Monday, March 9, 2009

Chinatown in Korea

Michael and I had two opportunities to visit two different Chinatowns that are in Korea.  We really enjoyed these two trips--we got to eat good food and see some different sights than we usually saw in Seoul.

Sarah Ahn and me at the Ansan Museum of Modern Art (part of our Chinatown day).

This bamboo and steel sculpture was called "The Family."  You can see how big it was with me in the foreground.

The meat market!  In Korea, when a new company or big endeavor is begun, the participants will order and cook a pig.  It's especially good luck if the pig head is smiling like this one.

We hadn't ever seen a wooden chopping block for meat before.

Fresh produce market.  The town we visited, Ansan, is an industrial town, and we were pleased to see that the prices were a lot lower there than in Seoul because people simply can't afford higher prices.  You can see that the coconuts are 2000 won, now about $1.60.


On a different day, we went to a town called Incheon (pronounced Inchon).  During the Korean war, the Chinese and the North Korean armies had nearly succeeded in taking over the whole Korean peninsula.  General MacArthur and his armies executed a brave and risky landing in Incheon, while their battleships shot mortars into Seoul, successfully driving the Northern armies back up north.  Here is the harbor today.


When we visited Incheon, it was Lunar New Year.  Here is a table full of food prepared for the family's ancestors.


Red lanterns were strung everywhere.  Red is a color symbolizing good luck.


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