Hwaseong Fortress

This weekend we went to Suwon - The capital of our province, Gyeonngi-Do. It is home to Hwaseong Fortress (one of the top tourist sites in Korea). It was built in the late 1700's by King Jeongjo to honour his father. He was preparing to move there from Seoul to create a new, more strategically centred capital for Korea but unfortunately died first.

Who's that looking through the turret wall??

It's Shawna!!!!!

I hope I'll be able to get a picture with one of these guys.

Shhhhhhh! It's a secret entrance to the Fortress.

This is somewhere near halfway in our 3 hour walk.

The fortress wraps around the entire downtown area of Suwon. The city works in and around this magnificent fortress.

A river runs through it . . .


One of the more beautiful sights in Suwon. A relaxing pond in the midst of this mammoth fortress. A nice spot for a little break and some refreshing Milkis Soda Pop.

Checking if its loaded - this is just the thing I need to keep my students in-line at school.

Here's a hard earned view of Hwaseong Hanggung (Palace) from atop the mountain we climbed.


We were able to ring this giant bell once we reached the summit of the mountain. JONG - JONG - JONG!!

1st toll - to show gratitude and respect to your parents

2nd toll - to wish for your family's health and harmony
3rd toll - to wish for the realization of your dreams

This beautiful Buddha was HUGE!! I think it was solid 24 Karat gold . . . but Shawna says no.

Smile and say "Kimchi"!!!

See you inside the palace ---------------

Hwaseong Hanggung

A panoramic view of "Happy" Suwon from the walls of Hwaseong Fortress


We planned our walk to be sure to arrive at the palace in time for the Guard Ceremony. Check out the video below - there was marching, music, archery, gunpowder - the works. It was really cool.




In the two shots below you can see King Jeongjo himself. He was a rather nice fellow greeting us peasants so warmly.

Shawna was a little nervous to ask for a photo from this guard until about 50 four year-olds went first.

We met a new friend at Hwaseong - his name is Lee Jae Ho - he hung out with us at the palace and did some translating for us and we went out for Kalbi (BBQ beef short-ribs) which Suwon is famous for.

They had some activities planned but you had to exchange your money first. The exchange rate for the Won to Nyang was welcome compared to the current Won to Canadian dollar so we got 5.

Our first purchase at the palace was a custom calligraphy drawing of my name - very nice!

Then we made some clay pots.

Then we played dress-up.

The new King and Queen of Korea!!

We were able to ring the giant bell at the top of the mountain . . .

It was really awesome day - if you ever happen to be in Korea - we'll take you there!!

Shopping!!

After an already busy morning, we were eventually able to meet up with our friend, Andrew. He is from Nova Scotia and is an old friend of our room mate, Cassie. He has stayed at our apartment a few times during his journeys across Canada and now is teaching in Seoul. We met up in Myeongdong (one of Seoul's main shopping districts) for some lunch and shopping.






We couldn't resist when we were in the Photo Zone at Omuto Tomato. We ate some Omurice there, which was delicious. It's a log of rice and veggies wrapped in a thin omelette covered in a suace of your choice. I could eat one right now!

The area doesn't look like it's car friendly but they do drive through. . .

The camera went away for the afternoon and didn't return until later at the Soju bar. We had some Kiwi Soju (which could be trouble if you aren't careful). It's really sweet and delicious and you'd hardly know there was copious amounts of alcohol inside. We limited ourselves to one small pitcher - we wanted to have an early start the next morning.

After the Soju, we went in search of a place to sleep. We checked in at one hotel, which was recommended on-line as a super-cheap place to stay, and promptly exited after a couple minutes in the room. ($32 Canadian = Worst hotel ever!) We went in search of another, more suitable, place to sleep. We found Hotel Noo Noo!! $54 Canadian (tax/tip included) and we got a wonderful room. Clean, spacious, a computer with free internet and a huge flat screen tv! We'll have to do some more research to find a room somewhere in between Noo Noo and the other dump.

Good Morning Korea!!

Shawna - DO NOT LOOK BEHIND YOU!

Sunday we went to LOTTE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A huge indoor theme park, mall, skating rink, bowling alley, arcade, shooting range, swimming pool and everything else you can imagine! We didn't go into the theme park (we'll save that for another day) but we did see alot. The Lotte Department stores were multi-level mega stores selling fancy clothes - it's the "Bay" and the "Walmart" of Korea combined.

We watched the kids skate in the middle of the mall and were especially captivated by the little speed skaters. Keep an eye on the little guy in the white helmet practicing his crossovers.

Little Miss Shawna got to ride on a round escalator . . .

See you next time . . .

Namsangol Hanok Village

Hello!!! Sorry for the long delay between posts but school's been hectic and we still don't have internet at home. So after a thorough cleaning of our apartment (it was in need) - it's Saturday afternoon and we're at a PC Bang (internet cafe).

On to the post . . .


Last weekend we were off to Seoul again (we just couldn't resist after a week at school). This time we found ourselves at Namsangol Hanock Village. It's an old style Korean village with additional landmark homes brought in from other Seoul villages to beef it up a bit. It's kind of like Black Creek Pioneer Village. Shawna participated in some traditional games (slighty more successful than I at the throwing game).



The Hanok houses were open so we could see inside and take some photos.



It was a beautiful day and many school and tour groups were parading through with us. In the background of this photo you can see the newly-renovated Seoul Tower. I'm sure there will be a visit and a blog post in the near future.




We were lucky enough to catch a couple in the midst of their wedding photos. They are wearing their traditional Hanbok clothing.



Shawna stopped to smell the flowers. Hopefully, with the warm weather on the way, we should see many more in the coming weeks.



Who's that handsome fellow on the bridge over there?

The Hanok Village had some posters detailing a flute-making workshop that happens twice-a-month. We will certainly go back for that.

After the sight-seeing we walked over to Namdaemun Market where we had some time to kill before meeting our friend Andrew from Canada.

The streets were jammed with people (that seems to be a theme in Seoul) buying and selling. We bought a pair of King Sejong 10 000 Won boxer shorts - sorry, no pictures yet - and some delicious street food.