Namdaemoon: "Great South Gate"

On the same night as the last photo (the one of the city from Nam San (South Mountain)) I also took a spin past Nam Dae Moon (South Great Gate), one of the oldest surviving vestiges of Seoul's long history. Construction of the gate (according to Wikipedia) was started in 1395, just one year after "Hanyang", later named Seoul, was offically named as the new capital of Choseon, the name for Korea at that time. The whole city was surrounded in those times by a strong stone wall, designed to protect dwellers from thieves and wild animals.The wildest thing about the area now is the traffic, situated as it is, at the intersection of 5 major city streets and several lanes and alleys. It is only a five minute walk from Seoul Station, City Hall, and the ancient Doksu Palace.It gave its name to the adjacent Namdaemoon Market, one of the largest traditional markets in Korea, a hagglers paradise of sorts (and the best place in the city to get camera lenses and eyeglasses). This gate and the rotary that carries traffic around it is at the heart of Seoul's old downtown and the "Gahng Buk" or "North of the River" area of Seoul.

City of Light

Perhaps no city on Earth is as densely and brightly lit as Seoul. Yesterday I took a stroll up Namsan (South Mountain) in the center of the city to view the fall colors. ON the way back down after dark, I was treated to this view of Mettuh-Ro-Po-Lissuh in all her flashing brilliance.

What Is It?

Anyone able to guess what this is and where in Seoul it can be found?

The winner gets a free cup of bondaegi. MMM.

A Little Melo With Your Drama?

Check out this clip from the comedy show Mad TV which captures the incredible expressiveness of a few short words in the Korean language and the depth of emotion

portrayed in Korean tv drama. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRvzv3Sc8do

Mystery Veg

Shopping in a place like Laos offers all sorts of mysterious options. The vegetables below are new to me. If anyone has any idea what they are, please enlighten us. The rounded purple one tastes bitter and is a little astringent, and is one of the ingredients in a tasty local dish in the Nong Khai provinceof Thailand. Spicy sausage is grilled and cut up into pieces and wrapped up with vegetables in a thin rice wrapper inside of local leaves and then topped with a sweet barbecue-like sauce. MMMM, 7 weeks to go before I am off to Thailand again.

Laos Journey (continued): Hot and Sour

Baskets of dried chilli and lime peel in the town market in Laos. Just as in Korea, the chilli, brought to Asia from South America by traders, is an essential flavouring element in almost every Southeast Asian meal.

Tied to the Land

Traditional homes on Jeju Island are constructed of black volcanic stones, held together and sealed with a mixture of dried mud and straw. The roof is of thatch and is tied firmly into place to protect against the fierce winds that lash the island in just about every season. A friend, whose family lived in a thatched house such as this, told me that the job of thatching had to be performed yearly, with members of the family alll coming together to take part in the highly ritualized work. Needless to say, however, homes such as this one near the western end of the island are becoming rare as the population moves into the island's two major cities, where vast Seoul-style apartment complexes are altering (read:erasing) the landscape.

Fall in Seoul

I recently took advantage of one of those perfect, crisp, clear fall days to head up to the World Park near the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the West of the city for these photos of the Han River and the Eulalia grass.

Beachside

Following in the same vein as last night's post, I wanted to show yet another of the quiet, natural places the Korean peninsula still has to offer. Although Busan is a huge city of over 5 million, Gwangalli Beach, near Haeundae, is a place you can go to unwind. On this day in November of last year, I was taking in the clean air and surf before partaking of some fresh seafood at a beachside restaurant.

Yangjay Stream

Intensely crowded though it is, Seoul has a surprising number of places to get away from the crowds. The city is filled with numerous streams, rivers, and mountains that are maintained as parks. It is possible to ride bicycle or walk along from one end of the capital to the other along countless kilometers of trails and walkways. 양제 천, or Yangje Stream, below, is one such place, only a ten-minute walk from my apartment in the Gangnam ward of Southern Seoul.

A Final View of the School

Half of our fleet of buses and a view of Bundang-gu from the

roof of the Middle School building.

More of KIS

Above are a couple of shots of the Middle / High School library.

The left picture below shows the lower gym while the right shows the upper gym.

KIS (continued)

My Grade Six Social Studies and Language Arts classroom...

And below the performing arts center and the cafeteria.

KIS - Where I Work

Sorry about the formatting here folks. I will fix it when I have time...


Well, as I thought, once I got back to work, it became increasingly difficult to find time to update my blog but I have a few minutes tonight so I thought I would post a few pics of where I work, the Korea International School in Bundang. This August, we moved into our new facility and it is a real pleasure to work in a building like this with such talented teachers and students.

KIS has about 700 students currently in Grades kindergarten to 12. The school uses an American college-preparatory curriculum. The campus is located outside of Seoul in the suburban city of Bundang.

Peace Sign

A Painted Lotus appearing on the door of a temple west of Jeju City.