, moving throughout all the kindergarten rooms. Here are a few of my favorites:

Kids in Hanboks

adventure: Asia Song Festival

On Saturday, a group of about 15 of us went to the 2009 Asia Song Festival. This was basically a 3 hour concert featuring the popular pop groups from Korea, Japan, Thailand, China, Indonesia, and more. Imagine 10 years ago in the United States a concert including N'Sync, The Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, The Spice Girls, Britney Spears and you might have an idea of what this was like.

To really get into it, my coworkers and I decided to dress up like the bands. Here is a video of two of the groups we dressed like.. also a chance to hear some Korean pop music.

My coworker Tim and I posing in the Subway station

The concert itself was very interesting. I noticed a lot of differences between Korean concerts and American concerts. First of all, each group only played 2 songs. In the US, if such big names were playing, the concert probably would've lasted all day, even all weekend. This show was from 7-9:30. There was also an awful lot of talking at this concert. The announcers spoke for a few minutes between artists which made the show drag on.

The crowd also acted in a very different manner than a crowd in the states would. Everyone sat throughout the entire concert. At a pop concert. It was pretty subdued which was very odd. For someone whose pop concert experience reached its peak during the N'Sync years, I expected a lot more screaming, dancing, and jumping.

The last thing that I found odd was the lack of alcohol at the event. It was sold in the venue, but the only people in line to buy it were foreigners. Though alcohol is a big part of Korean culture, it is not used in the same way it is in the states. For example, there is no alcohol allowed at pool halls or in bowling alleys.

Despite the oddities, the concert was very fun. One of the highlights was an Indonesian singer's set. She made everyone stand up and sing Michael Jackson's Heal the World. I also enjoyed hearing all the songs live that my students sing constantly :)

adventure: insadong

On Saturday, I met a few friends in an area of town called Insadong. I've been to Insadong before, but it is an area of Seoul I will never get sick of. Walking out of the subway station, I feel like I stepped out of the post Korean War, ultra-modernized Seoul and back 100 years to what I'd expect an Asian city to look like.

Insadong is filled with art galleries, and we spent the first half of the day wandering the streets and peeking into galleries, some wonderful, some not. Around 3, we stumbled upon a cultural festival. A stage was set up and performers in traditional Korean clothing were singing and dancing.  We watched for a bit, and were lucky enough to be standing near the path the performers took as they were leaving to get some close up pics.

After the festival ended, we decided to find a traditonal Korean tea house. We walked through a maze of side streets until we found one that fit our requirements: quaint, quiet, and interesting. We sat down and each ordered a different drink. I tried the plum tea and was blown away by how delicious it was. We sat for over an hour, just enjoying the ambiance and the delicious tea. 

We finished our afternoon with Indian food (go figure) but really enjoyed stepping into a more traditional side of Seoul for the day.

Kindergarten Lunch

A lot of people have been asking me about the food over here. I have found some Korean food I really like, and a lot that I really dislike. The one place that I am most likely to try (or just look at...) new food is during Kindergarten lunch.

As Seoul is so densely populated, (our school takes up 3 floors of a five floor building), there is no possibility of finding a room large enough for a cafeteria. Instead, each class gets a big rubbermate type box filled with lunch. The students bring their own chopsticks, and the school provides trays, soup, rice, and random food items.

I eat with Oxford class two times a week. Before we lunch, we wash our hands and then typically argue over who gets to carry the lunch box to the classroom. After we set up our lunch trays, it is time to eat. On most days I am able to eat enough of the food to make a meal of it. Other days, I just eat the rice. Lunches may include: seaweed, chicken, beef and vegetables, tofu, creepy tiny fish with eyes (obviously not my favorite), and lots of unidentifiable objects.

After lunch, we line up to brush our teeth. In the hallway by the bathroom, we have a long sink for the students to wash their hands and brush their teeth. We have a "sterilizer" cabinet that holds all the students toothbrushes.

The whole process is completely different than any school lunch I ever had growing up, but I do like that they brush their teeth everyday. Such good oral hygiene!

Anyways, thought I'd also throw in this last picture. I got my haircut here this weekend- so here is a picture of my student Poby and I.

Night Hike

My friend stumbled upon this group on Facebook called Seoul Hikers Group. A Korean guy coordinates hikes about once a week for both foreigners and Koreans. We decided to meet up with the group this past Wednesday for a night hike. About 20 people showed up and we hiked up a small mountain/large hill in the city. It was pretty dark which made it difficult (no one thought to bring flashlights.. made me realize I don't even have one here), but getting to the top was absolutely worth it. We had a gorgeous view of part of the city.

At the top, we stopped for about 30 minutes to enjoy the view and talk. The leader asked people to share poems or songs from their culture. At first, no one really took it seriously. Then a few Koreans sang a traditional Korean song called Arirang. I thought it was very beautiful, then laughed when they translated it.

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo...
Crossing over Arirang Pass.
Dear who abandoned me [here]
Will not walk even ten li before his/her feet hurt.

On the way back down, we passed a Buddhist temple and stopped for a bit. I took a few pictures but the lighting was terrible. It made me look forward to spending a weekend doing a temple stay, which I hope to do sometime this fall.