Gyungbukgung Palace (bless you!)

On Sunday, we played tourist and went to visit one of the national treasures of Korea--Gyungbukgung Palace. This palace was once used by the kings of the region about 1500 years ago. It's been well maintained, despite having been burned to the ground by the Japanese about 500 years ago and then rebuilt. The South Korean government has hired its most skilled craftsmen to maintain this building. Each and every post has intricate, hand-painted designs painted on them, and there are many, many buildings. It's pretty amazing!

This is the front gate. It's the biggest gate and is guarded by, well, guards. They are the guys in red.
Here's Michael.
And me.
This is a picture of the changing-of-the-guard ceremony. We were lucky to catch it. The guy beats that big drum, and they have a whole ritual. The painting that you can see on the drum is the kind you see throughout the whole palace.
These are the new guards, coming to replace the old ones.
This is the throne room of the king. He would sit in here and conduct official business.
Me. You can see that fall is here! The leaves all over are changing to to red and beautiful orange.
I don't know what this is, but I thought it was pretty neat.
The Palace is also guarded by sculptures of the 12 zodiac animals. This one is crying bird poop tears.
Another amazing structure!
We were also able to visit the Korean Folk Museum. You may wonder what Loofing Tiles are, but they are in fact supposed to be Roofing Tiles. I get no end of mild pleasure over the R/L problem here.
It started to rain. Heavily. There was also a lightning storm directly overhead.
In the front, the throne room, in the background is that tall pagoda.

An excellent trip overall! This place is truly amazing!

Gyungbukgung Palace (bless you)

I have posted this posting so many times I almost wish we hadn't done this trip, but here is my last and final attempt to upload these pictures!!!

Last week, we went to a place in Seoul called Gyungbukgung Palace, the biggest of the palaces in Korea. I don't know much about Korean history, but from what I've learned, Korea used to be 3 separate countries, all ruled by different dynasties. This palace was the seat of the biggest country, called Chosun. It's about 1500 years old, and they maintain it all the time, using only the most talented craftsmen in the country. You'll notice that the painting on the buildings is incredibly intricate. It's pretty amazing! At one point, this palace was burned to the ground (about 500 years ago), and it's been rebuilt since then.



This is the main gate to the palace. It's guarded same way that Buckingham Palace is guarded, so we got to see a changing-of-the-guard ceremony. Michael A. Hanes

Changing of the guard. The guy who is bowing got to beat that drum.



Eryn E. Hanes
This is the throne room of the room where the king conducted his official business. He had other rooms similar for common business and where women got to entertain him (of course!), but this was the biggest and most ornate.


This is Michael kissing one of the 12 zodiac animals that help guard the palace. It is crying birdpoop tears. This pagoda is the roof to the National Folk Museum of Korea. Not sure if it's an original structure.

Ahh, one of my favorite photos. This plaque, located in the museum, is supposed to be talking about Roofing tiles. Just a representation of the valiant struggle to learn and use English in this country! ...Makes me laugh every time...In the foreground, the throne room, in the background, the museum pagoda. Notice that it is raining. We were just leaving!
And more rain! We were soaked, and since the lightning was directly overhead, we thought it was a good time to get underground and take the subway home!

Hiking in the Mountains

Our city of Anyang is surrounded by low mountains, many of which are available for climbing. The trailhead to one such mountain, Gwanak (Gwanaksan--san=mountain), is a short bike ride from our house. Enjoy!

The farming concept is very different here. The side of this mountain is covered in farms and greenhouses that grow chiles, cabbage, carrots, vining plants like pumpkin, zucchini, etc. You often see older women squatted in the rows harvesting food, and it's later seen in the nearby open market.




Here is a garden that's been cultivated at the beginning of our climb. It's really beautiful.


A view of Anyang. The two towers you see are very near our apartment. In fact, our apartment is technically visible from here.



Straight ahead in this photo is the peak we summited. We ended up a bit to the left of the big peak.


Views from the top!

A Day in the Life...

On this addition of Hanes in Korea, I bring you our school, my classroom, and the fun that goes on right outside our home.

Here you can see, though sideways, that I am sporting a goofy smile at the entrance to our up to the 5th floor. Then you have arrived at Choisun (chay-son), aka Do Your Best.






This is my classroom. I get my own room, and Michael is a roving teacher. He hangs out with me when we have free time together. It's very small and kind of sad-looking. But, as you can see, I'm busy putting the kids' work up on the walls, and it looks happier and brighter every day.













Here you have one of the great mysteries of Korea: Pocari Sweat. Why on earth would you want to put something back in your body that it works so hard to get out (sweat, that is)? Michael would like to be their next spokesman.



















This is Central Park. We get to walk or ride through here every day on our way to work. These fountains are so fun to watch! The kids play in them and get soaking wet, and sometimes at night, they are lit up with different colors. This is a central area to the whole city, as many events take place here.
















So that's a bit more of the life that we have unfolding here! We still miss you and appreciate the emails that we continue to receive.

Our Neighborhood and Beyond

Pictures:
1. Me and my new bike. These bikes look goofy--little wheels and a very tall post for the seat and handlebars. Ha! But everyone has them, and they're cheap, so we use them to get to work and cruise around the neighborhood.
2. Michael and his bike. Behind both of us is the river that runs through the middle of town. We are still debating whether or not it is man-made.
3. As we rode along today we encountered hoards of high school kids on this walk; we think it was for PE. Kids are the same everywhere! They were busy goofing around not paying attention to walkers or bikers.
4. These bikers are an excellent example of how to be a "cool" active person. If you ride a bike or hike, you MUST wear brand-name, expensive gear. Spandex looks best. Anyone who is riding a bike with any kind of dedication is wearing this get-up. It looks ridiculous because they whiz along the flat path, and then when it comes time to take a small incline up to the main road, they hop off and walk their bikes.

More to come!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

Here we are in our apartment! Not much furniture yet, so it looks quite spartan. But it's brand new and very light and airy. We're on the 17th floor. Yes, that is a washing machine in the kitchen. :-) Please also note that I have included a picture of the bidet on the toilet operated by buttons! Ha, ha!
Sorry that the pictures are on here in such a haphazard fashion. I'm still learning how to format blogger.