First snow in Incheon!

Salut!
Today I am feeling very happy because in the evening, just a couple of hours ago the first snow started here, in Incheon. Snow was coming down very peacefully, in large soft snowflakes. All the world seemed white, just like in a fairytale :)

Cars and trees, covered in snow

Really it was such a romantic moment, at these times the best thing is to be with someone you love. Instead, I was with a couple of my Chinese friends, having much fun in a coffee shop, playing truth or dare^^

Warm company^^

 
One thing that surprised me is that Koreans, when it is snowing, use umbrellas. In Mongolia, we use umbrellas only for rain, sometimes for sunlight too. It is easy to explain the difference: because in Korea industries are well-developed, it became the reason of air pollution; thus, both rain and snow have abnormalities, and may cause damage to hair. But in Mongolia, our air is clean, and people can go uncovered, enjoying gentle touches of raindrops and snowflakes.

Cute couple, hiding from snow under umbrella

Another thought: when it snows people become prettier. No, really :) Due to snow cheeks become red like roses (!), and some snowflakes, lost in girls' hair, add to the beauty of their owner. And after snowfall we can have much fun: snow-fight, make a snowman, write confessions on snow, ride on a sled and so on.

Me and my friend's names on  snow ^.^

But I want to warn you: when it snows, roads become very slippery, be cautios while walking. Plus the weather becomes colder and colder, wear warm clothes, do not let yourself catch a cold...

16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, the closing ceremony held on 27th of November

As the title reads, Asian Games 2010 have been closed, and the ceremony was held yesterday, on 27th of November. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, President of the Olympic Council of Asia, said that Guangzhou AG were "a huge success" and "best ever" in history. Also some new categories were introduced this year including cricket, dance sport, dragon boat, roller sport and go chess.

taken from the official site http://www.gz2010.cn/en/

For the final results, China beat its own record, coming 1st with an amazing result of 416 (!) medals. Next, with a huge difference, comes Republic of Korea with 232 medals, and 3rd is Japan with a massive quantity of 216 medals. What about our country? Mongolia, since my previous post, dedicated to AG, won 8 more medals in new categories, such as wrestling and boxing, and with a total number of 16 medals came 21st. I am very proud^^ The full table of stats I attach below, in case anyone is interested.

taken from the official site http://www.gz2010.cn/en/

My congratulations to all the sides involved!! These AG were grand, and now all we have left is to wait for next AG 2014, which again I will remind, will be held in Incheon, South Korea.

My wonderful "Visit to the Kings"

Hello :)

I would like to tell about a wonderful day I had today.

Despite today being a Saturday, I got up early in the morning and went to Seoul. So what is the reason of sacrificing my usual-Saturday-sleeping-until-afternoon? It was because I had a field trip called "Visit to the Kings", organized by Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, and the opportunity to participate in it was provided by Mizy center, as a reward for active members of the IEWCH (Integrated Education for the World Cultural Heritage) program (I will dedicate a post to my participation in this program some other time).

At around 10 in the morning everyone gathered at the entrance of Changgeonggung palace (창경궁). I met my friends, that I got to know through the IEWCH program, and we also met a lovely Korean lady-guide, who has done a great job, guiding us today, and telling interesting facts and stories, related with the spots we visited.

this is how the palace welcomed us {{all the photos are taken by my iPod, please excuse the poor quality}}

Around 1 and a half hours we spent, going around the palace. Since I came to Korea, I have been to several palaces, but I can say that this visit to a palace was the most enjoyable one, because this time we had a really good guide leading us. The rest of the story at the palace I better show in photos :)

Mr. Mighty Dragon

This pic is so bad ㅠ.ㅠ But i wanted to write a story behind it... This is the room where the king had a council with his ministers, sitting on that low sofa. While king with his ministers had discussions, there were also another people in the room - historians, who wrote down everything they heard very accurately. The funny thing is even the king couldn't control them. There is a story that says: once, king fell down from his horse, while hunting. He was very embarrassed, so he begged the historian (who is always nearby), "Please don't write it down". So what did the historian do? He wrote "The king said, please don't write it down" :D

In this direction, neighboring to Changgeongung  locates Changdeokgung (창덕궁). We didn't have a chance to go there today, but i really want to go there some other time. They say, there is a Secret Garden over there :o

You can see a pagoda on this photo. What? Isn't pagoda from Japan, not Korea? You would say. Right, actually a sad part of Korean history lies here. At the time Japanese military intervened to Korea, they also placed a few pagodas in Korean palaces. Nowadays only one pagoda remains in this palace. I find it very interesting that in a Korean palace you can see traces of Japanese and Chinese (at historical spots you can easily find Chinese characters) culture, we can perceive a bit of the close bond that throughout a long history always linked those countries.

Here you can see a nice view of the Namsan (Seoul) Tower, you can enjoy it directly from the palace

Sundial Angbuilgu (앙부일구) made in 15th century

Korean traditional birthplace

What do you see? Right, a turtle. But not just a usual one, it is a turtle - 1st out of 9 sons of a Dragon. His character is to carry a thing on a back.

So here the excursion around Changgeonggung palace ended and we moved to the next location - Heolleung (헌릉) and Illeung (인릉). I think it is time to explain about the name of today's tour, which was called "Visit to the Kings: From Cradle to Grave". Our tour advanced in this manner: first we went to to the Changgeongung palace, where the king was born and spent his life, next after king died his body was kept in royal tombs in Heolleung and Illeung, and at last we went to Jongmyo shrine, where the king's soul rests. Don't you think the concept of the program is very well-thought? :)

As the previous one, I would like to show you my journey in photos.

This is the tablet in front of a main entrance. The symbol at the top means that Heolleung & Illeung were designated by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage spot. This is a big deal :)

This is a so-called T-shaped shrine. Very beautiful view.

Stele shed with epitaphs for a king and a queen

The round buildings are real tombs of King Taejong and Queen Wongyeong

Stone subjects of the King, loyal to him in his last journey

Another T-shaped shrine and a breathtaking scenery

This is all we saw at the Heolleung and Illeung shrines. To tell the truth these shrines were the best part of the trip for me. If you take a good camera there (unlike mine -.-), you can have many beautiful shots, I assure you :)

The view is beautiful in autumn, when everything has its own lyrical beauty, but in my opinion, it would be even greater to visit this place in summer, when the fields will turn green, and the sky will be endlessly blue...

And then our group moved on to the last sight - famous Jongmyo (종묘), which is also World Cultural Heritage spot of Korea.

The most important thing that we can find in Jongmyo is a memorial service to the spirits of kings, which includes ceremony of bowing, singing and dancing. The ceremony, called Jongmyo Daeje, is held only once a year in May. It has been also designated by UNESCO as an Important Intangible Cultural Property. Personally, I am really eager to experience the ceremony first-hand next year^^ Anyone wants to go with me?

This is the square where the ceremony is held. Here dances and songs are performed, mostly by students, who study National Music.

This road I found really amazing. The sign in the middle reads :you can walk on the left and right side of it, but not in the central part, because this is the path, that spirits (!) use to walk.

Also inside one building we watched a short video about the memorial ceremony. Can't wait to see it with my own eyes!! 

So this was the end of our "Visit to the Kings". We were also given souvenirs: badges, a t-shirt and a small notebook. 

It was a very nice opportunity to experience Korean culture, I enjoyed my trip very much!! ^.^

The 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou

Sure you've heard about Asian Games currently being held in Guangzhou?
It has started on 12th of November, and will be closed on 27th of November.
It is a grand event with 45 participating nations, and 9704 athletes competing.
Actually, up until today I didn't pay much attention to AG, but today suddenly I felt the urge to see how is our Mongolian team doing. When I checked the stats on an official website (http://www.gz2010.cn/en/) I've been pleasingly surprised to learn that so far Mongolia has won total of 8 medals (2 sliver and 6 bronze), and as expected it was for judo, shooting, and woshu.

for those who r 2 lazy to check the page, i am adding the stats table^^

We can see our Mongolian people are strong, brave and have a good eyesight (that's a really common stereotype, that must be true :) At these kind of moments I feel very proud of being born as a Mongolian.
Anyways there are still 5 days left and many more opportunities to win. I wish luck to all the countries involved (well, except China, 270 medals are more than enough^^), and especially to Mongolian team, FIGHTING!!!

 Some additional information:

This is an emblem of Guangzhou AG. at the first look it might seem as a mere fire, but in fact it is a stylized goat. Wait, what? Goat??? Yes! Guangzhou's nickname is "City of rams", hence the animal, which is also believed by Chinese people to bring luck.

Meet the "Le Yangyang"s! It is no surprise that as a mascot of AG serve also 5 very kawaii rams. We can see that Olympic colors are used, with a yellow ram, symbolizing Asia, leading the others. Their names read together in Chinese mean "harmony, blessings, success and happiness" (祥和如意樂洋洋).

P.S: Next Asian Games 2014 will be held... ta-da-da-da... in Incheon, South Korea!! That is the city I currently live in :) At the time I will definitely go watch it alive. See you there!!!

첫 걸음

안녕하세요,나의 블로그에 환영해요 ^^

처음으로 이 블로그에서 글을 쓰니까 마음이 참 설레네요...

우선은 자기 소개부터 시작할까요?

내 이름은 너민이고, 영원한 푸른 하늘의 나라라고 불리는 아름다운 몽골에서 왔어요. 현재, 대한민국으로 유학을 하러 와 있고 인천이라는 도시에 살고 있어요. 인하 (인천의 하와이^^)라는 대단한 대학교에서 한국어를 열심히 배우고 있어요.

이제 한국에 온 지 1년 넘었어요 (시간이 화살같이 지나갔네요). 여기에세 새롭고 놀라온 일들이 많이 있었어요.

이 블로그를 만든 목적은 유학생의 눈으로 한국을 보여 주고 싶기 때문이에요.

여러 가지 이벤트, 사진, 제미있는 뉴스, 한국 가수와 책 소개, 한국인들의 문화 등 등 쓰고 싶은 것이 엄청 많아요! 기대하세요 :)

앞으로 많은 관심을 부탁들일게요.

차... 1, 2, 3 시작!!!

한복 입은 나: 예뻐?? ^.^ me in Hanbeok (pretty, no?) ^.^

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Hello guys, I welcome you to my blog!

This is the very first post in my blog, feeling a bit excited^^

Should we start with a short self-intro?

My name is Nomin, I came from a country of an eternal blue sky, beautiful Mongolia. For the present I live and study in Republic of Korea, Incheon. I am learning Korean language at the famous Inha (Hawaii of Incheon^^) University.

It has been over a year, since I came to Korea (time indeed flies too fast). I've experienced many new and wonderful things here.

I decided to create this blog to show the world Korea through the eyes of a foreign student.

I hope you'll find it interesting^^

So... 1, 2, 3 Start!