Week of May 11-15

This week began with a "down" day. It rained most of Monday so I stayed in, not doing a lot. Finally went out in the late afternoon to run an errand and get a cup of coffee at the local Starbucks -- just to be out and with people. I was originally supposed to spend Tuesday doing something with Sherrie from church; that then was reduced to dinner as her day became too full. Even dinner was canceled as time got away from her, so I ended up not doing much more during the day on Tuesday than on Monday.

Tuesday evening I went to HaeJung and MinJu's for a pajama party. HaeJung's husband was out of town so we girls had a night on our own. I discovered that MinJu is quite an artist. She had a notebook filled with art, some original, some copied from pictures. This blue footed booby (my favorite animal from the Galapagos trip) sketched from a picture in a book, is just great.

On Wednesday MinJu went to school in the morning returning at 12:30. Then we decided to go to Olympic Park. Went via bus which took a l-o-o-n-g time because of heavy traffic. The weather was gorgeous, sunny, with a cool breeze, and when one looked directly overhead blue skies! Olympic Park contains a mound which was a fortress (Mongchonteseong from the Baekji kingdom); it was identified through excavations in the early 1980's but looks like a gently rolling hillside. MinJu and I were sitting at the edge of the mound showing off the beautiful purple heart ring MinJu selected for me.
















Olympic Park is most known for its many sculptures scattered throughout the area. We were able to see quite a number while riding this train throughout the park.

















We ended the day with dinner at a restaurant known for Poe Sam (보쌈), pork which is eaten wrapped inside sesame leaves with hot sauce and garlic. It's quite delicious; I'd had it for the first time last year and loved it. Yes, we ate all of this!










Thursday I returned to major sightseeing, doing a bit more walking than I'd planned as I zigged when I should have zagged. As a result I went to Independence Park, somewhat by accident. Dongnimmun (Independence) Gate and the surrounding parkland were under repair/reconstruction so were closed off. But the prison buildings where Korean patriots were jailed, tortured (yes, waterboarding was represented), and executed during the period of Japanese occupation were open and available for touring. Fortunately, I entered and managed to stay ahead of hordes of children. Obviously this is a popular school trip. The pictures show one prison building (#12) and the watchtower. I elected not to take advantage of the hands-on opportunity to sit in the torture seat. . . .












Then I walked to Sajikdan which is a sacred place where the royalty of the Joseon Dynasty undertook sacrificial rites to the gods of land and grain to ensure good harvests.

From there I headed up (yes, more climbing) Inwangsan, which is the westernmost of the four guardian mountains whose mythic representation is the white tiger. But first I saw a group of senior citizens playing a type of croquet; no beautiful green lawns for this game!














Then I discovered a newly-constructed shrine which celebrates Tangun, the founder of the Korean nation.
I continued walking up the road, past military and police outposts, and would have missed the turnoff to the path up Inwangson had it not been for the assistance of an elderly man who was sitting (why?) along the edge of the road and walked with me through a gravel parking area with construction equipment and pointed out the start of the trail. Much of the trail was well-marked, often with steps and railings.



Several times I ventured farther afield and turned back as the path became questionable. I did consider the fact that I was by myself and didn't want to fall, even if this was hardly wilderness. Throughout most of the walk I heard the drumming and singing of a shamanistic ceremony being carried out at Guksadang, a shamanist shrine available for rent by shamans for services.



Guksadang is said to house the spirit of Joseon founder, Yi Seonggye (King Taijo). It was built in 1395 on Namsan and moved to Inwangson in 1925 when the Japanese wanted the Namsan site for their own shrine.


Next to this shamanistic shrine is Seonbawi (Zen Rock), a large rock (coincidentally home to hundreds of pigeons) which looks like a robed Buddhist monk. It has shamanistic meaning but also has a Buddhist temple on the back side.


Further up the path I encountered this small Buddhist shrine.









And I was quite amused after having been huffing my way uphill for more than half an hour to find this exercise area. Only in Korea. . . .










Once I made my way back down to street level, I quickly found a taxi for the trip home!

Friday I left early for a 12:30 lunch date in order to do my last poongmulnori shopping before meeting Katherine Lee at InsaDong for lunch. I had never met her, but she's a friend of friends who was very active with the 2008 Buyeo Festival to which 10 members of Shinparam went. We had a delicious meal at a vegetarian restaurant.

I then did my final shopping (I hope) at InsaDong before returning home to relax a bit and write this. I once again enjoyed watching the young men making and hawking their honey candy.