The West Commences: Happy Thanksgiving

Even May has to agree that the weather in Incheon this past week was good, warm and dry with some wind but not too much. I would say it was perfect, but she won’t go that far; she really likes heat. It continues to be fine today, but I am taking a break from outdoor activity.

Last Tuesday I finally took the Seoul City Bus Tour. I enjoyed it except for the 15 minutes when the bus I was on had some problem with the intercom system that meant we were subjected to a buzz that at times intensified to earsplitting. Fortunately, you can get off at any of the many viewing spots and pick up another bus every 30 minutes. Needless to say that bus emptied at the next one, the War Museum. I spent quite a bit of time there. The grounds were huge and full of statues and old war machines. Half the school children in Seoul were on class outings, screaming and climbing on them when I was there. It was fun to watch them playing on the remnants of killer weapons. The inside of the museum presented a history of Korea’s struggles to remain a united and isolated peninsula. The other stop that I spent a lot of time at was Changgyeonggung (‘gung’ means palace) and Jongmyo Shrine. The area is vast. The palace is similar to many that we saw last year in Beijing, not that the Koreans would appreciate my saying that. The palace and shrine date back to 1392, which was the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty. That dynasty continued in Korea until the Japanese annexation in 1910. Of course much has been burned and restored in the interim. Wooden palaces are firetraps, but the Korean system of floor heating seems to have amplified the problem in that country. After sitting on a bus in the belly of Seoul, I was happy to wander around the peaceful palace gardens for a long time. On Tuesday I left Jay’s house early so that I could take the Subway to Seoul, which takes about one and a half hours on average, and visit two more palaces. I went first to Changdeokgung a World Heritage site because I wanted to catch the English guided tour of the gardens at 11:30am. Our guide was a beautifully costumed, quiet spoken, young Korean woman who was non-the-less insistent about the length of time we could tarry in any one spot. She pointed out huge ancient mulberry and juniper trees and told us about the Joseon emperors and empresses’ interest in sericulture and the planting of rice. It sounded a bit like Marie Antoinette’s playing milkmaid beyond the formal gardens of Versailles, but I was really impressed by the trees and gardens as a whole. I wandered around the palace by myself later. Next I went to Gyeongbokgung, which is the most touristy of all the palaces in Seoul. It was very grand but crowded. The Folk Museum in the same area had fewer people and was more interesting to me because some of the exhibits connected with things I have seen in travels around Korea. There were many examples and explanations of the Shamanistic carved wooden totems and birds that have always intrigued me. Also, one aspect of Choi Jeong-Hwa’s art, his stacking of things, makes much more sense to me now that I have seen how foods are stacked for special celebrations such as 60^th birthday parties. I appreciate more now his combining of past and present, nature and man-made, etc.

Jay didn’t have to teach on Thursday, so he and I took the subway into Seoul and rented bikes to ride along the Hangang River. He was not the only person enjoying a day off on the river. The bike paths were crowded, but it was a beautiful day. There are no hills to climb, but Jay rode quickly at times and there was a bit of wind in one direction, so I was ready to rest by the end of the ride. We sat by the river to have a drink and watch the kites flying high over our heads. Friday was a quiet day. The girls were also off school, so we rode bikes and went to the park. We were thinking of playing badminton but the wind was so strong that it was impossible to control the bird.

Saturday was our family trip to Muuido Island. May’s brother and family were supposed to join us but the baby was sick so her two friends visiting from the Philippines came along. The first surprise of the day was the length of the ferry ride. We had to take the subway to Incheon International Airport (approx. 80 min.) where we caught a bus (approx. 20 min.) to the ferry and there discovered that we could practically swim to the island. The ferry was loaded with cars and people to make the 15 min. crossing. We got off and were met by the woman who runs the pension where we stayed. She drove us there and our holiday began. After unpacking, we decided to walk to the nearest beach. What luck. We were later told that this was one of two extreme tide periods in the year. We went to the beach at exactly the right time. It was a short walk there and then we walked along the shore. May and her friends did not consider swimming; Jay and I had thought about it but not worn our bathing suits, neither had the girls. As we got warmer, we wanted to swim but the girls were hesitant. Finally, we all held hands and went screaming into the water wearing our shorts and t-shirts. It wasn’t cold, so we swam around for quite a while. It’s lucky we did because on Sunday we had a lazy morning and by the time we were outside, the tide was also out and there was no hope of swimming until late afternoon by which time we would be on the ferry. We had a great barbeque on Saturday evening. After, when it was dark, we could see and hear a huge fireworks display that was going on back home across the water in Song-do. Jin Hee then wished she were there. When it was finished, we decided to walk down to the little village by the ferry dock. Jay bought some fireworks, which we lit on the vast expanse of beach. The tide had gone way out after having flooded the main road to such an extent earlier that people with reservations at our pension were unable to drive there from the ferry dock. Jin Hee and I had fun holding the long fireworks as sparks shot forth in bursts that didn’t go as high as the ones in Song-do but were impressive because they were close and we felt the blast and could point it anywhere.

The month is going by quickly.

The Statue of Brothers (one a S. Korean officer and the other a N. Korean soldier) meeting on the battlefield, symbolizing the hope for reunification, the closing of the crack in the dome.

A view in the garden of Changgyeonggung

Two shots of furniture being moved into the top floor of the apartment building where Jay lives, no carrying heavy loads to and from elevators.

The moving truck

A lotus pond in the garden of Changdeokgung. The guide told us that "they" say the lotus flower is the symbol of a true gentleman; it is pure white even if it blooms in a muddy pond.

A view of roof lines at Gyeongbokgung

A stone arch in the subway station that is a copy on the one I saw in Gyeongbokgung

The inscription on the plaque beside the arch above. I took a picture because of the English wording which struck me as funny because it made me think of mom and dad who would wish if that's the case that they had passed through the gate a few years ago because they have said a few times lately that they have been old for a long time and would not like to be old forever.

You will have to click on this to read it. It gave me pause. It was written on the wall in the part of the Museum of Korean Folklore that dealt with the celebration of the 60th birthday.