Yesterday’s echo.Tomorrow’s mystery.Today

Yangdong Folk Village

This is claimed to be Korea's largest Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) Folk Village. According to the pamphlet, their are six folk villages in Korea. This one known best for its size, degree of preservation, numerous cultural assets, traditionalism, beautiful natural setting, as well as its many local specialties. This village would have taken all day to explore it entirely!

Interior of one of the many buildings.

Traditional kimchi pots that look much like many of the modern ones used today.

There is actually a second floor, but it didn't look solid enough to test. I would hate to be the bright guy with my legs dangling through a cracked floor & try to explain that one.

Multi-level walkways to different areas of the building.

The tied wraps you see hanging are called meju. Meju is a fermented soybean product used for making doenjang jjigae, a popular Korean stew. This particular place caters to the hungry tourists.

I do believe this stage was where karaoke first became so popular here in Korea. OK, I'm really not positive on this one. In the background you can see a small portion of the village.

Thanksgiving Day!

Thanks to the United Seaman's Service, we were able to have an incredible turkey dinner with all the trimmings. However, I typically work from 2 -10 pm, so I actually enjoyed the turkey dinner for breakfast.

Mandalynn (Amanda), Taunya & Drew quickly pose for a Thanksgiving Day shot. Drew & Taunya are Canadian, but joined in for the great food.

This place wasn't the easiest to find.

It's been a while since I've had a meal like this.

This is the aftermath of the "dinner".

Taunya & the menu.

Learning Calligraphy

Thank you Busan Buddhism for sharing the beginning secrets of the art of calligraphy. I've since learned that this group who dedicate themselves to the teachings of Korean culture is known as HanNaRae Culture Inc.

Many of us had an opportunity to have the professional instructor make an art piece for us. We each chose a word to be translated in Korean. This masterpiece just so happens to be mine that she is creating.

Speaking of masterpieces... Here is my creation of a few Korean script with an artistic flare. She gave me a kind laugh when she first saw my work.

From about 6 different sheets of paper I worked on, the calligraphy instructor actually selected the circular one as my best piece. She then displayed them among the other workings of the group. Once you find mine, it isnt' too hard to spot, is it?

I must admit that I copied this photo idea from someone. Mine didn't turn out a nice as hers either.

Jeju Island (Jeju-do)

Finally, I've developed my film to a digital format. These photos are from my disposable camera, so there's not much pixel clarity. Although, I do hope it portrays a brief view of my small adventure.

It was interesting visiting the island in which I desperately wanted to live on. Luckily, I was able to fly on a solo trip to Jeju-do. While the island is only 1,147 square miles, there is still so much more to explore. The last 5 pictures on this posting are from a tour boat ride which left from the southern city of Seogwipo.

I'm not sure how many times this dolharubang (stone grandfather) has been hugged, but he still seems to enjoy the attention. There were 45 original harubang found on the island by the first settlers. There are many theories as to what purpose they served, but history can't place them. I was informed if you rub its nose you'll get pregnant. I opted against such an action, only because I don't think I'd carry the weight well.

Quiet time in the city of Jeju-si. This side street is in the main city on Jeju Island.

I chose to hike Hallasan which is the highest mountain in S. Korea. Pretty crazy when you consider this mountain is based on a small island. A portion of the hike consisted of volcanic rock.

Yongduam Rock, which is known for its resemblance of a dragon's head. This structure was created from a volcanic lava flow about 2 million years ago.

Hallasan Mountain! The highest peak in S. Korea!

Despite the forced grin, I was very dissapointed I was unable to climb to the peak of Hallasan. It may have been closed for revegetation, but truthfully I'm not sure.

Cheonjiyeon Falls, in which I have Bandar and Muhammad to thank for this photograph.

The boat guide drove us tourists out to this deserted island off the southern coast of Jeju-do. Look at the size of this cave on Beomseom Island. It's easiest if you compare it to the human on the far right side of the picture. Our boat steered into it for a quick close up view.

Jeonbang Waterfall, in the distance, claims to be the only seaside waterfall in Asia. Sorry, no zoom lens on these disposable cameras.

Different caves on Beomseom Island. Once again, capare the size of these caves to the person on the right.

If you enlarge this picture, you can view some of the people on this tiny islet. So, you may have wondered what all these people are doing on this "deserted island"? The island of Beomseom was covered with people fishing all day. I can take a guess, but I'm still not exactly sure how so many people make it out to this island. There was not one boat parked around the whole island for transport.

I now stand corrected from the comment above. The people you see in this picture are out scuba diving. The boat drops them off & they'll radio back in when the group is ready to be picked up. Thanks for informing me Allison! Guess I should have noticed their wetsuits in this photo. Oops...

Behind the tree branches is a free free standing rock named Oedolgae. In the far distance is Beomseom Island.

Please view Jeju-do for more pictures.

Busan APEC- Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation

Friday the 18th was one of the main days President Bush was in town. All public schools had the day off & most English academies joined in for an extended APEC weekend. Drew, Denis, & I went to the main APEC areas in search of all the protest hype. Needless to say, the areas were more deserted than I've ever seen!

Bexco Stadium in the background.

Four important people in the center with guards watching closely.

After a tough day of searching for anything to report back on, we decided to take a break. It's exhausting looking for presidents all day long!

For more pictures, please view them here.

APEC Culture Day in Nampo-dong

The Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was held in town recently. During the extent of APEC, Nampo-dong tailored itself to educating the foreign visitors. Amanda & I decided to advantage of this nearby cultural day event.

Traditional Wedding Ceremony

Bride in the middle.

Amanda & I are shown how to properly enjoy tea & rice cake. They were so nice to not laugh at us. My thumb is awkwardly raised & Amanda chose to demonstrate with the wrong hand. In the end, Amanda ended up performing this traditonal practice quite well. I on the other hand, felt it necessary to leave room for improvement. After all, I didn't want to "one up" the ladies who were teaching us.

Traditional rice cake pounding while other children stand in line for different activities. Many people wear masks when ill, so they don't spread it to others.

So why exactly didn't this "Honkey on the Drum" gather a drum circle?

The Korean Tea Ceremony in the Women's Quarter (Kyubang Darye). Kyubang Darye is the ritual ceremony conducted by wives of officials. They invite friends or neighbors to share friendship by preparing & serving tea. In their quarters, they learn virtue & etiquette to be a proper lady through tea ceremony. The ladies in the photo above are those who allowed us to sign the visitor book and also taught us the beginnings of ritual tea ceremonies.

This seesaw, or Neolttwigi, is a traditional folk game for women. I've since tried this with a friend who was wearing high heeled shoes. As one might guess, it didn't work quite as well as you see here.

More pictures from this APEC weekend.

Taejongdae

Drew, Andrea, & I had the chance to visit Taejongdae on Yeongdo (Yeong Island). It was roughly an hour bus ride away & is located on the southernmost tip of Busan. Apparently on a clear day, you can see Tsushima Island in Japan.