Last weekend I headed out toward Jeongseon. Jeongseon is in the northeast part of south Korea and is a bit difficult to get to. But, being difficult to get to can be a good thing (i.e., no tourists; no nothing). Jeongseon used to be known for its coal mining, but those mines ran dry (is [...]
{ 1 comment }
Last year I had the unique opportunity to visit Changdeok Palace at night (it’s very rarely open at night and even then only open to a handful of psychotic fans rushing to get on the sign up page… see those posts here & here). Well, I finally went during the day. It was still amazing. [...]
{ 3 comments }
I spent my Korean New Year with a Korean family. While it was wholly interesting to see the customs and rituals, the best part was being able to be with a big family enjoying a big holiday. It reminded me of how much I miss my own. Korean New Year, or Seolnal (설날), is probably [...]
{ 0 comments }
Of all the things to do in Korea, my favorite is quickly becoming doing ANYTHING where there are NOT lots of people. Last year I got to see Changdeokgung Palace (first trip & second trip) in a small group. I also visited Hahoe Village on eve of one of the biggest holidays so no one [...]
{ 1 comment }
Byeongsan Seowon is a Confucian school in Andong, Korea, first established in 1613 during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897). Even though I lived in Andong for a year, I never made it out there because it is almost impossible to reach unless you have a car. It is just a few kilometers away from the UNESCO [...]
{ 0 comments }
I was supposed to be vacationing on my favorite island in sunny (and hot) Philippines… instead I’m stuck in Korea (thank you Confucius) in 10°F weather going to empty beach towns. I’ve always been drawn to the places that were once the center of attention, but are now… disregarded. I’ll never forget my parents taking [...]
{ 0 comments }
March 15, 1960: Election Day in Korea. In Masan, over one thousand protesters gathered as it became increasingly clear that the election for President and Vice President was rigged. The military opened fire, blacked out the city, and called for US Marines to help damper the protest. On April 11, the body of a high [...]
{ 1 comment }
Yesterday I wrote about the top 10 posts of 2010. To be honest, they weren’t my favorites. I liked a few of them… and some of them I was amazed got read at all. So, here are 5 of my favorite posts that I think should be in the top 10. I loved these posts. [...]
{ 0 comments }
For Christmas I went down to Masan, which is a fishing town on the far southern side of the Korean peninsula. I spent a good deal of time walking around the fish market. All of the ”shop” owners kept laughing at me wondering why I was taking pictures of their dead fish… But everyone [...]
{ 3 comments }
By chance (i.e., human error) I was able to go back to the moonlight tour of Changdeokgoong (Changdeok Palace) with a couple of friends. Changdeokgoong was one of the main palaces of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897). It was completed in 1412, and while only 30% of the original palace remains, it is still a sight [...]
{ 6 comments }
I went to Nami Island this weekend with two friends (who write the very funny and frank blog, Shotgun Korea). I love the Fall. It is my favorite season, and so happy that I get to see beautiful places like this. The only drawback was that out of the 5,488 people there, I was evidently [...]
{ 9 comments }
I went to Buseoksa (or Buseok Temple)… it was incredible. It is one of the most beautiful temples I’ve seen in Korea (along with Naksansa and Donghwasa) sitting in the beautiful mountains of the Northern Gyeongsang province. The history of the temple is quite impressive. It was originally built in 676 AD during the Silla Dynasty [...]
{ 1 comment }
I had the rare opportunity to visit Changdeok Palace at night. The Palace is normally closed at night as it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has limited electricity. It was one of the best things I’ve done since moving to Korea. It was incredible. They only allowed 100 people in this tour, and [...]
{ 7 comments }
After my plans of going to the countryside were thwarted by thousands of festival-goers, I quickly went online to find the nearest cultural landmark to my house (one great thing about Korea is that you’re almost never more than a few minutes away from a National Treasure, temple, or cultural asset). So, I went to [...]
{ 1 comment }
I don’t like sunrises. One has to wake up obscenely early or go bed obscenely late, and either way, 5:30am never feels good. And if I don’t like sunrises, I positively hate the photos we take of them. I don’t understand how we, as a species, could be so universally attracted to the sunrise & [...]
{ 5 comments }
After seeing Naksansa, I took the bus back to Sokcho. I wanted to see Abai Village/아바이마을 (Korea’s tourism info). Abai Village is a small enclave of Sokcho, officially named Cheongho-dong. Evidently, many North Koreans from the Hamgyeong province (wikipedia) moved here during the Korean War (1950-1953) and since many of them were older, the village [...]
{ 0 comments }
Last year I read several blog posts about Naksan Temple, or Naksansa/낙산사 (wikipedia), and I really wanted to visit. It is one of the few temples that are on the coast (as most are on top of mountains). But, living in Andong and getting out of work at 11pm really prevented me from traveling too [...]
{ 6 comments }
It is Chuseok (추석) week. (Here’s some info on Chuseok, commonly called Korean Thanksgiving.) I already wrote about re-visiting Andong and Hahoemaeul last weekend. After Andong, I came back to Seoul to rest as I thought I might be getting sick… but I ended up traipsing all over the city all day. I started with [...]
{ 0 comments }
I went to Hahoe Village (하희마을/Hahoemaeul) again this weekend. This will be my third post on it, and I would leave it alone except that I spent a lot of time in the Southern part of the village, which I hadn’t done much of before. It really is one of the most beautiful places I’ve [...]
{ 6 comments }
I was so excited when I found out about the Chicken Art Museum. However, none of my Korean friends knew anything about it, and upon learning of it, were not entirely thrilled at the prospect of going. So, earlier this summer I dragged a friend to come with me… The grandmother working was so excited [...]
{ 1 comment }
