April 17-19, 2009 Gyeongju

안 녕

For my last trip in Korea I decided to return to the promise land, Gyeongju. I say return because apparently I visited the area in 1998 with my mom, but don't remember much. I figure I was young and naive so I must have overlooked all the history and culture of Gyeongju. The trip started out nicely though, our train had an aracde, private norebangs(karaoke rooms) and a food & beverage car. This definitely helped since we didn't arrive at our hotel until 4 am. Throughout the entire trip I was reminded of the amazing history of Korea, Bulguksa Temple, Seokgulam Grotto, and Cheomseongdae. The Buddha at Seokgulam Grotto was especially amazing, but I couldn't take any pictures, sorry. It was also a really nice break from being in Seoul: clean fresh air, wide open space, beautiful scenery and we even got to rent bikes. The weather and company also made the trip refreshing. Seventy degrees and sunny all weekend and even though there were eight of us we all got along really well (shout out to Hannah, Brian, Heidi, Angela, Trevor, Judy and Kim). We also had some amazing galbi chim (slow cooked beef), I felt like I was eating all weekend. That doesn't sound like me does it? Enjoy the pics.

Bulguksa Temple

inside Bulguksa Temple

Sokkatap Pagoda

2 of the 4 kings guarding Bulguksa

Cheomseongdae Observatory

April 1 & 5, 2008: Korea, Double the Fun!

안 녕

With my year in Korea coming to a unexpectedly quick ending I've been trying to do all the things I've wanted to but just haven't. This last week I experienced two of the coolest things in since I've been here.

On April 1st I went to a World Cup qualifying match between North and South Korea in Seoul. I was completely blown away. I've been fortunate enough to go to a lot of sporting events in my life and nothing even comes close to this experience. So a little background before I get into the game. This match was going to determine who would take over 1st place for the World Cup qualifying pool, North Korea was currently in first over South Korea by 1 point. I also heard that the last 4 or 5 matches between the two had ended in draws. So other then the fact that there still at war this seemed like a pretty important game. The atmosphere of the stadium was incredible to say the least. I don't really see soccer as a major sport in the United States but in Korea it's huge. The build up of the game was pretty nerve racking, South Korea had lots of opportunities but they just couldn't close. And at the 87th minute off of a free kick, South Korea scored and the stadium went insane. I was jumping up and down in my seat and hugging everyone around me, and I'monly a casual soccer fan. So I can only imagine the emotions of an avid fan. But it's hard not to be involved in such a celebration when everyone around is going wild. It was the most intense feeling of happiness I've had at a sporting event. I can only hope that I ever feel that excited at a sporting event again. But as I was told by my friend David, national pride plays a larger role then the game itself.




Since being in Korea I've been introduced to some pretty amazing things, but I have to say that one of my favorites is b-boying. My friend Mindy suggested a documentary called Planet B-Boy and since then I've been hooked. If you're interested at all I would highly recommend checking it out. So for Mindy's birthday I decided to take her to a b-boy show this last Sunday. The original show, Ballerina Who Loves B-Boy is actually playing on Broadway in New York, so if your planning on making a trip out there I highly recommend it. The show I went to wasn't the original, instead it was called "The 2nd Story" but it still got very good reviews. Thanks to my friend David we just happened to get front row seats, so we were essentially part of the stage. I was completely blown away by the sheer skill of all the dancers. There was such an eclectic mix on the stage: break dancing, ballet, pop n lock, and etc that it made the show so different. Everything from the costume designs to the stage props fit the show so well, and it even had a nice hint of humor. Even after watching the documentary seeing all of the dancing live is just uncompromisable. These are videos I took during the show and they'll give you a little peek into what I experienced. Enjoy!