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 site Hahoe Village, but only two buses per day make it up the winding dirt road to Byeongsan.

It is much less famous than Andong’s other Confucian school, Dosan Seowon, I’m guessing because Dosan was set up by Yi Hwang, Korea’s most notable Confucian scholar.

However, despite not being as famous as Dosan Seowon, it is much more beautiful.

A large part of me has become immune to sites like this.  I’ve seen so many traditional Korean buildings, I think I could build one in my sleep.  But then I come to a place like Byeongsan Seowon and I’m blown away.

In front of the school is a beautiful beach and river.  The school sits up on a hill surrounded by gorgeous mountains and nothing else.  It’s simply breathtaking.

Also, because it is so hard to get to (and because it was FREEZING) there was hardly anyone there.  Which, since I dislike people, I loved.

Here are some photos of the school and the sunset by the river.  You can see the full set here.

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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 been to in Korea.  The best part of this trip is that I was almost completely alone (I went in the early evening at the beginning of Chuseok), except for the locals that live there.  No people… just complete silence and smoke coming out from the kitchen fires.  Also, the rice is just starting to turn into its beautiful gold color.

I miss Andong.

Here are the photos (you can see the full set here):

==

And this is not part of Hahoe Village, but it is in Andong and I love it.  It is Wolyeong Bridge near the dam and folk museum.  I’d only seen it during the day, so it was surprising to see it lit up so beautifully.

Wolyeong Bridge -- 월영교

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The main reason we visited Hahoe Village this weekend was to see our friend Usher perform in a musical.

It was really, really great.  I didn’t understand the plot given that my Korean is pretty much limited to ordering food, ordering more food, and telling taxi drivers how to get me to said food.  But, it was without a doubt the most beautifully staged play I’ve ever seen.

Basically, the musical was performed on the bank of the Nakdong River with the stage extending out into the water.  However, they also utilized the opposing river bank and the huge rock cliff (for dropping fire onto the actors, writing hanja and hangul, and lighting it up as a backdrop)… it was gorgeous.

…a wonderful way to leave Andong.

My pictures in no way do justice to the show, but here they are.  You can view the full set here.

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Some friends and I went out to Hahoe Folk Village this weekend.  It’s so beautiful there, and I was happy I got to see it again before I left Andong.

Hahoe Village is a traditional Korean village from the Joseon era (1392-1897).  The homes, the rice, the river… it’s all rather wonderful.  And people actually live there; it’s not a “museum” as I thought it would be the first time I visited.  Here’s more on Wikipedia…

Also, Hahoe was just added (this week) as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  I was a bit surprised it made the cut, but very excited as it is very unique experience.

I wish I could compare it to something in America, but I can’t due to white people’s insatiable need to have (or take) everything in sight.

You can view the full photo set here.

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The other day I posted some photos of Andong’s music fountain.  Now, I’ve finally put the video together.

It’s very short (2 minutes).  I removed the live sound and replaced it with one of my favorite Kpop singers — Son Dambi.  (I love love Son Dambi.)

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Korea can be a bit of a rebel when it comes to intellectual property rights.  I’m of two minds about it all, so I won’t judge.  But here’s my new favorite: Sulperman!

This bar just opened up and some friends and I went there this weekend.  I loved it… actually I just loved saying the name, which I did approximately 437 times…  because not only is it awesome to say, but “Sulper-” or “sool-peo” or “술퍼” is also a command to drink!

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Generally speaking, I find Korea to be very good with lighting.  There’s obviously some rough spots here and there, but for the most part, I think they (more than Americans) take pride in how things look.

Examples being… the ugly bridge in Andong that is slightly less ugly due to the colored lights at night… bars with rotating lights under your drink… and of course, just walking down a street at night is almost enough to send a relatively healthy person into epileptic shock.

So, I was excited to finally see the famous Andong fountain light show!

I had planned to take a date there, but I got stood up… so my good friend Jingukwan came along to fill my emotional holes.

When I saw the bigger-than-expected crowd, I asked Jingukwan if this was a product of there being nothing to do in Andong, or if the fountain was just that great… she said “both.”  She was right.

You can view the full photo set here.

UPDATE: here’s the video

The fountain lights up every night at 9pm by the Nakdong River.

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As usual, I got out of work at 11pm on Friday.  I went straight to bed because I had to wake up at 5am to catch the bus to Seoul.  But I was nervous; I couldn’t sleep.  I woke up late and missed the 6am bus.

After three hours, I arrived in East Soul and, after one hour and a few more subway transfers, arrived at my first interview.  I was sweaty and due to lack of sleep (and a nice little pimple that showed up the previous day beneath my right eye) my eyes looked like a 53 year old on a three-day drinking binge.

Left the first interview and made a beeline to the nearest coffee shop before heading to the second interview.  With everything finished, I collapsed on the bus, only to find myself sitting beside a couple who desperately wanted to watch the television show on full volume — this despite me saying “I hate you” in the international language of The Glare.

After spending 14 hours on buses, trains, and their respective stations, I was ready for bed.  But a friend called and we met for some beers.  Then friend #2 called and we had more beer.  Then friends #3, #4, and #5 called and we headed to a singing room.

After singing Patti Page and Barry Manilow (both to 100 scores), I finally headed home.

On Sunday, a friend and I went to Gounsa — a very nice temple near Andong.  I really enjoyed it and can’t believe I waited so long to see it.

You can view the full photo set here.

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When I walked in to eat lunch today, I saw a “pretty” girl across the restaurant, but I didn’t pay much attention.  There are a lot of “pretty” people in Korea (in my opinion) and I never talk to any of them.

But as I was eating I noticed her talking to the owners of the restaurant… and then my chopsticks stopped midway between the rice and my mouth as I saw them all staring at me.

One of the owners comes over to my table, opens the menu, and points to another dish and then points to me — clearly wanting me to eat it.  I say “No, no, no” because I did not want (or need) any more food.  Owner walks away and Pretty Girl leaves.

Then, Girl #2 comes over to my table to tell me what just went down.  Evidently, Pretty Girl bought me take out.  For the record, we never spoke.  She did not ask if I wanted take out, and I did not send body language signals telling her that I was unable to feed myself.  Nevertheless, I left lunch with an extra pork cutlet.

To make things even better, Girl #2 comes over again and tells me that if I ever need anything, I should just give her a call.  Then she slid me her number.

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Well, it’s officially been six months since I moved to Korea. I know it’s trite, but it really has gone by fast.

There were several moments I didn’t think I would make it, but that was mostly due to some work issues and receiving “anonymous” hate mail from someone who accessed my Facebook account.  Those things have passed for the most part.

And, there were many more moments of fun and (if I can be completely un-Adam for a moment) happiness.

I’m so glad I came to Korea.  Every day is interesting.  And most importantly, I’m constantly learning.

When I came here I told myself I would wait until the six month mark to make a decision about my future.  Having gone back and forth approximately 283 times, I think I’ve decided to stay in Korea for at least another year while I prepare for graduate school.  It would be dumb to ignore how good my life is here, no matter how much I miss hamburgers and grandparents.

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When I moved to Korea, one thing that stood out for me was the fact that there were a very large number of lingerie/underwear stores.

There are more small businesses everywhere given that they don’t purchase everything at Wal-Mart and Target… but there are A LOT of lingerie shops ranging from the simple to the bedazzling.

As a Fruit of the Loom kind of guy, I’ve never understood spending disposable income on underwear… but well, here you go.

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In the 3rd month of Adam’s stay in Korea during his 29th year of life, he visited Dosan Seowon. (I’m sorry, I’m sorry; I couldn’t resist… I’ve read so many Korean history markers.)

Dosan Seowon was one of the premier Confucian academy’s.  It was established in 1574 “during the 7th year of King Seonjo’s reign during the Joseon Dynasty” by disciples of Lee Hwang (pen name Toegye).

Lee Hwang was born in 1501 and is considered to be one of the two most prominent Confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Dosan Seowon is actually located in the town I’m living in now.  It’s one of the reasons Andong’s tagline is the “Capitol of the Korean Spirit.”  And while I won’t pass judgment on said tagline, I do find it cool that this little town has so much history.

Here’s the photos (full set here)… click on the picture to get more information.

the path to the academy

the river that flows in front of the academy

student dormitories

from the front of the student dorms

the two rooves on the right are the two libraries; the building on the left is another dormitory

from the central walkway

one of the libraries

walkway up to the servants quarters

a stele commemorating the place for civil service examinations

the courtyard outside of the academy

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My new least favorite thing in life are the stairs behind my apartment that have a hand rail wrapped in barbed wire.

Some of you may know that as a singular statistic, I fall down stairs way more than any normal person should.  So whenever I walk down stairs I’m gripping that rail Britney on a Cheetos bag.

So, you can imagine my horror upon seeing rusty old barbed wire wrapped around my life support system.  And to make matters worse, once you scale the hill with barbed wire stairs… there’s exercise equipment!

Here’s the 2 minute video (be sure you have sound):

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I’ve finished my first week in Andong, Korea (well, work week), and things are moving along well.  I’ll skip the boring stuff, but work went well, and I got my papers through immigration.

The bestest news is that I moved into my apartment after a week at the Hotel 9, which seems to specialize in blue hallway lighting.  The apartment is great and is close to the school.

I’ve spent the last two days buying stuff for it though: lamp, iron, fan, etc.  There are about 5 “marts” within a few blocks of my house.  These are basically little Best Buys.  I have no idea how there is demand for this many stores, but I’ve been walking from store to store to find the best prices because some things are REALLY expensive (e.g., a regular $15 coffee pot is like $90 here and my cheap fan cost me $50).

Here’s a short video tour:

Click here for all the photos:

bed

all in one bathroom

my kitchen with gumby

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