A few weeks ago my middle school had its annual school festival.
I have posted a story and a gallery of photos about it on my teaching blog. Click here to have a look. Enjoy!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
"I saw you on the street"
There are many things that Korean people do and say that we find odd and don't understand. Of course. And I have got used to and learned to just accept many of these things: If I hadn't I'd have gone mad by now!
Anyway, I have decided that "I saw you on the street" is one of my pet hates in the category 'odd things Korean people do or say'.
"I saw you on the street" is a phenmenon which I experience most with my students, sometimes with other people. It is directly linked to the fact that we are such celebrities/oddities/highlights in Sangju. Even though we've been here over 6 months now, almost everyone must have seen us at least once, and there are now well over twenty foreigners in town, bumping into us in the street or in the shops or even just seeing us is still a highliht for most.
And my students feel like they need to tell me this. They are darlings, I love them, and everytime someone has the guts to come and speak to me I try my best to look as friendly and approachable as possible. But what can you say when someone says to you "I saw you on the street yesteday/at the weekend/last week..."? "That's nice." "Oh, I didn't see you!" "Oh" "Oh, where?" "Oh, really?". Gosh, I really dislike having to come up with responses to this statement. I realise that I am a bit of a 'tourist attraction' in town, and I really don't mind that too much, so I really wouldn't mind at all if they told their mother, grandmother, friends, sisters, counsins, brothers etc that they saw me on the street (which I'm sure they do! - I can just imagine it!) but PLEASE DON'T TELL ME! I don't know what too say.
This pet-hate was re-awakened the day before yesterday when Jules and I went for coffee at our favourite coffee shop in Sangju. It's called 'Kopi Gage' (=Coffee Shop) and is run by an interestiung couple. They seem to have a lot of interest in western-style jazz, poetry etc and their coffee shop has a lovely atmosphere with lovely old coffee ginders, hessian sacks on the ceiling, paintings, old black & white photos and LP records on the walls. In fact, 'Kopi Gage' can often feel like an escape from the Korean-ness of Sangju (when one needs a break, which is inevitable at times) and I have the impression that the owners are not quite your standard Korean - maybe evven more 'worldly' (not an adjective one can ascribe to most locals).
Anyway, sadly, the owner let me down. As we were leaving, he said someting to his wife/girlfriend and she translated for him "I saw you on the street near the Bukcheon Monument" aaaaahhhh! Here I am in my 'haven' and the man himself puts his foot in it. AAAAHHH! "Oh that's nice"+ smile (of course!) was the best I could come up with before I escaped. Oh my gosh. 'Ayigo!' as the Koreans would say (which is remarkably similar to the Zulu 'Hayibo!' and means the same)
Anyway, Jules seems to not quite understand why I am so frustrated by all this "I saw you on the street'" business but I hink his boys aren't as vocal as my girls so he doesn't get it that much. Please do me a favour and think about how you would respond if people came up to you numerous times in a week and told you "I saw you on the street!". Thank you!
Anyway, I have decided that "I saw you on the street" is one of my pet hates in the category 'odd things Korean people do or say'.
"I saw you on the street" is a phenmenon which I experience most with my students, sometimes with other people. It is directly linked to the fact that we are such celebrities/oddities/highlights in Sangju. Even though we've been here over 6 months now, almost everyone must have seen us at least once, and there are now well over twenty foreigners in town, bumping into us in the street or in the shops or even just seeing us is still a highliht for most.
And my students feel like they need to tell me this. They are darlings, I love them, and everytime someone has the guts to come and speak to me I try my best to look as friendly and approachable as possible. But what can you say when someone says to you "I saw you on the street yesteday/at the weekend/last week..."? "That's nice." "Oh, I didn't see you!" "Oh" "Oh, where?" "Oh, really?". Gosh, I really dislike having to come up with responses to this statement. I realise that I am a bit of a 'tourist attraction' in town, and I really don't mind that too much, so I really wouldn't mind at all if they told their mother, grandmother, friends, sisters, counsins, brothers etc that they saw me on the street (which I'm sure they do! - I can just imagine it!) but PLEASE DON'T TELL ME! I don't know what too say.
This pet-hate was re-awakened the day before yesterday when Jules and I went for coffee at our favourite coffee shop in Sangju. It's called 'Kopi Gage' (=Coffee Shop) and is run by an interestiung couple. They seem to have a lot of interest in western-style jazz, poetry etc and their coffee shop has a lovely atmosphere with lovely old coffee ginders, hessian sacks on the ceiling, paintings, old black & white photos and LP records on the walls. In fact, 'Kopi Gage' can often feel like an escape from the Korean-ness of Sangju (when one needs a break, which is inevitable at times) and I have the impression that the owners are not quite your standard Korean - maybe evven more 'worldly' (not an adjective one can ascribe to most locals).
Anyway, sadly, the owner let me down. As we were leaving, he said someting to his wife/girlfriend and she translated for him "I saw you on the street near the Bukcheon Monument" aaaaahhhh! Here I am in my 'haven' and the man himself puts his foot in it. AAAAHHH! "Oh that's nice"+ smile (of course!) was the best I could come up with before I escaped. Oh my gosh. 'Ayigo!' as the Koreans would say (which is remarkably similar to the Zulu 'Hayibo!' and means the same)
Anyway, Jules seems to not quite understand why I am so frustrated by all this "I saw you on the street'" business but I hink his boys aren't as vocal as my girls so he doesn't get it that much. Please do me a favour and think about how you would respond if people came up to you numerous times in a week and told you "I saw you on the street!". Thank you!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Our very own 'Ajumma'
Ajumma from afar: a 'mild' Ajumma bent over, tending her fields.
I'm still too intimidated to get closer to get some good photos of them...I'm sure my time will come!
I'm still too intimidated to get closer to get some good photos of them...I'm sure my time will come!
One of the most unique things about Korea is it's 'Ajummas'. Ask any foreigner who has spent some time in Korea about their experiences with Ajummas and you are sure to get a volley of amusing and probably annoying stories with the odd gem of kindness mixed in. 'Ajumma' in Korean actually refers to any married women, but amongst foreigners it has become a term specifically referring to older Korean women (usually older than about 55).
They are a unique bunch and are easy to spot: they usually wear very clashy clothes i.e. orange and pink, mustard and lime green, garish florals and stripes, luminous geometric patterns and polka-dots etc. You get my drift. They also almost always have permed hair, thinning badly.
They walk with a bit of a stoop. As soon as a bit of sun appears they usually don their large visors (oversized caps) and often wrap up their faces with various forms of scarves and cloths, and wear gloves to protect tehir hands from the sun.
They are often to be seen bent up behind an old baby pram which is carrying some form of vegetable, cans of water or nothing at all (i.e. being used as a walker).
Ajummas are also known to be beligerent, pushy, and have very little respect for personal space. They are the worst crowd pushers, especially because they generally exhibit a kind of 'herding' behaviour when in groups and public places. They tend to congregate on street corners where they sit or squat on raised platforms of sorts and watch the world go by.
They are by far the WORST starers and have no 'skaam': they are stubborn and have no qualms in continuing staring even if you show discomfort or stare back. They are often seen squatting in public places and smoking: only old Ajummas are allowed to smoke in Korea: it is frowned upon for young women to smoke.
After all this about the Ajummas they seem like a tough bunch of old ladies, which they really are. But if one turns one's mind to the hard life they've had, this is not too surprising.
They've lived through the Korean war, many have probably lost husbands and sons, many of them have been farming most of their lives, attentively bent over their crops for hours on end. They have been unquestioning servants to their husbands: Korean woman do anything and everything required by their husbands, many of whom have drinking problems (the accursed cheap soju). They have prepared and large number of side dishes for almost every meal of their married life and they have born many children.
They have also watched Korea transform from a poor country on a par with many African develpoing countries, to a hugely successful country in the world, somewhere near 12th on economic country rankings worldwide.
All this may well explain the tough nature of the Korean Ajumma! So that was the lead-in to my real story. I feel like we are one step closer to understanding the real Ajumma, as we now have 'our own Ajumma'. Let me explain.
On our way to the shops yesterday evening, we passed a house on the corner. I've noticed this house before: there are often Ajummas in and out, they often play loud, old-fashioned Korean love-songs and there are plenty of pots outside growing all manner of vegetables and decorative garden plants. There is also a little fluffy dog which had puppies earlier in the year, so I have been observing this hosuehold with interest.
Anyway, as we passed by yesterday evening, the Ajumma of the hosue walked out of her front gate and started yelling at us (I don't think Ajummas can speak, they just yell!). All in Korean and at quite a rate: I didn't understand anything: except for the word 'banchan' which I recognised: it means side-dishes (an important word in Korea considering how very important food is in this culture). She was gesticulatong wildly and calling us towards her home and I guessed she wanted to give us some 'banchan'. I was right. She grabbed me by the hand and we went into her home, where she opened the fridge, promptly squatted down on the ground and began hauling out dishes. In a whizz she had a bowl and some chopsticks out and we were squatting down next to her in her kitchen trying her kimchi and other delights!
Our few Korean expressions of 'ooh, delicious' 'thank you' 'I like this' were lost in her constant stream of words (still almost at yelling pace and pitch!) She then decanted some of her treats for us and with that waved us out the door and we were on our way again, with many more 'thanks yous' and 'goodbyes' which I don't think she even heard!
The little exchange didn't last more than 3-4 minutes but it was quite something! Jules felt a bit overwhelmed by the experience - not surprising as we couldn't communicate with one another at all and her pushy, almost demanding, approach made her kind and generous act seem almost intimidating!
But in restrospect I feel honoured and humbled to have been invited into her home. I managed to get her name (Well, I think it's her name) 'Hon-Cha'. (I remembered it because in my mind she was a bit of a 'head honcho!') What a kind, geneours woman to haul two strangers off the street and endow them so generously with her handmade 'banchan'.
I am planning to make some banana bread (in Korean 'banana ppang') and take it over to her when I return her dishes. If only I could learn Korean in 48 hours so I could understand her non-stop chattering! How much more valuable our brief exchange would be then! As if I needed any more motivation to learn Korean: so much language so little time! You know how some people have a 'pudding stomach' and can always fit in pudding - I wish I had a 'language' stomach to always have extra tme and energy to devote to learning Korean.
Well, here's to Hon-Cha: I look forward to many more bewildering and enlightening exchanges with her. From afar she may seem like just another nutty Ajumma but her kindness and generosity warmed my heart!
Ice cream truck...or not...
On Friday morning I was walking to school when I heard the familiar and sweet sound of an ice-cream truck. That tinkling music sound is so pleasant and reminds me so much of my grandparents buying us ice-cream from the truck in Greytown when we were little.
Anyway, so I was looking foward to being able to re-live that experience sometime -in Sangju 'nogal'!
But alas, all those sweet ice-cream thoughts were shattered when the truck came around the corner and was not an ice cream truck, but...well, what's the furthest thing from an ice-cream truck? How about a sewerage truck? Yup, that's it! It was a sewerage truck playing the sweet tinkling tunes which the rest of us associate with ice cream and childhood innocence!
How bizarre!
Anyway, so I was looking foward to being able to re-live that experience sometime -in Sangju 'nogal'!
But alas, all those sweet ice-cream thoughts were shattered when the truck came around the corner and was not an ice cream truck, but...well, what's the furthest thing from an ice-cream truck? How about a sewerage truck? Yup, that's it! It was a sewerage truck playing the sweet tinkling tunes which the rest of us associate with ice cream and childhood innocence!
How bizarre!
the little pebbles and the sand...
Up until now my blog is dominated by large posts with pretty pictures and stories of our travels.
Do you know the metaphor of a jar filled with large stones, pebbles and sand? The jar is filled with large stones, and seems full, until one adds small pebbels and they trickle down and fill the spaces between the large stones. Then one adds fine sand and it further fills spaces between the large stones and pebbles. This was used as a lesson in time management as it illustrates that one must fill the jar with the larger stones first (priorities) and then with the less important stuff...etc.
Well, anyway, what I am getting to is that it is time for me to add some 'samller pebbles' and maybe sand i.e. to start posting smaller posts about daily funnies and experienecs I have in Korea. Because at the end of it I will only get a full picture of the whole experience with the big stones and the 'fillers'.
So here goes with the 'small pebbles' ...
Do you know the metaphor of a jar filled with large stones, pebbles and sand? The jar is filled with large stones, and seems full, until one adds small pebbels and they trickle down and fill the spaces between the large stones. Then one adds fine sand and it further fills spaces between the large stones and pebbles. This was used as a lesson in time management as it illustrates that one must fill the jar with the larger stones first (priorities) and then with the less important stuff...etc.
Well, anyway, what I am getting to is that it is time for me to add some 'samller pebbles' and maybe sand i.e. to start posting smaller posts about daily funnies and experienecs I have in Korea. Because at the end of it I will only get a full picture of the whole experience with the big stones and the 'fillers'.
So here goes with the 'small pebbles' ...
Monday, May 04, 2009
Geoje Island: another corner of Sparkling Korea!
Last weekend Jules and I headed off to Geoje Island. This was the last weekend we would have free for a while as May and June are chock-a-block full with weekend English camps, so we decided to do something interesting and travel slightly further afield than we usually do.
We had set our sights on the islands of Oedo and Goeje which lie south of Busan off the coast of Korea (an hour's ferry ride from Busan, which is 3 hours bus ride from here). Goeje is the 2nd biggest island of Korea (after Jeju) and has quite a few tourist attractions and some beautiful scenery, a trip to the smaller island of Oedo being one of these.
I must admit that after all the travelling there and back we were quite exhausted but we had a great time. This weekend happened to be Buddha's Birthday - so a long weekend for many Koreans - and we hadn't quite anticipated how many other people had the same idea as us: it felt like half of Korea was in Geoje-do with us! This in itself gave the weekend a more intensely 'Korean' flavour than we had expected and made for much amusement at the Koreans and their very different ways!
Once we arrived on Geoje island we were almost non-stop in queues to buy ferry tickets, queues to get onto the ferries, queues to get off the ferries, and so on. The two highlights in terms of must-sees of our weekend were Jisimdo or Camellia Island and Oedo Botanical Island. We reached both by ferry from the port town of Jangseungpo on Goeje island.
Jismido is a small island with a few humble local homes which are opened to holiday makers and fishermen (a guesthouse like this is known as a Minbak in Korean), but most of the island is uninhabited and the vegetation is almost pristine and very lush and almost sub-tropical: very beautiful and refreshing! There are lovely forests of Camellias, pines and other trees and beautiful views over the ocean and the rugged rocky coastline and small islets dotted all around. The vegetation seems to be a strange mix of pines and other coniferous trees with more subtropical undergrowth - rather unique. This island is famous for the Camellia Flowers (the blooming of which we had sadly just missed) and a small songbird which seems to have a close association with this plant. We did hear and see a few birds but didn't really have enough time to creep around in the forest long enough to see the 'special bird' whose name I haven't yet figured out!
Visiting Oedo island was an altogether different experience to that of Jismido. The whole island has been transformed into a beautiful botanical garden, and is a showcase of many beautiful flowering plants from all over the world. As the story goes, a fisherman was lost in stormy rough seas when he stumbled upon Oedo island. In gratitude to the island 'saving his life' he turned it into this beautiful garden. The irony is that he ripped out all the native vegetation and with it probably a multitude of indigenous animals etc. Anyway, the gardens are beautiful and well-tended. The CATCH with our visit to Oedo was however it's extreme popularity amongst Koreans, the effects of which we experienced yesterday! As I mentioned, getting tickets to the ferries getting onto the ferries etc etc took quite some doing as there were just masses of people everywhere. This feeling intensified as we arrived on Oedo as we were just pushed along with the masses along the paths that lead through the garden - we had very little choice in the matter. I still can't get over how many people there were. Did I tell you that there were a lot of people? So many people!
We counted 15 ferries docking at the island's small wharf and each could take 100 people, so at any one time there could've been up to 1500 people on the tiny island. If one then considers that each of these ferries brings at least 10 loads of tourists to Oedo everyday that is 15000 a day! That is of course only on peak days like this weekend but it is still an incredibly high number of people for such a small island. I hate to think of the damage the ferries must be doing to the sea life around and between these incredibly popular islands...anyway, as long as they can still get their grubby fingers on it and eat it the Koreans don't seem to pay soo much head to any creature living in the sea (or anywhere else for that matter...). So sadly, a place which could be peaceful and tranquil and provide a refreshing experience in nature has been turned into a tourism goldmine. We had a good time amusing ourselves at the people around us though! Whenever Koreans visit any tourism highlight the first thing they do is take photos, and that's also generally the last thing they do. Very little time is spent on appreciating the sights or taking time to experience a place - and on Oedod this was proved to us once again! As crowed as the pathways in the gardens were, this didn't stop people from stopping to have pictures of themselves taken ate every faux-greek/roman statue, column or other item of interest in the garden!
Anyway, on the way to Oedo island our ferry took a detour past Hegeumgang, which is a beautiful rocky island jutting high up out of the sea. This is one of the icons of Geoje Island and is a really beautiful sight. The funny thing is though, we didn't even get a chance to have a good look and enjoy the beauty of the rocky islet, as our ferry ran headling into one of the narrow coves or crevices and rammed into it! This was a very narrow space, and at first I thought that the driver of the ferry had made a mistake, but no, he rammed it again. Then we had to reverse out as the other ferries were queueing to give their customers the ramming experience! I cannot actually explain the sheer exasperation I felt with this experience: there we were amidst beautiful blue sea, amazing nature and scenery but we can't just sit back and enjoy it, we have to get right in there and ram our boat into the cove, WTH??? I really don't understand this logic!
So all in all we had a good weekend - amused ourselves at the locals, enjoyed the sights and had a good time seeing another part of Korea. It was a rather expensive weekend in terms of time (travel time vs.relaxing time) and money and we couldn't help compare the places we could go and the things we could do for that money elsewhere, but we are after all living and working in Korea, and it is important for us to get to know the country better and visit some of its highlights!
So below are some pictures from our weekend. I'll post them in order and by these headings: Jangseungpo (the port town on Geoje Island), Jisimdo/Camellia Island, Oedoe Island and Hegeumgang.
Enjoy.
Janseungpo: a cute little port town.
View from our 'Love Motel': the best view we've had from one of these yet!
and Jangseungpo by night:
Geoje Blue City: every city in Korea has it's slogan. e.g. Daegu-Colorful City, Seoul -Soul of Asia,Busan-Dynamc Busan etc. Geoje-Blue City!
Jisimdo - Camellia Island:
A "Searchlight depository" - sorry, a WHAT? :)
Oedo Island:
A Korean couple in the classic 'His and Hers' outfit: many yong couples in Korea like to dress in matching outfits: this come sin varying degrees: from hoodies, to shoes right down to underwear!
A brave bird in the crowds on Oedo - any guesses what it might be?
The ferries 'closing in' on Oedo!
Jules inamongst the masses: as conspicuosly non-Korean as ever!
A lovely view over the ocean: complete with FAKE!! Wistarias hanging from the beams above! Can you believe it, FAKE flowers in a botanical garden!
Only in Sparkling Korea!
These cute innocent-looing boys posing in front of one of the more manly greek statues were just too irresistable for us!
Thanks to Jules for this kodak moment!
(And many more inamongst the pics on my blog posts!)
Hegeumgang: the ramming experience. It's a pity it was a bit overcast and rainy on this day so the pics don't quite do the sites justice!
we're going deeper and deeper into this narrow crevice...
...and now we can't actually go any further! Craziness!
We had set our sights on the islands of Oedo and Goeje which lie south of Busan off the coast of Korea (an hour's ferry ride from Busan, which is 3 hours bus ride from here). Goeje is the 2nd biggest island of Korea (after Jeju) and has quite a few tourist attractions and some beautiful scenery, a trip to the smaller island of Oedo being one of these.
I must admit that after all the travelling there and back we were quite exhausted but we had a great time. This weekend happened to be Buddha's Birthday - so a long weekend for many Koreans - and we hadn't quite anticipated how many other people had the same idea as us: it felt like half of Korea was in Geoje-do with us! This in itself gave the weekend a more intensely 'Korean' flavour than we had expected and made for much amusement at the Koreans and their very different ways!
Once we arrived on Geoje island we were almost non-stop in queues to buy ferry tickets, queues to get onto the ferries, queues to get off the ferries, and so on. The two highlights in terms of must-sees of our weekend were Jisimdo or Camellia Island and Oedo Botanical Island. We reached both by ferry from the port town of Jangseungpo on Goeje island.
Jismido is a small island with a few humble local homes which are opened to holiday makers and fishermen (a guesthouse like this is known as a Minbak in Korean), but most of the island is uninhabited and the vegetation is almost pristine and very lush and almost sub-tropical: very beautiful and refreshing! There are lovely forests of Camellias, pines and other trees and beautiful views over the ocean and the rugged rocky coastline and small islets dotted all around. The vegetation seems to be a strange mix of pines and other coniferous trees with more subtropical undergrowth - rather unique. This island is famous for the Camellia Flowers (the blooming of which we had sadly just missed) and a small songbird which seems to have a close association with this plant. We did hear and see a few birds but didn't really have enough time to creep around in the forest long enough to see the 'special bird' whose name I haven't yet figured out!
Visiting Oedo island was an altogether different experience to that of Jismido. The whole island has been transformed into a beautiful botanical garden, and is a showcase of many beautiful flowering plants from all over the world. As the story goes, a fisherman was lost in stormy rough seas when he stumbled upon Oedo island. In gratitude to the island 'saving his life' he turned it into this beautiful garden. The irony is that he ripped out all the native vegetation and with it probably a multitude of indigenous animals etc. Anyway, the gardens are beautiful and well-tended. The CATCH with our visit to Oedo was however it's extreme popularity amongst Koreans, the effects of which we experienced yesterday! As I mentioned, getting tickets to the ferries getting onto the ferries etc etc took quite some doing as there were just masses of people everywhere. This feeling intensified as we arrived on Oedo as we were just pushed along with the masses along the paths that lead through the garden - we had very little choice in the matter. I still can't get over how many people there were. Did I tell you that there were a lot of people? So many people!
We counted 15 ferries docking at the island's small wharf and each could take 100 people, so at any one time there could've been up to 1500 people on the tiny island. If one then considers that each of these ferries brings at least 10 loads of tourists to Oedo everyday that is 15000 a day! That is of course only on peak days like this weekend but it is still an incredibly high number of people for such a small island. I hate to think of the damage the ferries must be doing to the sea life around and between these incredibly popular islands...anyway, as long as they can still get their grubby fingers on it and eat it the Koreans don't seem to pay soo much head to any creature living in the sea (or anywhere else for that matter...). So sadly, a place which could be peaceful and tranquil and provide a refreshing experience in nature has been turned into a tourism goldmine. We had a good time amusing ourselves at the people around us though! Whenever Koreans visit any tourism highlight the first thing they do is take photos, and that's also generally the last thing they do. Very little time is spent on appreciating the sights or taking time to experience a place - and on Oedod this was proved to us once again! As crowed as the pathways in the gardens were, this didn't stop people from stopping to have pictures of themselves taken ate every faux-greek/roman statue, column or other item of interest in the garden!
Anyway, on the way to Oedo island our ferry took a detour past Hegeumgang, which is a beautiful rocky island jutting high up out of the sea. This is one of the icons of Geoje Island and is a really beautiful sight. The funny thing is though, we didn't even get a chance to have a good look and enjoy the beauty of the rocky islet, as our ferry ran headling into one of the narrow coves or crevices and rammed into it! This was a very narrow space, and at first I thought that the driver of the ferry had made a mistake, but no, he rammed it again. Then we had to reverse out as the other ferries were queueing to give their customers the ramming experience! I cannot actually explain the sheer exasperation I felt with this experience: there we were amidst beautiful blue sea, amazing nature and scenery but we can't just sit back and enjoy it, we have to get right in there and ram our boat into the cove, WTH??? I really don't understand this logic!
So all in all we had a good weekend - amused ourselves at the locals, enjoyed the sights and had a good time seeing another part of Korea. It was a rather expensive weekend in terms of time (travel time vs.relaxing time) and money and we couldn't help compare the places we could go and the things we could do for that money elsewhere, but we are after all living and working in Korea, and it is important for us to get to know the country better and visit some of its highlights!
So below are some pictures from our weekend. I'll post them in order and by these headings: Jangseungpo (the port town on Geoje Island), Jisimdo/Camellia Island, Oedoe Island and Hegeumgang.
Enjoy.
Janseungpo: a cute little port town.
View from our 'Love Motel': the best view we've had from one of these yet!
and Jangseungpo by night:
Geoje Blue City: every city in Korea has it's slogan. e.g. Daegu-Colorful City, Seoul -Soul of Asia,Busan-Dynamc Busan etc. Geoje-Blue City!
Jisimdo - Camellia Island:
A "Searchlight depository" - sorry, a WHAT? :)
Oedo Island:
A Korean couple in the classic 'His and Hers' outfit: many yong couples in Korea like to dress in matching outfits: this come sin varying degrees: from hoodies, to shoes right down to underwear!
A brave bird in the crowds on Oedo - any guesses what it might be?
The ferries 'closing in' on Oedo!
Jules inamongst the masses: as conspicuosly non-Korean as ever!
A lovely view over the ocean: complete with FAKE!! Wistarias hanging from the beams above! Can you believe it, FAKE flowers in a botanical garden!
Only in Sparkling Korea!
These cute innocent-looing boys posing in front of one of the more manly greek statues were just too irresistable for us!
Thanks to Jules for this kodak moment!
(And many more inamongst the pics on my blog posts!)
Hegeumgang: the ramming experience. It's a pity it was a bit overcast and rainy on this day so the pics don't quite do the sites justice!
we're going deeper and deeper into this narrow crevice...
...and now we can't actually go any further! Craziness!
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