One More Day!

My trip has come full circle. The first place I visited in Seoul was Itaewon and today we returned for the last big outing.

This time we ate at KRAZE Burger. Dad, you would have loved this place. The burgers looked mouthwatering on the menu and they didn't disappoint! We both had a "KB Original" with a beef patty, tomato, pickles, onions, lettuce, cheese, and Kraze sauce. I added a fried egg on mine.

Korean Crazy Burger = KRAZE Burger

We then went to Rodeo Street, an outlet shopping center that has a lot of neat stores and of course of great deals. Check out this street entrance statue!

Tomorrow I start methodically and strategically organizing/packing! This will be an experience...wish me luck!

"Today was a good day..."

Today we started off the day just right...with Mr. Pizza! This time we had the Shrimp Gold pizza with chili sauce, potato mousse crust again, cheese, mushrooms, black olives, onions and of course shrimp! YUM!!!

Then we headed back to Insadong for some "unfinished business" at the Lee Geon Maan shop.

:-) Check out his site. www.leegeonmaan.com.

Then we went to the Andy Worhol Museum! I've always loved his work and I was so excited to finally get to see it in person! He, like Michael Jackson, left us way too soon. I can't even imagine the type of work he would have gone to create!

Oh! I finally got to see the school where Mary teaches! Check it out!

Jamsil Girl's High School

Time flies...

The last three days have been low key yet very productive days...time is flying by though!

Tuesday was the mega shopping day where we went to the Dongdaemun and Meyongdong shopping centers. We bargained a little and I did pretty well this time! I got some sweaters, a slick blazer and some neat accessories. Mary got this cute jacket that she's been sporting the last couple of days.

Later that evening we went home and finally ordered McDonalds! I was so excited! I've been waiting to do this since probably October. They deliver it right to your door!

Two cheeseburger "sets" please!

Yesterday we ventured over to Insadong. Very cool place! Lots of souvenir stores, great handmade jewelry shops and tasty street vendors! Got more stuff for my family and picked up some neat socks that I will wear probably everyday! Check them out!

Later in the day Mary discovered Lee Geon Maan, a high end leather goods store. To die for handmade leather bags, wallets, belts. Some pieces even have Hangul, the Korean alphabet, stitched on them. If you're a fan of purses and such, I highly recommend checking the web site out. www.leegeonmaan.com

We were lured in by the beauty and walked out two very happy girls. :-) :-)

Later we went to see the Korean musical, Miso at the Chongdong Theatre. "In the Joseon dynasty, a love story about a young couple, describing their love from the first time they met to an affectionate love by steps against four seasons." Very beautiful set, with very graceful actors. The salmunory drumming was absolutely amazing! I always love a good love story!

Korean Barbecue with Hyunmi and Ju Youn!

Tonight I met Mary's friend and co-worker Hyunmi Kim and her friend Ju youn Kang. We ate Korean barbecue, a unique but tasty meal!

After the meat is done cooking, you place it on a bed of lettuce, sprinkle it with spring onions, add different sauces, wrap it up and eat it! I was eating too fast to remember to take a picture but these will give you a taste!

We also enjoyed seaweed soup as well as hot and cold noodles.

Seaweed soup

Hot, or spicy noodles

Cold noodles

I had a blast meeting Hyunmi and Ju youn tonight, we shared a lot of great stories and had a lot of laughs! Like me, Juyoun's nickname is "J," she's a huge Rain fan and loves spicy foods, so we hit it off pretty well!

Ju Youn and Hyunmi

I also tasted Soju for the first time, it was pretty strong for me so I stuck to one glass. :-)

This side features Hyo-lee, a very famous Korean singer.

Tomorrow is the big shopping day! Can't wait!!!

Night!

Lunar New Year

To celebrate Lunar New Year, Dr. Ritterling and her husband Dave invited us over for a traditional meal. We enjoyed ddeokguk, a delicious rice cake soup with tasty dumplings, chopchae (noodles), bulgolgi beef, two types of kimchi and many other delectable dishes! For dessert we had Hangwa (traditional Korean cookies), pears, tangerines and a fresh cream cake that their daughter Ji Heh decorated.

Thanks again to the Ritterlings for inviting us over!

War and Peace: War Memorial of Korea

Yesterday we went to The War Memorial of Korea. I'm a big fan of war museums and love going to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison but Korea's War Memorial was like the one in Madison times a thousand. Seriously. The three-level museum featured outside and inside interactive exhibits that were very moving and informative. I don't remember learning much, if anything about the Korean War in school and yesterday I left feeling like I learned a lot about the history of the war and how it affected both the ROK and North Korea.

For dinner Mary took me to the restaurant chain Mr. Pizza. Again, can we say WOW. We ordered the Potato Gold pizza complete with cheese, sour cream, mushrooms, potatoes, bacon, little chives and get this....SWEET POTATO CRUST! :-) :-) Genius. This meal came in a very close second to the Sundubu tchigae in Guyeongju.

Mary and I are currently in talks to open a Madison location :-)

Trip to Gyeongju

Feb. 10 9:00 pm

Today was unbelievable! It was one of those days where I kept wanting to pinch myself just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. (Actually, I've been pinching myself since I landed.)

Dr. Soojin Ritterling, Mary's friend, set us up with our own taxi driver who drove us around to different sites in the city. Our first stop was the Bulguksa Temple. This historic site embodies the theme of the Buddhist Nation as well as the architecture of the Unified Silla. With Mt. Tohamsen as the beautiful backdrop, the Temple exudes an aura of "harmony and balance" amongst its visitors--I can attest to that.

Bulguksa Temple

We couldn't hold it anymore!

Next was the Seokguram Grotto where we viewed the breathtaking Seokgayeoraebul statue. Can we say WOW? I have never seen such intricately carved artwork. I could have stared at this Buddha forever. I felt very serene and peaceful walking back down to the taxi.

The Gyeongju National Musuem consisted of five exhibition halls that feature everything from detailed jewelery to sword artifacts.

Dharma Bell

Next stop was lunch where we enjoyed Sundubu tchigae, a traditional Korean tofu soup. There were nearly 10 sides that included, kimchi (pickled cabbagge), sprouts, green cabbage, mushrooms, shrimp, fish and of course rice :-). The soup came out boiling and was still steaming when I slurped my last spoonful.

I don't need to tell you how good it was, check out these before and after pics:

Before

After

After lunch we went to Anapji Pond, (also built in the Silla era) this was another really serene environment. Great photo ops! I learned that the pond was originally named Wolji, "meaning pond of the moon," but was later changed to Anapji "as geese and ducks began to fly in to the pond."

Anapji Pond

The Cheomseongdae Observatory, the oldest of its kind in Asia, was next. The bottle-shaped structure represents the "scientific nature of the Silla people." The "flowy image of the sky" is represented by the structure's circular shapes, while the "square shapes represent the flatness of the ground."

Cheomseongdae Observatory

We actually got to go inside the Cheonmachong Tomb, or "Heavenly Horse Tomb." That was a neat experience. The exhibit displayed everything from cooking utensils to royal crowns.

To cap off the day, we visited Jang Cheul Gi's pottery gallery. Woah. (Mom you would've loved it here.) I stood there photographically memorizing every plate, bowl and mug that I want for my own place. Check out his web site at www.daesanyo.com.

My descriptions of the sites are hardly doing any justice so please take some time and look these places up, maybe you'll be inspired to visit!

I'm so glad we made the trip here.

Tomorrow we look forward to another relaxing train ride back to Munjeong!

(Sources: Korea Sparkling Gyeongju handbook)

Not budging with the Bidet.

So our hotel room has a Bidet attached to the toilet. It kind of looks like a big remote with buttons to "wash" "dry" and even "massage" (massage what???). You can even control the water and seat temperature and the cleaning position.

So yeah...needless to say, I haven't used the bathroom yet.

Going to Gyeongju

Feb. 9 9:00 pm

We made it to Gyeongju earlier this evening. The train ride was very relaxing. Probably the most comfortable ride I've been on. I'm sitting here looking at a guide to the city and it looks amazing, can't wait for the tour!

Fun facts about Gyeongju:

Mascots= "Gwani and Guemi"

City flower= Forsythia

City tree= Pine tree

City bird= Magpie

Gyeongju was designated as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO

Stephen+Colbert+vs+Rain+-+Dance+Off

Early morning for us! We have a four-hour train ride to Gyeongju, very exciting! To get going on this dreary day in Seoul I thought I would watch one of my favorite Stephen Colbert videos. Coincidentally, its with one of Korea's biggest pop stars, Rain. He's also a dancer, actor, model, businessperson and designer. Think Usher or Justin Timberlake back home. Rain was also in one of my all-time favorite movies Speed Racer. He's cute. Check out the video, it's really funny!

Stephen Colbert vs Rain - Dance Off

Uploaded by stephencolbert. - Watch more comedy videos and sitcoms.

Coex Mall

Low key day for us yesterday. We took the subway to Coex Mall, an underground shopping center that boasts nearly 30 acres. It's located under Seoul's very own "World Trade Center." Great shopping with pretty much every type of store you can imagine and more including an event court for concerts, an aquarium, a movie theater and lots of other things. At Coex there is also a nice variety of restaurants.

Speaking of food, Mary introduced me to Red Mango, a popular frozen yogurt place here. I enjoyed a strawberry ice cream pudding (I think that's what it's called) while Mary had a plain yogurt with kiwi, pomegranate, granola and strawberry. Yum!

Tomorrow we venture down to the historical site/city Gyeongju for two days. Stay tuned!

I met Susan Boyle(s) yesterday!

Yesterday while we were headed back from Techno Mart, we ran into a group of kids who I think were promoting the singer Susan Boyle and celebrating her number one album (not sure in which country). I saw the masked "Susans" running through the station with her music playing and asked to take a picture, as you can see they were more than willing!

Who's Juan? My Won! Oh That One!

Here's a picture from Madison! Chopsticks and Won (Korean currency) from Mary's parents. Thanks John and Kathy!

If you think the title's cheesy. Blame Mary!

I'm staying with my good friend Mary. She lives in Seoul in a neighborhood called Munjeong and teaches English to high school girls at a school called Jamsil Girls High School. She loves it here and is contemplating staying another year. I hope she does so I can visit again!

Today for you, tomorrow for me!

Hey! I made it! I can't believe I'm Seoul, South Korea!

If you're familiar with the musical Rent, you've probably sang the title of my post before (it is a great song) but it also describes the time difference for YOU and for me. You see, Korea is like 15 hours ahead of CST which means that we're in the future--a day ahead. Get it?

Ok so that's enough for now. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more goodies!

An-nyong-hi kye-se-yo (Good-bye)