Almost the CN Tower...

The Seoul Tower looks a lot like the CN Tower but is a bit shorter. In fact, the CN Tower is celebrated on a glass wall at the base of the Seoul Tower that shows all of the major freestanding structures like this in the world. We felt quite proud! From the top of the tower the views of Seoul were amazing. It really helps you understand how enormous the city is. Brian couldn't help taking a photo of the urinal in the mens' bathroom - there was quite a view!! I'm also including a night shot of a busy street in Insadong, a wonderful shopping area where you can buy all kinds of traditional Korean arts and crafts.

Suwon fortress...

In Suwon (a city that borders Seoul), there is a large 6-km. fortress wall that encircles the downtown area of town. Built in the late 1700s it is beautifully intact, complete with observation posts, archery platforms, signal fire/furnace turrets and training facilities. It took an entire afternoon to walk the entire fortress wall, and it was great!

Military history comes to life...

While in Seoul we spent time with our friends, the Covingtons, and toured the Korea Military Museum. It was extensive and there were many planes and tanks to climb into, such as the enormous B-52 bomber that Brian is standing beneath in one of these photos. The second and third floors of the museum chronicled the horrors of the Korean War. We decided to end our rather heavy and tough (although very educational) museum visit with a Thai dinner in Itaewon, one of Seoul's neighbourhoods.

Sojourn in Seoul...

This week we spent 4 days in Seoul (one of which was spent exploring a neighbouring small city called Suwon - kind of like Oshawa in relation to Toronto). What a HUGE city! There are 11 million people who live in Seoul, and 19 million if you count the surrounding suburbs. Wow. Here are some photos of the famous Namdaemun Gate and market in Seoul (the gate is the largest one of its kind in Korea and used to be the main gate in the Seoul fortress). It was a very crowded market on the street level and below, with tiny little shops and one-person alleyways between. There were lots of interesting things to see there! We've also included a shot of the 300-km/hour bullet train we took into Seoul. It was a very smooth ride.

Confucian retreat...

Today is Lunar New Year, and it is like a beautiful May day. In fact, we saw a gorgeous meadow fritillary (butterfly, or nabe in Korean) today, so spring must be on its way here! We can't believe that, in mid-February, we are wearing light jackets and soaking in the sunshine. Ahhh... (sorry to all of our Canadian friends and family for gloating!!) While the girls lounged at home this afternoon, reading and relaxing, we took advantage of the beautiful weather to tour a historical spot in Taejon where a famous Confucian scholar established a school back in the 1600s. It was a very peaceful spot and seemed like a perfect place to ponder the arrival of spring.

Neighbourhood hot spots...

We figured it was time to post some photographs of some of the places in our neighbourhood that we frequently visit. The local coffee shops (such as Kaldi's) are very popular with the girls! And, lest you think we have gone completely to the dogs, so to speak, we should make it clear that we haven't eaten at the restaurant with the little piggy on its sign. It is a pretty entertaining sign, though, and we couldn't help but include it.

Ancient Tombs...

The small city of Gongju is located about one hour east of Taejon and, about 1500 years ago, was the capital of one of the kingdoms of Korea. Brian and I explored the city on Thursday (we played hookie and used a personal day to get away, just the two of us!). The tombs were fascinating and were built on a mountainside using methods that surfaced in several other ancient kingdoms in the world (isn't it amazing how there were so many similarities between the customs of ancient peoples who had no contact with each other? It speaks to God's grand design, I think!). They were domed chambers built of stone and brick, covered with earth and grass. So, from the outside, they look like big bumps on the mountainside. All of the tombs but one were plundered in days gone by, and all of the artifacts were carried off. One, however, wasn't discovered until 1971 and it was fully intact, giving archaeologists great insight into the wealth and lifestyle of the Baekje kingdom. We learned so much from our day of exploring. Perhaps we - and our students - should get out of the classroom more often!!

Drumming & Dancing!

For about 8 weeks I have been taking a Korean dance class, held here at TCIS after school on Thursdays. Five staff (all women) have been learning the art of Korean dance, and it's a lot harder than it looks! It is very controlled and involves a lot of subtle and graceful movements (hence, I am struggling!). Just yesterday our drums arrived (we've been learning some drumming patterns as well); you tie these drums in front of you and drum while you dance (it's sort of like an advanced version of rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time). It's a lot of fun and these pictures are of our instructor (in the fuschia sweater) and four of us students (my dance skirt arrives next week). We will actually perform a dance in front of the school next October for Korean Culture Week, and I'm nervous already!