How I went to kimchi festival^^

Hello, you are reading my new post again^^
This time I am writing about the day, when I went to kimchi festival (김장축제), on 1st of December. You can see I am a bit late with the article, it is just that I  felt too lazy these days was waiting for inspiration.
Let's start with basics. Do you know what is kimchi? It is a very Korean-style food: cabbage (or radish, or onion, or cucumbers... the list goes on and on), fermented with different seasonings, always spicy. It is a main side-dish for Koreans, it is a bit funny how they eat even European cuisine with kimchi. Every one who has ever visited Korea, would be familiar with this specific dish. Back in Mongolia, my Dad, who has stayed before in Korea for a short period, loves to eat Mongolian food with kimchi^^
So on that day in the morning I went to Garak market (가락 시장), one of the biggest markets in Seoul, specialized in vegetables and seafood. The weather was quite nasty that day. I arrived a bit late, so the opening ceremony has already started. As you would expect, some important people, organizers of the kimchi festival, came out on the scene and gave speeches about purposes of this event.

there were quite a few speakers

From what was said I learned that this festival was organized for charity, and kimchi, made on this festival, will be given out to neighborhoods in difficult circumtances.

the poster reads: putting love in kimchi and transferring

There were a lot of ajuhmas (middle-aged women) in red aprons, making kimchi. I suppose they are workers of Garak market (or maybe not).

they seemed very close with each other, laughing non-stop

Me and other foreign students also started making kimchi. I can't show you my photo, because I looked very dorky in apron and cook's hat -.- I will just leave you with your imagination :D
Little children were also taking active part in making of kimchi.

cute Korean kid

So what did we do? We took already fermented cabbage and soaked it in special spicy paste.
Below you can see how simple cabbage transforms into yummy kimchi.

After we were finished making kimchi we had some lunch and then we went to sight-see around Garak market. We saw a lot of fruits and vegetables:

this scene wouldn't be much different from Mongolian markets

and a lot of sea and marine products. Like these:

i was very scared by those unidentified sea monsters :O

I also noticed these cute mascots of Garak market:

Veggies and Fishies going hand-in-hand, so sweet^^

At last we were given lots of free kimchi as "souvenirs" and we called it a day.

Kimchi festival is held annually, and this was the 3rd time. Next year, if you have this opportunity try going to this festival, it would be fun :)

Visit to Korean President's House

Yesterday I have been to Cheong Wa Dae (청와대) - so-called Blue House, the place, where Korean president works and lives, what's more, absolutely for free. So how was it possible? Anyone can register for sightseeing tour in Cheong Wa Dae, foreigners included, all you need is to register for a tour in advance. For more information visit official website.
At around 3 o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at information booth near East parking lot, as we were told. Security guard checked our passports, and then we got on a bus with other visitors. After few minutes we got off in front of Cheong Wa Dae. Before entering we were given instructions, the most important one was to take photos only in designated areas. Then we advanced inside the building, where we had to go through an examination, just like what they do in airports, in case we have guns or another dangerous tools. Next we were shown a short PR video about Cheong Wa Dae, where president Lee Myung Bak (이명박) himself with his wife appear, welcoming visitors to his residence. We were also given some souvenirs: cute cups with an image of a Blue house.
Finally we got to really look around the presidential residence. We were taken to 4 places in the residence.
This is the first one:

where I found nothing besides this more-than-100-year-old tree

Next place was Gyeongmudae (경무대). Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures, thus I can't show it to you. All we could see there were different kinds of trees.
Finally we got to the Main Building with the famous blue roof, you might have seen it a lot in mass media. We've been there for a while, so everyone got a chance to take a photo with Cheong Wa Dae as a backgorund.

actually we were not allowed to stand (or sit) on the lawn :P

At last, we entered Yeong-Bin-Gwan, the State guest house. We looked around the hall, caught a glimpse of a hall, and had a chance to take photo with President Lee Myung Bak and his lovely wife. Or to be concrete, with their carton twins :)
At this stage sightseeing around the Blue House ended, and we had to leave the territory. I must say, in the area, the Blue House isn't the only thing worth attention. For instance right on the opposite side of the road locates Gyeongbukgung (경북궁) - maybe the most famous out of all the many palaces in Seoul. 

photo of Geyongbukgung, taken last year by our teacher

Also, along the streets you can find UNESCO headquarters, lots of museums and art galleries.

symbol of UNICEF

what kind of hidden message might be behind this sculpture?

Among them this is the thing that impressed me the most:

I hope some people could go there and find their lost brains -.-

Another finding on the way back home. Another reminder about sad events on Yeonpyeong Island (영평도). I just hope this dangerous situation comes to a safe (!) ending soon.

they say during war of South and North Koreas in 1950-1953 S.Korea has been added to the Guinness World Records book as a country to have most allies than any other nation before (67 nations)

At the end of the day I felt very tired, but it was all worth it. I get to know a lot of new things, and it has been a very good experience.

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!! ^.^