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Background: Korea was an independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium. Following its victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan occupied Korea; five years later it formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north. During the Korean War (1950-53), US and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1987, South Korean voters elected ROH Tae-woo to the presidency, ending 26 years of military dictatorships. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President KIM Tae-chung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il.

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By Bekah
April 23rd 2006

Blossoms Bloom while Bloomers are Blooming Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Stoned Fortress

The first sign of spring in Korea comes with the overwhelming number of blossoms that line pathways, tower over streets, create walls, and brighten the grey streets of Seoul and stone buildings of the Yonsei campus. At this point, the weather is still cold, despite the fact that the lingering feelings of spring allude to warmth and make you wish you could put on a mesh shirt and a flowy skirt. These beautiful blossoms last a total of about 2-3 weeks. This means that at any given place where over 100 buds can be seen, you are likely to see [View Full Entry]

By Munchkin
April 23rd 2006

Homesick (Flames 1, Ducks 0) Asia » South Korea » Seoul

My fridge

Maybe it is a necessary part of travel. Sickness, the kind of sickness that takes over any will to fight, that makes your hair on your head hurt, that makes you feel like you are being twisted inside out, is almost a requirement of long-term travel. It is true that the body is exposed to all kinds of new and exciting diseases, bugs, germs, pollutants, and the like, but what seems more relevant is that the mind and the heart are also exposed to a new kind of outlook. Getting traveling bugs is almost a physical manifestation of “shedding one’s skin”. [View Full Entry]

By Kristy and Colin
April 19th 2006

Happy Easter Part 2 !! Asia » South Korea » Seoul

First pic of Cherry Blossom Tree

Ok Gerry, maybe that last one was a bit of a downer. This will be the 'Happy' version of the "Happy Easter" entry. Kristy and I headed to the Children's Grand Park here in Seoul last Saturday (day before Easter) to check out the Cherry Blossom trees that everybody had been talking about. These trees are also in every second Korean television commercial (fake ones of course), usually with a romantic couple embracing under the slow motion shower of petals (who knows what they are advertising...but they are clearly in love and happy about something). They were very beautiful, and when [View Full Entry]

By Munchkin
April 18th 2006

City Hall Lighting Ceremony Asia » South Korea » Seoul

LIGHTS

The Lotus Lantern Festival is a highly anticipated even every year in Seoul. A buddhist festical, and to commemorate Buddhas birthday, a festival is held surrounding the image of the Lotus Flower. Lotus lanterns are made and lit, an elaborate and illuminated parade prominades down the street of Jogno, near Insadong (a traditional market area of Seoul,lloaded with handicrafts and tea houses, popular with tourists). During the day on the Sunday (this year, April 30th) many buddhist activities are available, including making your own Lotus Lantern, and partaking in the local buddhist cuisine. The [View Full Entry]

By Munchkin
April 14th 2006

Routine Asia » South Korea » Seoul

blossoms blossoms everywhere

It took me awhile, but I;ve found it. And it is making everything easier. 5:45 am the alarm goes (ususally my body is up anyway, so I just roll out when the beep begins). Gym for a few hours...run on that damn treadmill while I look out over the park across the street from the school, or stare intensely at the tv screen in front of me while I watch a soccer game (I have no idea who these teams are, but I assume from England) or an English movie on the military network. Classes....never the same mind you so the [View Full Entry]

By Carla McCoy
April 11th 2006

Birthday ! 22 years strewth! Asia » South Korea » Seoul

parade

Hey hey hey, well the weekend went well mr kim and chris the school owners decided to take me and 4 other foreign teachers to everland which is like our equivalant of alton towers, so sat morning at 5am we all departed,! they paid for our whole day for brekky, drinks, entrance fee and travel so it was mucho fun! We got there bout half 8 and there were loadsa staff with parrots and monkeys outside so we all got snapshots with them, then went into the park, Mr kim said he wanted to get us all brekky and so we [View Full Entry]

By the_frontal_lobe_disinhibited
April 9th 2006

A little leftover for you all Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Konglish... Part 2

Just to let you all know, I've decided to keep the blog going. It may not be as frequent as before, but I'll do what I can to make sure you're still soiling your trousers with fear at the end of the entries... There's a few shots here of the amusing things I've seen in the last few days... also, don't forget to check my website, there's some new photos up. [View Full Entry]

By Munchkin
April 7th 2006

A clearing Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Blossoms at night

I almost stayed in tonight. The wind finds a way of seeping under your skin here, like Lethbridge, bleeding into your peace of mind. It is difficult to be comfortable enough to be introspective when you are cold under your skin. My late night walks have become a time for reflection and walking meditation. But, like a monk in training, I persevered the astringent air and took to the road- baby steps. First I intended to see if I could make it to the bank, 3 blocks away. Then we’ll see how the ol’ legs are feeling. But, like has become [View Full Entry]

By Megan Crozier
April 5th 2006

So I'm leaving South Korea and here are my thoughts.... Asia » South Korea » Seoul

So my time in South Korea is come to an end and I wanted to just give my overall opinion and some things to think about if you’re thinking about traveling here. First of all there is not a huge foreign tourist scene here in Korea, for the solo backpacker like myself. I found them to have a great transportation system with fairly cheap buses all over the country but once you reached your destination there are not a lot of cheap places to stay, and sometime they are hard to find. Unless of course you are traveling with a [View Full Entry]

By pkeusgen
April 4th 2006

Lost Seoul Asia » South Korea » Seoul

The blouse

I dropped into Seoul for a few days to do some banking and catch up with friends. It was almost like I had never left the place, although with my absence I had forgotten the extremes of the place. Ajumas: I gotta say, I had forgotten how bad these animals are. On my flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong I tried to put my seat back and immediately got shoved upright from behind. Yup... three ajumas sitting there with the floral shirts, excess makeup, and dyed tight permed hair. I tried to negotiate a settlement and only put my chair back [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Seoul Travel Blogs, page 83

Seoul Travel Blogs

Korea, South