Seoraksan National Park

Robyn and I went on a trip to Seoraksan National Park with Korean Safari at the beginning of the month. We had to meet the bus at 6am on Saturday morning, so we booked into the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon on Friday night to save the hassle of trying to get a taxi from Bucheon that early. I don't go to Itaewon much as its a bit sleazy, full of Nigerians and American GIs. The US soldiers may be speaking the same language as me, but I honestly cannot understand a word they say! Anyway, it gave us the chance to have some proper (ie westernised) Chinese grub and it tasted soooo good!

We met the bus at 6am along with our fellow travellers - Ted (who runs the company), Kate (South African, so Robyn was happy!), Joy from the Phillipines, Ken from Nebraska, Bo Mi from Seoul, Josef from Spain. We got to Seoraksan about 10am and set off on our hike.The first thing you notice in the park is the giant Buddha standing against the hillside. Its obviously an important place for Buddhists as we passed two temples on the way up the mountain.

The second thing you notice is the autumn colours everywhere. It seemed like every tree was a different shade of red, green or brown - it was very beautiful.

The hike was definitely much tougher than we all had envisaged. Robyn and Kate were the first to drop out, but the rest of us kept going. Apparently, there are spectacular views along the way, but unfortunately, a heavy fog had rolled in, so we could hardly see a thing! The going was quite good until we actually reached the rock at the top of the mountain. People who were coming down the mountain kept telling us that there were clear views from the very top which motivated us to keep going. The summit can only be reached by climbing about 900 very steep iron steps. Bo Mi and I took a 10 minute breather while the others kept going, started climbing the steps, only to be told by a man coming down the steps that the fog had reached the summit now. It had also started raining, so we decided this was enough reason to head downhill! That was a good idea as the rain made the steps slick. I slid on one of the steep steps and could have hurt myself (only to be grabbed by the man who had just told us about the fog!)

After everyone made it back to the bus (Robyn and Kate had spent their time drinking coffee and eating pizza!) we went for food and to a jimjilbang, which is a Korean sauna. This one was a bit more than just a sauna as it had a swimming pool, slides, hot tubs, outdoor pool etc. I sat in the massage tubs for ages getting my calves and feet pounded. Of course, I couldn't resist the slides either! We then went back to the hotel and drank beer, perfect end to a perfect day! The next day, we took a stroll down to the wet and windy beach (I'm sure its glorious in summer) and then headed back to Seoul.

Seokcho Beach

On the way back, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant by the side of lake which really reminded me of Wales.

Mum and Estelle come to Korea

I honestly didn't sleep for about a week before mum and Estelle arrived, partly because I was very excited and partly because I was sure that somehow mum would miss a flight/get lost in CDG airport or 1001 other possible mishaps! Luckily, they arrived safely at Incheon on Sunday morning! I went to meet them at the airport, we caught the bus back to Bucheon and got them checked into the Hotel Kobos where they were pleasantly surprised at what £30 a night gets you in Bucheon! I had to tell mum it was a "love hotel" when she noticed the condoms by the side of the bed!

I'm writing this some time after they left, so I can't remember what we did on what days, so instead I'm going to post a few of my favourite photos of their time here. It was lovely to spend time in Korea with mum and Estelle and I miss them a lot now that they're gone!

Seoul Fringe Festival

The Seoul Fringe Festival is currently taking part in Hongdae. Its organised along the lines of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in that any artist can take part in the event. The official English website can be found here.

Last weekend, Robyn and I had a wander around Hongdae to watch some street performances, but failed to find much of note, due to a lack of signposting along with the Korean disdain for street names and an English map which marked venues, but indicated no nearby landmarks, so they were nigh on impossible to find (or it could be that we are both useless at reading maps)! We couldn't find Honggik Park (one of the main venues for outdoor performances) at all...

We went back to Hongdae on Sunday to see a Fringe event showcasing five Korean rock bands - Selly, Rubi Star, Renata Suicide, Dusty Blue and Pennylane. You've got to love the descriptions in the festival programme -

Selly - their music "stirs peoples emotions and touches their hearts with implicative emotions".

Rubi Star - "expected to be the next star band for its infinite potential".

Renata Suicide - "addictive heterogenous rock" which is "gaining popularity among manias"?

Dusty Blue's write up is the most baffling - "green paper covered with dust is still green, any dust cannot change its color". Huh??

Pennylane - "unique music combining 80's style pop and emotional modern rock". Ok, that one is quite normal!

All the bands were really good and gave me a bit of faith in a music scene dominated by poppy girl groups and boy bands. Its just a shame that the gig wasn't better attended - at no point was there more than 50 people watching. Maybe it was the lack of a bar...I've never been to a gig where there was no bar (not even soft drinks). It was probably a good thing as the loos were the squatting variety!

Selly

Rubi Star

Renata Suicide

Dusty Blue

Pennylane

The Fringe Festival ends this Saturday (29th August).

Seoul sightseeing

On Lisa's last weekend, we went into Seoul and stayed overnight at the Ibis in Myeongdong. It rained heavily on Saturday, which was a good excuse to look around the shops!

In the evening, we went to see a dance musical called Sachoom at the Nagwon Theatre in Insadong. The receptionist at the Ibis booked the tickets for us and we got them discounted from 50,000 won to 35,000 won! Sachoom is an abbreviation of the Korean phrase sarangha-myeon-chumeulchueora, which means “dance if you are in love.” The show was really fun and energetic mixing different contemporary dance styles and the glistening muscles of the male dancers didn't hurt either!

Me and Lisa at Gyeongbukgung Palace

Sunday was a much nicer day, so we went to Gyeongbukgung Palace and arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony (at least, I think that's what it was). It was the third time I've been to Gyeongbukgung, but the first time when the sun was out, so I took plenty of photos! Despite the hordes of people and fake facial hair (the guards, not me!), the ceremony was quite compelling, especially with the atmospheric music and it gave an inkling of the ornate rituals that existed during the Joseon era.

Changing of the Guard ceremonyAfter looking around the palace buildings, we strolled through Insadong then took the Seoul city bus tour (which managed to cram far too many people onto the bus and thus we could only see things which were on the right hand side of the bus due to all the people standing in the aisle, sigh).

Fan maker in Insadong

Deokjeokdo

After we returned from Busan, we ventured into Incheon to catch a ferry to to Deokjeokdo, an island about 40 miles or so off the northwest coast. To get to the ferry terminal, you can catch the 12 or 24 bus from outside Dongincheon subway station (exit through the underground market and the bus stop is outside MacDonalds) or catch a taxi.

The domestic ferry terminal is next door to the international ferry terminal and you can buy boat tickets at the desks inside. We hadn't arranged anywhere to stay, but we were approached by a guesthouse owner as we got off the ferry and he drove us to the guesthouse (or yeogwan) near Seopori Beach. The yeogwan was fairly basic, but clean and cost us just 40,000 won for the room.

Seopori Beach

Deokjeokdo is relatively undeveloped by Korean standards (no high rises here) and Seopori (the main beach on the island) has very little apart from the beach, some houses/yeogwans and a handful of convenience stores and places to eat. Seopori was very scenic (it reminded me of Pembrokeshire in a way), but it was spoilt by 2 things....the smell of sewage which kept wafting along the beach (you don't get that in St Davids) and the VERY LOUD American girl who was, unfortunately, staying in the same guest house as us. We now know almost every detail about her life. Loud Americanism is sadly not an uncommon affliction in Korea!

Seopori Beach at night

There isn't whole lot to do on Deokjeokdo apart from lieing on the beach and its not really set up for western tourists (there are only Korean restaurants, no bars or discos), but as a place to hang out and relax for a day or two, it was nice enough as long as its sunny!

Busan

Lisa came over for 2 weeks on the 22nd July. We went to Busan on the KTX bullet train to spend a few days on the beach. Sadly the weather down there wasn't nearly as nice as up here in Bucheon and we had some grey days, but being British, this didn't really deter us from lying on the beach!

Brits on the beach
1. Wear as few clothes as possible.
2. Soak up the sun.
3. Go for a swim in the sea (while the lifeguards are looking in the other direction)

Koreans on the beach
1. Wear as many clothes as possible.
2. Sit in the shade.
3. Wade into the sea (wearing full attire) up to knee height (if you go out any further, the lifeguards will blow a whistle at you and make you paddle back into shallower waters).

Gwangalli Beach

Typical Korean beach attire Yes, that woman really is wearing a pacamac!You can also wear all your clothes in the sea!
Gwangalli at night

Bukchon Hanok Village

Earlier today, I ventured into a part of Seoul so far untouched by developers (I know, this is a pet peeve of mine!) known as Bukchon, an area where traditional Korean houses or hanoks have been preserved. Bukchon is inbetween the Gyeongbukgung and Changdeok palaces overlooking Samcheong (which I visited a few weeks ago)

A hanok

The area dates back 600 years or so and was once home to high-ranking officials and aristocrats. Bukchon is still residential although some hanoks have been converted into museums and guesthouses. Its a peaceful area which gives you some idea of what Seoul was like in the past (for rich people anyway) and is ideal for walking around. There are some good views from the top of the hill which were presumably clearer in Joseon times!

Bukchon street

View over Seoul from the top of the street

View in the other direction over Samcheong

Steps leading up to Bukchon from Samcheong

Getting there: the nearest subway station is Anguk. Follow the walled road which is directly across the road from Insadong-gil. Turn right and walk up the hill until you come to the Bukchon visitor centre. Various hanoks are scattered around this area, but to see the main concentration, turn left and the area above is on your left.

Monsoon Season

When I first arrived in Korea, I was warned about how hot and humid it would get during the summer months. So far, we've had a few weeks of nice, sunny weather (hot, but not so hot that you have to spend every moment huddled under the aircon), mostly perfect summer days (the type we have in Britain about once a year). However, no-one warned me about monsoon season! For the last week or so, we have had torrential rain. Busan (which I am visiting next week) made international news earlier in the week when flooding caused one street to be blocked by various debris including several upside down cars (for a picture, check out the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8153739.stm).

Apparently monsoon season lasts a couple of weeks, then there is a brief respite of sun and clear skies (when all of Korea takes their summer holidays) before typhoon season starts in mid August! Still, the rains gave me the impetus I needed to properly sort out my new-ish apartment which is now tidy and gleaming in readiness for Lisa's arrival on Thursday.

Some school students in Bucheon have been diagnosed as suffering Swine Flu, so several of the public schools here have closed for summer a week early. We were a little hopeful last week that we may get an extra week off for vacation, but sadly money rules at a hagwon, so it looks doubtful.

Samcheong-dong

Samcheong-dong is a nice little area to the north of Gyeongbukgung Palace which I stumbled across by accident. Its a pretty low rise neighbourhood with lots of traditional tile roofed buildings housing coffee shops, boutiques, galleries and restaurants. And the intriguing sounding Museum of Chicken Art!

Coffee shopRestaurant

The neighbourhood has a nice cosy feel at odds with much of what I have seen of Seoul so far.

The Museum of Chicken Art!The blatant disregard for this sign amused me!

Getting here: from Anguk station, take the opposite exit to Insadong-gil and follow the walled road.

Jongmyo Shrine and Changdeokgung Palace

Last weekend, I visited the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Jongmyo and Changdeokgung Palace. In the park outside Jongmyo were hundreds of adjoshis (they were all men) playing the same board game (not sure what it was, possibly Baduk or Changgi?)

Jongmyo is a shrine to deceased Kings and Queens of the Joseon era and is the oldest preserved Confucian shrine in the world (building started in 1394). The main hall, Jeongjeon, has 19 spirit rooms (there is also another hall called Yeongnyeongjeon built to house the memorial tablets of later Kings and Queens). Each year in May, an ancient ritual known as Jongmyo jerye is held to commemorate the late Kings and Queens which includes court music known as jerye-ak and dancing.

The park surrounding the shrine is very peaceful and its hard to believe you're in the middle of Seoul.

Jeongjeon - Main Hall

The south gate through which the spirits were believed to enter and depart (the King would enter from the east gate and the performers would enter through the west gate.

Korea was a monarchy until the Japanese annexed Korea at the start of the 20th Century and deposed the royal family. After the end of the Second World War and Korean liberation in 1945, South Korea became a republic and most of the assets belonging to the royal family were seized and they were stripped of any authority (they were seen as being partly responsible for allowing the Japanese annexation). The current heir, Yi Chung, currently lives in his ancestral home in Seoul.

Nearby Changdeokgung Palace (Palace of Prospering Virtue) is one of the 5 grand palaces of Seoul and was the site of the government until Gyeongbukgung was rebuilt in 1872. Changdeokgung became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 as it is an "outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture and garden design". To me, it didn't look a whole lot different than the other palaces in Seoul that I have visited as they are all very similar in style, but then again, the entry fee for Jongmyo and Changdeokgung was a paltry 1,000 won (about 50p), so I thought I may as well have a look around!

Changdeokgung

Outside Changdeokgung I stumbled across these sculptures made out of grass and flowers obviously harking back to a more pastoral past. Not that long ago, most Koreans lived in the countryside, but rapid economic growth in the 1970 caused mass migration to the cities. Seoul has a population of around 10 million, but is classed as one of the biggest megacities in the world as the surrounding metropolitan area (of which Bucheon is a part of) takes its population up to around 25 million. No wonder the subways are always so crowded!

Seoul is an interesting city, but the bulk of it is not very pretty and fairly monotonous (step off at any subway station and you will probably see the same vista of Dunkin' Donuts, Paris Baguette, Baskin Robbins along with identikit tower blocks. It seems a shame that the more interesting low-rise areas seem particularly susceptible to the wrecking ball. This is one side of the Cheonggycheon stream near Jonggak which is lined with coffee shops and pizza places, all nice and clean.

On the other side are lots of little Korean shopfronts ready for redevelopment. Korean history and culture isn't just royal palaces and museums, its about ordinary people too and it seems that city planners are all too keen to sweep away anything that isn't seen as modern Korea and that is a shame.