Two weeks ago was Chuseok, and my coworkers and I went to Changdeokgung Palace to check it out--but the grounds had actually flooded because of the (small-ish) typhoon! So our Tuesday was pretty miserable; we were soaked and only able to take a very long subway ride for fun. Wednesday the weather was much, much better so...I climbed a mountain! I went to Mt. Achasan, which I read is "for beginners" and "casual clothing" (even while mountain climbing I feel under-dressed). The views were incredible:
Towards the beginning of the trail. These steps were actually very steep. I sort of forgot that climbing a mountain would mean climbing uphill.
This one's for you, mom!
Towards the middle there was this great temple--I'd say this is about 600 meters up the trail (which actually ended after about 400 meters--the rest it was pretty much guesswork).
The view from the temple (though this doesn't do it justice).
In Korea you still have to take off your shoes to go inside a house, even if it's in the middle of the forest.
A bookcase inside! It was a temple for reading (I imagine)!
Architectural details I really love.
Seoul's not really so crowded, as you can see.
Graffiti I found after I came down. I ate a squid burger after I took this picture--a bad idea after hiking (but still good).
So when the weekend rolled around and the weather was still nice, my coworkers and I decided to go back and give Changdeokgung Palace another try. It was sooo beautiful--It was a series of these buildings (5? 6?) that were dedicated to the king and his resting places (I think. I kind of lost track of what it was about because we were doing too much gawking), and it's all in the middle of this really picturesque forest.
Outside the temple there were these massive crowds. One was a bunch of old men playing Go (? a game played with black and white stones which kind of looks like Chinese checkers), and a funny old man kept talking to us while we were watching. "What do you think of Korean old people? Are you Asian? You look Oriental." Then while we were watching this guy (above) paint Chinese characters, we attracted another group of old men. "American culture, husband and wife do things together. In Korea, woman throws man outside! Woman has power in the house!"
The other group of people was led by someone with a microphone and a commanding voice (we couldn't see him). They had the Korean and American flags around on display, but when they started pumping their fists, we SKEDADDLED.
Believe it or not, but this woman is selling silkworm larvae. They smell like death.
And the post I promised: Student artwork!!
"Korean Traditional Culture Thing." Yes, but what is it!?
So Zen: "It's boiled rice."
"Teacher, teacher! This is Korea! And this is Japan! PSCHEW PSCHEW KOREA WINS!!!"
My favorite part is the doctor asking his bleeding patient if he is ok. "No, I'm not okay!"
"This is Christmas! We get presents."
"Oh no! Why are they dying?!"
"Swords."
Thanks for the picture of you!! You were right....it was wonderful to see your face! Your student work is very cute (aka: HILARIOUS!). Thanks for sharing!!!
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