No, I didn't make that word up. It really exists. Yesterday we visited Changgyeonggung, the 15th century palace built by King Sejong for his retired father. It was also the stage for the true history of Crown Prince Sado (click for the wiki page). Prince Sado was starved to death on the orders of his father, King Hyojang. King Hyojang was in a difficult position as execution in those days for teh crimes of treason, rape, sedition and so on often also meant the simultaneous execution (or at the minimum) banishment of both the father and sons of the convicted, in this case that would mean the king and his grandson. So instead of execution, the king ordered him locked in a rice chest and left him without food or water in the blazing sun for 8 days. As a consequense Prince Sado died. But all is not as simple as it seems ... Today we went to classes as usual. Everyone was a bit tired after the big weekend, but we studied hard and lived through the experience. After school we went to Namdaemun Hanok maeul, Namsan tower and Namdaemun markets. It was also a surprise birthday party for Parky, just like every year. The DMZ tour was pretty universally appreciated on Saturday. We travelled quite a long way to get there and back, but it was a great lesson in Korean history and culture. We went to the Korean War Museum, the North Korean Exhibition Centre, to a look-out over the DMZ into North Korea (where we just happened to be at the exact same time as an English-speaking tour guide who was there with friends and gave us the whole tour in English for free) and the 4th tunnel. You can see much of what we did here http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/dmz/dmz.cfm?Subject=east. We got back to Seoul in good time on Saturday afternoon, but headed straight into a massive traffic jam cause by a protest in downtown Seoul. People were protesting the government’s handling of the Seowol Ferry disaster as few years ago, on which over 300 high school students died. We didn’t go to see the protest for obvious reasons, but it was apparently pretty big (http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_Print.asp?type=news&nseq=199683) Anyway, start of week 2 now. Let’s see what this week brings :) It's 5:30 Saturday morning, a refreshing -2*c, and we are getting ready to get a bus for the DMZ tour today. This will be a short message, but I have to say that yesterday we saw the most entertaining show I can remember seeing "Cooking Nanta". It was crazy. 90 minutes of people hitting stuff with other stuff. See the link below. Cookin Nanta Another hard day at the office. Nothing special to report today, including the K-wave experience (i.e. not too special) but you can't win them all. It was topped off though with a splendid 정식. 정식 is the traditional Korean meal table where everyone gets their own rice and a small main dish and then the table is filled to the brim with side dishes. Definitely a winner. We also got a couple more weird-building award contenders. Not too much to report today. It was a fun day. The students studied in the morning as usual and then we took a quick walk around the block to point out the restaurants where you can still get a good lunch for under $5. Once you know what you are looking for they are pretty easy to find. I think the students now have more lunch restaurants than they have lunches left during their time in Seoul. They seemed pretty happy with that. After lunch the students went to Samsung D'light. The highlight of which appeared to be the Virtual Reality Rollercoaster Ride which left a few of the students, quite literally, in tears (joy or fear? it was kind of hard to tell). I didn't get a turn, but from the students' reactions it seems to have had quite an impact. I'll post a couple photos, and also a few of the weird-but-cool buildings that seem to be springing up around Seoul :) On the second day of school all went according to plan, well history anyway. It was group 2’s turn to get lost on the way to school and turn a 15 minute walk into a 45 minute one. But kudos to them, they were trying to get to school on foot, avoiding the toll of the subway. Of course I’m not just talking about the cost of the ticket, but also the cost to your dignity when you have to physically push people aside to force your way into a tin can to hurtle sardine-like through the darkness to get out at a place that for all intents and purposes appears to be no different than the one from which you had just come. This, of course, is a subjective account of the Seoul subway system. Objectively, it is said to be one of the best in the world and I believe that. However, I believe that is said by engineers, city planners and the agoraphobic. Anyway, we had a good day. We went to Dongdaemun history museum and Myeongdong shopping and all-round-hip-place-to-be precinct. We ate barbequed pork belly. (Drop mic, exit stage left) Our first day of school was a great success. It started a little tardy as one group of kids too the train in the wrong direction for a start. Overall, I would say that is pretty good. Classes were interesting. The students were at first a bit overwhelmed with the language, but slowly and surely the ears get in tune and it all comes together. At lunch the students had their first taste of real freedom and they were left to fend for themselves. They came back happy and not hungry, so we didn’t ask too many questions. But I think that steaming wok which you can see in one of the photos on the street may have had a lot to do with it. After lunch the students took a tour of Gangnam. Our school is located in Gangnam, it isn’t just because we love the song so much. The students were quite surprised by the homemade jam exhibition in one of Seoul’s largest bookstores, and to be quite frank so was I. But being the easy-going, roll-with-the-punches kinda guys we are, we read books and ate jam like it was the most natural thing going. We had Chinese for dinner. I know that we have only been here two days, but eating Chinese is the staple of all Korean uni students and anyone else on a budget, so I reckon it is still culturally appropriate. There other thing about Chinese food in Korea is that it is freaking delicious. 5 stars from all judges :) |
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