Buddha's Birthday: Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival

Did you know that Buddha's birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar calendar every year in East Asian countries? No, I didn't either until I got a bonus day off work for a Korean National Holiday in honour of it - nice-uh! Buddha's birthday was on May 10 this year which was a Monday giving us a sweet 3 day weekend. 

This day is celebrated across East Asia in various different ways. In Korea, temples are decorated with lots of lanterns and according to Wikipedia "on the day of Buddha's birth, many temples provide free meals and tea to all visitors". The Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul is the key Korean celebration held in the lead up to Buddha's Birthday. This year it ran over the weekend of May 6 - May 8 and included a huge lantern parade, the chance to make your own lantern and various traditional performances and ceremonies that you can watch or have a go at yourself.  

Paper lanterns decorating Jogyesa Temple in central Seoul.

Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival

Back in April we travelled with our posse from Gwangju-si to the Spring Flower Festival at Yeouido in central Seoul. It was one of the first properly warm weekends of the year after a long, bitterly cold winter. The arrival of Spring in Korea is celebrated by lots of local festivals all over the country where people flock to admire the wild flowers and enjoy a bit of stroll in the sunshine. 

Pretty cherry blossom at the Spring Flower Festival. 

Seoul Museums: Part 3 - War Memorial of Korea

Our third museum outing in Seoul was to the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan-dong. Despite being called a memorial it's really more like a museum and a huge one at that. It first opened in 1994 and it is apparently the biggest landmark of its kind in the world. The museum documents Korean military history with all kinds of artefacts on display ranging from stone arrowheads from prehistoric times to modern guns, tanks, helicopters and planes. 

The War Memorial museum of Korea. (Photo from Wikipedia)

Seoul Museums: Part 2 - Seodaemun Prison History Hall

On a clear, cold day in late March we visited our next museum in Seoul. This time it was the sombre, imposing Seodaemun Prison History Hall in northern Seoul near Inwangsan mountain and Dongnimmun subway station. This former prison stands as a symbol of the bravery of the Korean Independence activists and as a grim reminder of the cruelties committed by Colonial Japanese forces during its occupation of Korea. 

One of the red brick buildings of Seodaemun prison against the backdrop of modern apartments buildings in Seoul.

Seoul Museums: Part 1 - National Museum of Korea

Over several rather chilly weekends in March and early April we visited three of Seoul's major museums. We hadn't really looked at any of Seoul's museums up until this point despite having been in Korea for 10 months or more as we'd decided to save them up as a fun activity to do in the bitterly cold winter months. Obviously we must have got a bit distracted as we didn't make it until the very end of Winter/ beginning of Spring but, hey, the best laid plans and all that...

The first museum we visited was the National Museum of Korea which houses an astonishing number of important artefacts and relics (over 220,00 according to Wikipedia) that tell the story of Korea's history. It's a huge, beautiful building and very new, having only opened in 2005 after 8 years of construction. Apparently, it's the sixth biggest museum in the world and according to Wikipedia "the main building was built to withstand a magnitude 6.0 Richter Scale earthquake" though Korea thankfully doesn't get too many of those (most quakes here are well below 3.0 and pass unnoticed just like back home in England). 

Outside the National Museum of Korea (from Wikipedia). 

Hiking and "Eye Shopping" in Seoul - Inwangsan and Insadong

On the first Sunday of April we decided to take a little hiking trip to Seoul. It was a pretty mild day considering how early in the year it was still (it takes a long time for Winter to recede here in South Korea and the comfortable, pretty Spring season is unfortunately way too short). There are a lot of mountains to hike in Seoul just as there are in the rest of the country (hiking is one of the great Korean passions) but the main place that people visit to get their hiking fix is Bukhansan National Park on the Northern edge of Seoul. We, however, decided to avoid the hordes of tourists and walking-pole wielding, visor-clad ajummas (older married Korean woman) by going to a much quieter (and smaller) mountain called Inwangsan to see the Shamanist shrine, part of the old Seoul Fortress Wall and small Buddhist temples there.

Darth Vader-esque ajumma visor - you gotta love 'em.

Seoul Grand Park Zoo

Way back on the last weekend in February we went to the zoo in Seoul Grand Park.with our British 'chums' Danny and Charlotte. This was their last weekend in Korea as they were heading off to Thailand to teach and travel later that week so this was one of the last times we would see them for a while (sniff sniff). Actually, this is a problem that seems common to life as a teacher in Korea - you find some people who on get along with, become good mates with them and then you're brutally wrenched apart when they leave to go back home or move onto a different country. Suppose that is a situation common to most ex-pats though, regardless of their country of residence or their profession.  

So we were pretty sad that they were leaving but we had a good day out at the zoo. Even though it was still only February it was a pretty pleasant day, not too chilly and clear. It's a really cheap day out, at only 3000 won (about £1.80 or $3) for an adult ticket which is incredibly cheap though I think you have to pay extra if you want to see the dolphin show (we didn't bother with it). It's a big zoo, with the usual animals on display and most of them seemed to be well looked after with plenty of space to move around. The most notable exception was probably the wolves who looked bored and thoroughly miserable pacing up and down in  their too-small, glass fronted enclosure. The zoo is actually within the grounds of Seoul Grand Park and we took a colourful little motorised 'train' from the main gate/car parking area of the zoo to the entrance. We took a leisurely stroll around the zoo, checking out the monkey house, the giraffe enclosure, the tigers and various other exhibits. I used the zoo as an opportunity to get my dslr camera put and test my tripod skills, taking lots of pictures of the animals - I even managed to snap the extremely rare Lesser Spotted Horned Waygook that had managed to slip out of it's pen (see below for the incredible picture - National Geographic eat your heart out!). 

Dragon Hill Spa - Our first jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) experience

We were given a few days of vacation during the first week of February for the Korean New Year (based on the lunar calendar, like China) and found ourselves at a bit of a loose end. We actually got Wednesday to Friday off plus the weekend as usual so we had quite a bit of time on our hands. Most Koreans used the time to visit their families (despite the Government asking people not to travel domestically due to the foot and mouth outbreak here) or, like the resident foreigners, to go travelling abroad for a few days. Unfortunately, we didn't realise we had the time off so hadn't made any plans. It was still icy cold in Korea then and we'd just got back from sunny Thailand so we did debate making a last minute attempt to get somewhere warm like Taiwan or even Okinawa. 

However, we eventually came to our senses (and checked our bank balances!) and decided to stay put, relax at home on the main day of celebrations (the Thursday) when everything was closed and explore Seoul on the Friday while it was a bit quieter. On that Friday, we met our friend Dean in Seoul and went to the Dragon Hill Spa for our first jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) experience. The jjimjilbang is a unique (and very Korean) experience and can't really be compared to anything I've ever experienced back home. Jjimjilbangs are basically public bathhouses that are segregated by sex with a floor for mean and one for women and contain a variety of hot and cold pools, showers, dry saunas and massage tables. Most of them also have a unisex area on a different floor where you can buy snacks and drinks and watch TV. You can even stay for the night which is cheap but apparently a bit uncomfortable as you're given a sleeping mat to lay on  the ondol-heated floor with and a block of wood  for a pillow and you're in a room with lots of other people, most of whom don't bother switching their phones off all night. We've not tried this form of accommodation yet as it sounds a bit too basic and a good double bedroom in a love motel is so cheap here but if I was strapped for cash I would certainly consider it. 

The entrance to the Dragon Hill Spa. (Care of the Dragon Hill Spa website - unfortunately I didn't get any of my own photos of the spa as I didn't have the guts to bring a camera in there! All photos are from other websites.)

Free Korean class and Gyeongbokgung Palace

Weekends have been a little different round our way recently. Back in October, our British neighbours downstairs finished their contract and went back home and they were replaced by a nice Canadian couple. Our new neighbours wanted to learn some Korean and were going to free morning classes on Saturdays in Seoul so we ended up going along too. I have to admit at this point that we stopped going to our Korean Hagwon (private academy) after 2 months as we were fed up with having to make the long journey to Bundang twice a week through heavy traffic and we weren't really enjoying the course. So this free class seemed like an ideal alternative.

The free Korean classes are apparently run by volunteers, young guys and gals who want to get some teaching experience on their resumes. They do a great job, really focussing on getting the pronunciation correct and going at a steady pace so that you have time to really absorb what is being taught. Despite the fact that we've already been learning Korean we went with our neighbours to the super beginners class just to really reinforce what we already know. Our new favourite Korean word is 고구마 (goguma) meaning sweet potato just because it sounds funny if you say it in a silly voice! We get a short talk on some aspect of Korean culture at each class too which is interesting. We found out the other day that kimchi (Korean spicy fermented cabbage) might be able to cure cancer which was a bit of a revelation! I think we have finished the super beginners class now and should hopefully be starting the beginners class in the new year. Our Korean is still shockingly poor but I think we're at the stage now where we understand what people are saying when they're speaking to small children or their dogs so it's a start at any rate! The only drawback is that the free classes are at 10am to 12pm on Saturday mornings and are in Gangnam in Seoul which is an early start for the weekend but they are completely free. The classes we were taking at the Korean Hagwon were pretty expensive which is another reason why we quit them. Finishing at midday is a good excuse to go to Dos Tacos for some tasty burritos too, which is never a bad thing! Also, having a reason to get up early (we have to leave our apartment at 8am) and get into Seoul gives us the impetus to actually start exploring our new capital city, something we have done shockingly little of so far.

On a very cold, windy Saturday afternoon in late November we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Northern Seoul after our Dos Tacos lunch. Gyeongbokgung translates into English as the "Palace of Shining Happiness" and it was first built way back in the 14th century and was the largest palace in Seoul. Unfortunately, as with many of the great cultural buildings in Korea, it was nearly destroyed by the Japanese government during the Japanese occupation of Korea. According to Wikipedia "From 1911, the Japanese government systemically demolished all but 10 buildings during the Japanese occupation of Korea and ultimately constructed the Japanese General Government Building for the Governor-General of Korea in front of the throne hall." Since the late 1980s, the Korean Government have been restoring the palace and there's now about 40% of the original buildings standing again. It is still a pretty big palace complex so it must have been huge back before the occupation.

Inside the Gyeongbok Palace complex. The building in the centre is Geunjeongjeon Hall, the Throne Hall, where the King would greet foreign envoys and ambassadors.

Close up of Geunjeongjeon Hall (Throne Hall). Apparently this building is Korea's National Treasure No. 223. I don't know why but the National Treasure numbering system here really tickles me!

We witnessed the changing of the guards while we were visiting the Palace. It was a very colourful ceremony, with a band of musicians in bright period costumes playing traditional instruments accompanying the guards with their beautiful banners.

Guards at the entrance to the Palace. Note the nicely painted ceiling of the gate and the Throne Hall in the background.

If you looked back out of the main entrance gate you got an interesting juxtaposition of the old and the new with the towering buildings and heavy traffic outside.

An ornate drum just inside the Palace complex, near the gate.

The beginning of the changing of the guard ceremony. The guards' costume included long bird feathers in their caps which I thought made them look a bit like owls.

Some of the beautiful banners being carried by the guards.

Guards marching out into the courtyard.

All the guards formed up into ranks in the main courtyard. It was a pretty incredible sight with the mountains rising up behind them.

The band of musicians formed up and ready to march. The music sounded very strange to my Western ears but I liked it. It sounded extremely "Eastern" (to me anyway) with lots of rhythmic percussion and an odd, thin, reedy sounding wind section.

The wind section, replete with my favourite instrument of the lot, the giant conch shell!

The percussion section, including the bizarre looking instrument on the right.

Cymbal bashing.

There seemed to be a few ceremonies being staged for the tourists at the Palace that day. I think another one was a recreation of members of the Joseon Dynasty era (1392–1897) Royal Family going out on a trip accompanied by their guards, musicians and other servants. That was very colourful too and had everyone snapping away like mad on their cameras and with this being Korea, home to a population seemingly obsessed by taking pictures of everything (most people here seem to have digital slrs rather than the standard compact point and shoot cameras), it was a hell of a snap fest so to speak!

A recreation of the Royal court preparing to depart on a trip (I think!).

We had arrived a bit too late for the English speaking tour of the Palace complex so we just wandered around on our own armed with a map. I don't think we really did justice to the Palace and all the other royal buildings as it was so cold that day we rushed round it rather quickly. I think if we had visited on a slightly more pleasant day it would have been a really nice place to stroll around as there were pretty extensive grounds including a lake stretching out behind the main palace buildings and it's surrounded by craggy hills (or mountains - not sure if they're too big to be hills) that rise suddenly up from the ground as hills often do here. We did look around the main sights though and we used the toilets in the National Folk Museum (located in the Palace grounds) though I don't think that counts as properly looking around it! Maybe we can try again in Spring!

A traditional bowl shaped sun dial in the Palace complex.

A Korean tour guide armed with a novelty stick topped with a white foam hand commands the attention of her audience.

Gyeonghoeru, the Royal Banquet Hall, was used to hold important state banquets during the Joseon Dynasty era.

Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, was a small, two-story hexagonal pavilion built in 1873 with a little bridge leading out to it.

Part of the roof of the National Folk Museum of Korea.

An ornate building (perhaps a well or a bell pavilion) located just outside the Palace that has become a sort of traffic island. I liked the way it was oddly juxtaposed with the new skyscrapers.

One of the only pieces of graffiti we've seen in Korea was just outside the Palace complex.