Day 10- Seoul, Korea

Today would be my last in Seoul, and boy was it a long one. It started extra early after a long night before and went well past our regular times. Needless to say, I am tired and beat; my feet are sore and my eyes heavy, but it was so worth it.

We started off where it all began, in Gwanghwamun Square. We were there to pick up a stroller and by happy accident came across the changing of the guards at Gyeongbokgung Palace an event we missed the first time through. It was really neat to see even though it was across the street. If you can plan your trip to the palace around the times they change the guards, it's worth the trouble.

Our original destination for the morning excursion was Jogyesa Temple the last on my list of must see places to visit. Founded in 1910 it is the only temple located within the walls of old Seoul (though Seoul has expanded greatly since and encompasses many temples today), Jogyesa is the home of Seon (zen) Buddhism in Korea. Today (probably longer) a stunning flower arrangement was set on the temple grounds. It was beautiful to see this little oasis in the heart of the city amid highrise office blocks. I don't know what it is about the temples in Asia, I find them to be such beautiful objects and can find peace on their grounds almost quicker than I can can at home or in a church. Jogyesa is only a stones throw away from Gyeongbokgung Palace, so you have no excuse not to see this treasure for yourself.

Next we hit the shopping center of Insadong! This to was close by, in fact we walked from point to point for most of today's trip since they strung together quite nicely. Apparently nearly 40% of Koreas crafts are sold in this nearly half mile stretch of road. Its famous for its artists community with several galleries right along the main drag and even more scattered down the many side streets. You can even make some of your own, there are a few places where one can paint a tea cup, make a jeweled box or ring and make Korean paper craft (Hanji). This is something I wish more areas similar to Insadong would take in in their own communities, the proliferation of the arts is always a good cause. We shopped for the remainder of the morning until the stroller we had was laden with as much as it could carry. I found a miniature of my favorite Korean mask that I first saw at the Folk Village, a goofy toothy thing that's simply wonderful. I even did some early Christmas shopping!

After that we went back to the throngs of shops and people in Myeongdong. You may remember that the first time we were here was for an activity, now we were back with reservations and ready for action. Today we were finally going to make our own kimchi. For those of you who don't know, kimchi is a staple of the Korean diet, I've rarely had a meal without it in one form or another. It is essentially fermented cabbage, stuffed with chilli pepper, onions, radish- all kinds of stuff. There is really no set way to make kimchi, it has 196 or so recipes so depending on the season and the region, your kimchi could be very different. My sister found a Korean Cultural experience which included trying on traditional clothes, and making little hanji mirrors but what I was looking forward to most was making kimchi. We were given our bowls of ingredients and followed along with the instructor as she told us what to chop and slice. Then we mixed it all together and slathered the red paste mixture all over our cabbage. It was really messy and really fun, and best part is I get to bring it home with me! Who wants kimchi pancakes? It was a really wonderful experience that I got to share with my sister and it was really a fun cultural experience for both foreigners and long time residents.

After we made our kimchi the three of us hit the Lantern Festival at Cheonggyecheon stream, the “river walk”. We had come here before to back when they were having a garlic festival and setting up the lanterns. I was a little disappointed that we had to go in the afternoon, we though we wouldn't have enough time to make it back to our train. So we went early, it was still light outside so the lanterns were unlit, but in the end I am glad we went there before nightfall. The Lantern Festival officially started on Friday and after dinner (Happy Birthday John!) Jason and I had just enough time to run back down to Cheonggyecheon stream and check out the lanterns at night. I think nearly all of Seoul was trying to cram itself into the tiny walkways surrounding the stream, Jason and I stayed on the streets above which were nearly as packed as those down below. There were queues that would probably stretch on for blocks if they were unfolded. It was just a massive sea of humanity, all of it trying to get down to the limited space below. So I am glad that in the afternoon the three of us could go along and get up close and look at some of the lanterns and pose with them because it would have been impossible that night.

It was a really long day, but we did so much amazing stuff that my tired feet and sore muscles are but mere annoyances. I couldn’t imagine a more fitting and enjoyable send off for Seoul and for Korea. Tomorrow I will probably just hang out with my family after church and pack for the flight home, so I think that is it in terms of recording the sites I've visited and the places I've seen. This trip has been absolutely amazing and God has blessed me in so many ways through it. I have much more to write about though, so keep an eye out for tomorrows post!