Blogs from Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea, Asia - page 4

Before I start, since our last post we have now surpassed the 100 day mark in Korea, a small milestone on a road which will have many more… The latest learning curve we have experienced on our Korean cultural awakening is that when it comes to national holidays, even if it is only a single day, the whole country is on the move! This lesson was sharply followed by the next…never, under any circumstances trust the local weather reports! At the end of May, the official day of Buddha’s Birthday is decreed a national holiday in Korea. As this fell on a Friday, we thought it wise to use the long weekend to our advantage and explore parts of Korea a little further afield. After deciding on the ‘outdoor museum’ that is Gyeonju (more on that ... read more

I flew a kite for the first time in my life and it was amazing. I looked up and there were about 20 kites flying around. Everyone was running around and trying not to get tangled up. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Today was just a perfect day to fly a kite. We actually made these kites from korean paper and wrote our wishes on them. I guess in Korean culture, they write their wishes and fly them to the sky and cut the string. They let the wishes go freee!!!! We went to a lot of great places today but I'm not really sure what their all called so I'll just post pictures. So last night, we were talking about our birthdays and I found a birthday buddy. He has the exact same birthday as me. ... read more

We just got back from our homestay weekend. My family was the Kims from Gyeongju. The father introduced me to dae gum, a korean wind instrument. He told me he was a beginner but he played very well in my opinion. He tried to explain the meaning of the song Arirang to me in English and he managed. I think I spoke to him the most and although his english and my korean were limited, we managed to get our points across. He was very interested in how to improve his english and remembered every english word I told him. The mother is an amazing cook and her kimchee has to be the best I've ever had, every meal I had in their home was delicious. Yesterday at lunch we had ddukgook(rice cake soup) and ddukbokgi ... read more

The $7 down jacket was the story of pursuit this past week. In my last minute packing I decided I didn't need to bring mine. Then, well, I realized that although I can live in the woods and not wash my clothes for extended periods of time, I can't do that in civilization. In order to stay warm I was wearing everything I brought. Now I'm rocking it ghetto superstar style in my new puffy! I can't believe its been a week already. The only way I've know how to travel is to become completely immersed in whatever country I'm in. I'm finding it a bit hard to do this round. Guess I'll be learning a new way to travel now! I do find it incredible how adaptable people are. I'm again reminded of the fact ... read more

Mike and I spent this past weekend exploring the city of Gyeongju, regarded by many Koreans as one of the most important cities in the country. Gyeongju is about an hour north-west of Yangsan and we got there by bus (the ticket for which cost a mere 3,700W!). During the Silla Dynasty (57 BC - 935 AD), Gyeongju was the capital of the country, so it holds many important remains of that period, so long ago. The weekend started with me being a little sick but we decided to make the trek anyways, because the beautiful colours of fall make this city a perfect destination this time of year. Unfortunately I felt even worse come Saturday morning so we got off to a late start when I had finally taken enough meds to feel up for ... read more