Sunday, June 18, 2006
Filling in the blanks...
Ok.. So I got really lazy and never finished that last blog entry. Here's a summary:
1. Went to a city called Suwon and walked along a 5km long perimeter fortress wall that encloses a grassy/hilly/tree-filled park area in the middle of a modern city. Pretty cool. Got lost in the city far too many times though. Koreans really don't know how to read maps and/or give directions.
2. Went on a weekend road trip to Kyeongju with Ben and Lisa. Went to a museum, walked through Silla Dynasty 'tumulus park' where there are a whole bunch of big hilly mounds which are actually royal tombs. Very cool how they encased each body in a big wooden casket, then piled a bunch of rocks, then dirt to make these big burial mounds. We also drove up to the top of a mountain where the main attraction is a giant stone Buddha statue sitting inside the mountain side with a temple for an entrance way ("Seokeuram" - I posted a picture of the temple in front of the mound of earth where Buddha is hanging out). The fact that it was Buddha's birthday that same day made the visit very cool. Lotsa lanterns and people and monks hanging around.
Then went to Hahoemaeul which is famous for Korean traditional masks and mask dances. Really enjoyed the performance - we even got English programs which explained fully the storylines and script. Funny stuff. Then we walked around the still inhabited village which has maintained it's original style without a lot of modern conveniences. This was one of my favorite Korean cultural experiences so far.
3. Korea has "Children's Day" and "Parent's Day". For this year's "Children's Day" our school's grade 5 and 6 students and teachers walked to Chuncheon CC (Country Club) for a kind of picnic on the golf course. It was a great idea really - the club opened it's course to schools around the city and just let kids run around the grounds like a big public park. It was a beautiful day in a very picturesque part of the city that I had no idea existed.
4. Went to a city called Icheon for it's annual ceramics festival (this city is known for it's ceramics village). I realised I have a bit of an addiction to Korean ceramics. They are so beautiful. I want to buy a million things. Good thing I was by myself cause I probably would have bored the heck out of anyone else. I spent waaaay too much time looking at the endless ceramics displays. I wish I had more money. It was a great day... but I got so wrapped up in the art that I stayed too long and missed my bus back to Chuncheon. Damn it. I ended up spending money on a motel, which I just realised could have been spent on a small piece of pottery.
So that completes my previous entry. Have a look at the photos I posted before for pictures of almost everything I mentioned here.
1. Went to a city called Suwon and walked along a 5km long perimeter fortress wall that encloses a grassy/hilly/tree-filled park area in the middle of a modern city. Pretty cool. Got lost in the city far too many times though. Koreans really don't know how to read maps and/or give directions.
2. Went on a weekend road trip to Kyeongju with Ben and Lisa. Went to a museum, walked through Silla Dynasty 'tumulus park' where there are a whole bunch of big hilly mounds which are actually royal tombs. Very cool how they encased each body in a big wooden casket, then piled a bunch of rocks, then dirt to make these big burial mounds. We also drove up to the top of a mountain where the main attraction is a giant stone Buddha statue sitting inside the mountain side with a temple for an entrance way ("Seokeuram" - I posted a picture of the temple in front of the mound of earth where Buddha is hanging out). The fact that it was Buddha's birthday that same day made the visit very cool. Lotsa lanterns and people and monks hanging around.
Then went to Hahoemaeul which is famous for Korean traditional masks and mask dances. Really enjoyed the performance - we even got English programs which explained fully the storylines and script. Funny stuff. Then we walked around the still inhabited village which has maintained it's original style without a lot of modern conveniences. This was one of my favorite Korean cultural experiences so far.
3. Korea has "Children's Day" and "Parent's Day". For this year's "Children's Day" our school's grade 5 and 6 students and teachers walked to Chuncheon CC (Country Club) for a kind of picnic on the golf course. It was a great idea really - the club opened it's course to schools around the city and just let kids run around the grounds like a big public park. It was a beautiful day in a very picturesque part of the city that I had no idea existed.
4. Went to a city called Icheon for it's annual ceramics festival (this city is known for it's ceramics village). I realised I have a bit of an addiction to Korean ceramics. They are so beautiful. I want to buy a million things. Good thing I was by myself cause I probably would have bored the heck out of anyone else. I spent waaaay too much time looking at the endless ceramics displays. I wish I had more money. It was a great day... but I got so wrapped up in the art that I stayed too long and missed my bus back to Chuncheon. Damn it. I ended up spending money on a motel, which I just realised could have been spent on a small piece of pottery.
So that completes my previous entry. Have a look at the photos I posted before for pictures of almost everything I mentioned here.
# posted by Keri May : 11:08 p.m.
