Blogs from Insadong, Seoul, South Korea, Asia
April 29th 2012
We were greeted in Seoul by a plethora of English signs and western amenities. There were 7-11’s and Dunkin’ Donuts everywhere! It’s hard to believe it’s only a 50 minute flight from Dalian! Incheon airport is the best airport in the world. Literally. Furthermore, the transportation system in Korea is phenomenal – so efficient, organized and vast. Getting to our hostel (Phil House) was easy. On our first day in Seoul we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace in the middle of the city. Upon exiting the metro station we were offered a free English speaking tour guide. Its a great deal for both the tourists and the guide. We had no idea where anything was or what it was and she, Helen (14 years old), wanted to practice her English. Gyeongbokgung translates into ‘Palace Greatly Blessed by ... read more
January 8th 2012
Jogyesa Buddhist Temple is located near Anguk Station, off line #3 in the central Insadong area. Here the temple is surrounded by practicing monks and shops which sell everything a monk might need; hats, clothes, winter gloves, incense, burners, bracelets, indoor shoes, socks, Buddha statues, calendars, prayer beads, musical instruments and more. Every shop has something to offer the "well to do being" who visits the temple. There is even a store on the grounds for a variety of other "monk essentials." However this is not why we came to Jogyesa Temple. This is one of the most accessible temples in Seoul besides Bongeunsa Temple on the south end of the city. There are over forty temples throughout South Korea which Lonely Planet introduces within their pages. Inside Seoul proper there are only four temples but ... read more
October 26th 2011
> Starving! We sat down at a restaurant for a good 15 minutes before we realized there were no servers. It turns out you have to order your food from a machine in the the middle of the dining room.The machine prints out a receipt, you hand it to the kitchen staff, and 10 minutes later your food is ready for pick up. No server, no extra cash needed for tips. Works for me! ... read more
Jetlag has turned me into an early riser
Published: October 20th 2011Asia » South Korea » Seoul » Insadong
October 19th 2011
> I woke up at 5:30 a.m. this morning. What to do...My aunt dropped me off at a nearby shopping mall called Coex. For those who are familiar with Los Angeles, Coex is much like going to The Grove, only all of the stores are underground. There's a movie theater, food court, department store, and even an aquarium. http://www.coex.co.kr/eng/intro/overview.asp ... read more
October 18th 2011
> I'm staying at my aunt's ("eemoh" in Korean) apartment in YangJaeDong--a suburb in Seoul, Korea. She is an amazing cook. This is the meal she prepared for me upon my arrival from the Incheon International airport. The large stone bowl in the middle is Korean Bean Paste soup. It's our version of Japanese Miso soup. Let's go clockwise, starting from 6 o'clock, up and around the large bowl of soup. - A bowl of multigrain rice with red beans ("hangawi"). It's a lot healthier than eating white rice. - Spicy raw crab legs with hot green chilis ("gaejang"). Packs a lot of flavor! It's sort of like ceviche, but with soft shell crab. - Spicy pickled squid with sesame seeds ("ojinguh jut"). I must admit I've never really been a fan of ... read more
Tergar meditation with Mingyur Rinopoche
Published: May 25th 2011Asia » South Korea » Seoul » Insadong
May 25th 2011
Two hundred and fifty-four people gathered into the basement performance hall on Sunday morning, February the 13th at Jogyesa Order Administrative Building to hear Mingyur Rinopche speak about Tergar meditation. This form of meditation helps calm the mind, open the heart and develop insight. From the first smiling word spoken by Mingyur, his being radiated happiness to all those in attendance. Each word chosen to communicate with came from a well of knowledge and wisdom. Every gesture and movement captured the audience’s attention with genuine kindness behind every thought presented. Over the next two hours during the talk he imparted the joys of meditation, techniques to improve meditation and the benefits of meditation. Over the first twenty minutes he spoke about the two most important things “body” and “mind.” Beginning with “body” he spoke about posture. ... read more
May 14th 2011
Unhyeongung Palace from Hapjeong station takes about forty-minutes on the green #2 line to Euljiro-sam-ga, then transfer to the orange #3 line traveling to Anguk station. Once at Anguk, go out exit number four, the palace entrance is two hundred yards down the sidewalk on the left. An entrance fee to Unhyeongung Palace is 700 won per adult including an informative pamphlet or less. Audio tour guide headsets are available in four languages, Chinese, English, Korean and Japanese, upon request at the ticket office. Born in 1852, Emperor Gojang took over the throne at age twelve until he reached adulthood his father, Heungseon Daewongun, acted as his regent. At fifteen-years old, he married his sixteen-year old bride, Empress Myeongseong. During the Joeson Dynasty, royal weddings were an extravagant event with several rounds of ceremonies such as ... read more
April 30th 2011
So this weekend was beautiful and we went to Seoul for one night and went to see the big Gyeongbokgung Palace. We took and English tour when we got there and the woman giving the tour marched us around like we were racing some other group. But the other group was just in her head. Anyways, it was really beautiful because all the cherry blossoms were out, they only bloom for 2 weeks of the year, so it was pretty special. I found it interesting that this palace and the Imperial Palace in China look so similar, but then she tried to explain to me they were both build using the same book (she seemed to assume that I would know which book but I don't, and I didn't want her to think I was stupid ... read more
March 23rd 2011
Incheon, Korea has a most unique entry. Outside of the Panama Canal it has the only sea locks we pass through around the world. Because there is such an extreme tide and strong currents in this part of Korea, it was necessary to build the floodgates to protect the ships in the inner harbor. At 30 feet, Incheon has the second greatest tidal fluctuation in the world just behind the Bay of Fundy in Canada. One notable difference between Korea and Panama is about 60 degrees of warmth. Brrrrrrrrrr! It seems that we have been following in General MacArthur's footsteps most of this trip. The "American Caesar” was in Darwin, Australia, Manila and Corregidor during WWII. Incheon is where he launched an amphibious attack during the Korean War to recapture this strategic port and retake Seoul ... read more
