Mehrmann's Meet Korea

*Disclaimer: Please excuse the sweaty nature of all of our pictures. 

Since the first time we moved to Korea, family members have been talking about visiting. But life gets in the way and unfortunately no one was able to visit us while we lived in Ulsan. Luckily we all got a second chance! Andrew’s mom, Becky, and step-dad Brian, made the trek across the pond and booked their tickets to Korea! Aside from forking over the funds and deciding what to pack for 11 days of hellacious heat, their jobs were done. Andrew and I took the liberty of working out all the logistics and creating an itinerary to maximize their visit.

On August 3^rd, Andrew and I woke up and caught a bus from our apartment to the bus terminal. We then caught the 40 minute, 8:10am bus to the Gyeongju KTX station where we would take a two hour train to Seoul. Once we got to Seoul, we took the Subway to get to the hotel we were staying in. We wanted to drop off our bags before going to the airport to pick up the Mehrmann’s! We then  took another bus for about and hour and twenty minutes to Incheon airport where we anxiously awaited their arrival.

It seemed like we timed it out perfectly because we only had to stand at the arrival gate holding our embarrassingly large, neon-green “Welcome to Korea” sign for about twenty minutes. When they FINALLY walked off the plane we couldn’t have been more excited! All the talking and planning was over, it was time for Andrew and I to introduce Becky and Brian to two years of our lives and guide them around the beautiful country that is Korea!

Their exhaustion was replaced with excitement as we talked their ears off all the way to the hotel. We greeted them there with a ‘Korean Survival Pack’ filled with fun Korean gifts and snacks including but not limited to: socks, maps, cookies and of course dried octopus! We took them on their first Seoul subway ride to get some pizza before calling it an early night. We needed them well rested for their ten day adventure!

We spent August 3^rd-6^th hitting the main sites of Korea’s capital. Most of the things we took them to see Andrew and I have seen before and those experiences have already been blogged about from our perspective. So I would just like to include pictures that highlight their visit!

A list of the places and sites we visited included:

August 4^th

• Gyeongbokgung Palace
• The Blue House (where the Korean President lives)
• Changdeokgung Palace and Secret Garden (However, we missed the last English speaking tour by three minutes and they would not let us just join in…so frustrating!)
• Korean Beef restaurant
• Nanta Musical

August 5^th

• Outdoor Korean War Museum
• Itaewon 
• Shinsegae Department Store
• Ate traditional Korean street food for dinner

August 6^th

• DMZ tour
• Seoul Tower
• Hongae area for dinner

Outside Gyeongbokgung Palace

Korean War Museum

Palace Gardens

Enjoying the Seoul Subway

Seoul Tower: Geological Center of Seoul

At the Demilitarized Zone

North Korea in the background

We left Seoul on August 7^th to fly to Jeju Island. Jeju was a place that Andrew and I were very disappointed we didn’t get a chance to visit in our first go-around so we were pumped to get to share this new experience with his parents. Finding a place to stay was a bit tricky as August is the high season for tourists. We settled on the Easy Stay EJ Hotel which came highly recommended from a friend. This would be the first time Becky and Brian would experience a typical Korean style hotel. The location was good relative to the island’s downtown area and airport was it was a bit far from most of the sites.

A little chilly in the lava cave

With Jeju, it’s nearly impossible to get around without a car and since we don’t have an international drivers license we were unable to rent one. So we were at the mercy of taxi drivers. 

We arrived to Jeju about 10:30am after a short 60 minute flight and we left our bags at the hotel since we couldn’t check in until noon. Armed with a map of the island and a free guidebook from the airport, we headed to a coffee shop to map out our two-day game plan.

After checking in, we changed into our exploring clothes, waited on our “English-speaking-taxi-driver” and headed to our first stop which was the Manjanggul Cave. Jeju is much like Hawai’i in that it is the result of an erupted volcano. This cave is the world’s largest known lava cave created by volcanic activity. It was about a 1,000 meters long and SO COLD! The temperature change was welcomed and the first site we had seen on this entire trip where we weren’t just dripping with sweat! It was impressive when you think about how it was formed, but it was just really dark cave. We spent about thirty minutes down there before meeting our hired taxi driver to tell him our next destination.

Our driver spoke no English although advertised it. When I gave him the name of our next stop,

Green Tea Fields

Daheeyeon tea fields, he had no idea what I was talking about. Should have been a red flag. I pointed to it in the guide book, and on the map. He didn’t know. I asked him if he had a Korean map, because maybe he just didn’t recognize the word in English. He didn’t have one. He kept telling us that it would take an hour and twenty minutes to get there, but on the map it looked no more than twenty. I pointed to the map and in my limited Korean told him there was no way. He said my map was a “mistake, mistake.” I even wrote the word out in Korean hoping that it would spark something. Nothing. He then takes his map out. And guess what…. It’s on the same spot as my map!! I pointed to his map, where he said mine was a mistake, and in Korean, said “there, it’s the same!” Ugh….after 20 minutes of this back and forth, we were finally on our way.

Ok, in the guidebook, this tea field was described as “an organic tea park built inside a natural lava cave. They also had a tea museum and zip-lining “through the mountains with stunning views of mountains and sea.”

I take full blame for the tourist trap I led us to. No wonder the driver had never been there. WHAT A JOKE! We arrived and thought, this can’t be it. We paid our $5 each (which included a green-tea drink) and then walked around. The green tea field was, well, a small field of green-tea plants. The museum was entirely in Korean and consisted of about ten displays and the zip line was four platforms that formed a square barely high enough to maybe see some sea; but definitely didn’t go through any mountains.

Waiting on our tea in the cave

Well, we did pay for a drink so we went into their “Cave Café” which was literally a coffee shop in a cave and picked from a very small menu of all green tea concoctions.  You know when something is just so ridiculous you can’t help but just laugh. And the more inappropriate the location, the harder you have to laugh? Well, this was the case for all of us. We were laughing so hard, trying to drink our tea drinks while choking down some green-tea and broccoli cookies. Oh, the memories.

Jungmun Beach

That was it for our first day on the island. It might not seem like much, but it takes a long time to drive anywhere! We spent way too much time in the cabs. But that was ok with me, as they were air conditioned. I’m not sure I stressed how hot it was. Not just on Jeju, but our entire trip. I’m not sure we have ever sweated so much in our lives!

Day two on Jeju, we decided to check out the famous Jungmun Saekdal Beach and their famous

Jeongbang Waterfall.  We didn’t stay to relax at the beach, we just wanted to check out the views. I was entirely to hot to try to layout on the sand. Yikes! After we leaf the beach area we went to Jeongbang. This is the only waterfall in South Korea where the water falls straight into the sea. It was crowed with tourists but really beautiful. I mean, it’s not everyday you get to see waterfalls!

With the mascot of Jeju

We had worked up quite an appetite by now so we decided to walk the streets for something to eat. Literally, all there were were fish restaurants. Not being in the mood, we finally found a pork place. Long story short, we settled on entirely overpriced Jeju black pig barbeque that wasn’t even very good. So we left unsatisfied and heavy stomachs.

Waterfall

Our last stop of day two was Mt. Hallasan national park. Mt. Hallasan is that tallest mountain in all of Korea so I figured there would be stuff to see all around it since it’s a national park. Not the case. Our driver drove us to the hiker drop off point which was a 15-minute mountain windy mountain drive. For those of you who don’t know, I get incredibly motion sick, so I had my eyes closed the entire time.  Well, we weren’t about to hike the nine-hour round trip trail at 4:30pm, so we looked at the mountain, and left. Bummer.

On August 9th we left Jeju Island at 3:30pm for a 40 minute flight to Busan. Before the flight we decided to take it easy and head for some inside duty free shopping. Sadly, it wasn’t very big but we took advantage of the air-conditioning and looked at every store! The flight was quick and then it took about two hours to reach Pohang by bus. We checked the Mehrmann’s into the Galaxy Hotel which is only a seven minute walk from our apartment and right on the beach. We then went for a late dinner at one of our favorite Vietnamese-Korean fusion restaurants. 

August 10^th was a breather day. We showed them our apartment for the first time, took them downtown for lunch, gave them their first Pohang city bus experience, toured the famous Jukdo fish market, got caught in the rain, took them to HomePlus to buy dinner for the night and then went back to our place. We decided that we had been eating out way to much and Andrew cooked us delicious fajitas.

Bulgulska Temple

August 11^th we boarded the intercity bus heading to Gyeongju. The historic city which was the capital of the country during the Silla Dynasty. There is so much history packed into this little city. Our first stop was the famous and beautiful Bulgulska Temple. We spent a few hours just walking, sweating, and taking in the sites and sounds of a mountain temple. We then took a bus to the City Museum which Andrew and I had always wanted to visit. Unfortunately, we saw a scaled down version of the museum as it was under construction, but it was a good chance to see some ancient Korean artifacts. It’s hard to fathom things from 400 and 500AD! We made it back to Pohang just in time for a delicious green-tea marinated pork BBQ dinner. Yum, yum, yum! 

Delicious pork dinner

August 12^th was of course another scorching hot day. We headed to Ulsan to show them our old stomping grounds. It wasn’t a very long trip but it was nice to show them our old apartment and both our schools. We did a little air-conditioned shopping in their new built downtown area and enjoyed yet another Korean city!

August 13^th (my 27^th birthday) we made it another Pohang day. We started the day with a sweaty walk along the beach. We then headed to our schools where we could take them inside and show them what our school lives were like so that was pretty cool.  After that we went downtown for a street food lunch the relaxed and got ready for my birthday dinner! I was excited that Belle and Juan-Hee were going to join us. It gave Becky and Brian the chance to meet some of our Korean friends and ask they questions about Korea. Belle even brought Becky a traditional Korean wind-chime…so sweet. We headed to Baskin Robins for some birthday ice cream before parting ways.

We woke up early on the 14^th to meet them at their hotel. We wanted to ride with them to the bus station so they could catch their 8:20am bus to Incheon airport. A bus isn’t ideal, but it is the easiest way we could think of to get them to the airport hassle free. We said our goodbyes and waved as they pulled away. It was such a memorable trip filled with awe, fun, unforgettable experiences and so much laughter. The only thing I wish I could have changed was the weather. It was so hot!!! But I guess I’d take super hot days over really rainy.

We were so blessed to take them around and are so thankful they made the trip to see us. We wish we had the chance to take all of our friends and family around this beautiful country!

Temple Stay: A Growth in Spiritual Maturity

Posing in our uniforms

I want to warn you; this post holds a lot of personal and spiritual thoughts for me as well as our experiences during our temple stay.

"You shall not bow down to them [idols] or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." -Exodus 20:5

This is the verse that has been occupying my mind for the last week. When we were in Korea the first time, I was really interested in participating in a Buddhist overnight Temple Stay, however, we just never got around to it. Around 23 percent of the Korean population classifies themselves as Buddhist; and we are exposed to Buddhist symbols and temples everyday. I even have several co-teachers who practice buddhism. So I thought it was an important cultural experience to participate in to gain a better understanding of the people and culture around us.

Being a strong Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ, I was torn on whether or not I should participate in the rituals at the temple. Bowing down or worshipping idols is a sin. In this case, Buddha is an idol and I know that bowing is part of the experience, so I was really apprehensive.  An idol is something that we ascribe value and worth to that would surpass the value and worth we should be giving to God. It isn't just bowing down in a physical sense but  elevating something above God.

After praying about it, I realized that the God I worship is an invisible God. The Holy Spirit is always with me and I am given an opportunity to take this Buddhist meditation time as my own private reflection with Jesus. I began to feel empowered and excited that this 24 hours would give me the opportunity to reflect and continue to build my personal relationship with God.

Ok...now on the temple stay!

Belle and Juan-Hee

I ran across this particular temple on the internet about a month ago.  Golgulsa Home of Sunmudo is located in Gyeongju City, about 45 min from where we live. I had invited my co-teacher, Belle, and her boyfriend, Juan-Hee, to join us and we were so excited when they agreed. So at about 4pm on Thursday we drove to the temple.

We arrived just before five, checked in and then went to our rooms to put on our temple stay uniform. A lovely faded mustard yellow vest and huge gray pants. First on our agenda was dinner. Now, I had read somewhere that they have a dinner ceremony where everyone HAS to finish every last bite on their plate, clean their plate with a water and radish and then eat the radish. Andrew and I were a bit terrified of this. But when we walked into the dining hall, we found out that that only happens on Saturday and Sundays. But we were to STILL eat every last drop of food that we took. Needless to say, we both didn't take very much in fear that we wouldn't be able to finish. The boys had to sit on one side of the dining hall, and Belle and I sat on the other. It was a very salty vegetarian meal of rice, cucumbers, bean sprouts and soup. We were both able to finish and ready for the next activity!

Rice, cucumber, tofu, soup

Orientation began promptly at 6:30pm and lasted about 30 min. We were briefed in English on Buddhism, bowing techniques and Sunmudo. I found the history of Buddha fascinating with similar teachings by Jesus of contentment, love and compassion towards others. The bowing was the quickest demonstration I had ever seen. She did it once and then we had to do it on our own...I was terrible, but it was an interesting learning experience.

The biggest differentiator of Golgulsa to any other Korean temple is this focus on Sunmudo, an ancient form of "meditative martial arts." It originated during the Shilla Dynasty, 57 B.C - 935 A.D. In Korean history, monks were often soldiers and called to lead people both spiritually and protect them temporarily. In the early 1990's the grandmaster established that Golgulsa would be the world headquarters for Sunmudo and wanted to introduce this art form to the public to ensure it's survival.

So after our orientation, we had evening chanting and meditation for 30 min and then we started our Sunmudo training. It was explained to us that because of the circumstance of this temple, being so heavily focused on Sunmudo, both monks and Sunmudo masters lived here together. The master that gave us our lesson was not a monk. It lasted an exhausting hour and a half. The moves were very slow and involved a lot of muscle strength and control. I got stuck in the second row, and therefore often corrected by the master...so that was a bit embarrassing. We all had a good time and definitely had an experience we will never forget. We ended the training with 10 min of meditation before we walked back to our rooms for the night.

Belle and I stayed in one room while Andrew and Juan-Hee were in the next as men and women cannot share rooms at the temple. The rooms were better than expected. I figured we had to sleep in one giant open room, on the floor, with all the other temple stay participants. We did sleep on the floor, but it was nice that there wasn't a bunch of us in there. Well, a bunch of people I should say. This place had no shortage of HUGE grasshoppers, centipedes, and cockroaches. ...Did I mention we slept on the floor?! I'm sure I had a few "friends" in my bed throughout the night. Lights were out at 10pm as we had an early morning. At 4am we were to wake-up and hike the mountain at a steep vertical angle to the top for morning chanting and bowing.

Our room

4am came early and we began our accent to the top. I was out of breath with shaky legs from the Sunmudo training seven hours previously so the walk up was not fun. We we arrived, there were only a few floor cushions left, so again, I was in the front row! Super awkward as I had no idea what was going on. It looked very different than the chanting the night before. At the front of this small temple was a statue of Buddha. My fear had been realized. I was on my knees at the foot of an idol. At the orientation the night before, it was explained that bowing at a temple was a sign of respect, much like we do on the streets to elder Koreans as we say hello. It wasn't just bowing down to Buddha. So during the 30 minute chanting service as I fought to stay awake, I decided to just soak in the whole experience. At 5am, the Sunmudo master from the night before led us in our 30 min silent meditation. At this point, my back

4:30am morning chanting session

was so uncomfortable I no longer had to fight to stay awake. 

I began to use this time to really focus on God. The serene environment was the perfect place to meditate on my own saviors greatness and all he has done for the world and me. For by his grace, I was given the opportunity to be in this place at this exact moment thinking these exact thoughts of gratitude. Even though I was surrounded by lotus lanterns, Buddhist paintings and statues, and monks, I just asked God to fill me with the Holy Spirit once again. I was at peace with being in this place, and participating in these rituals because my heart belongs to Jesus and there was no fear of infiltration. I humbly asked him for a fresh supply of grace to reignite my heart's affection towards him. It was such a peaceful moment.

Walking meditation

After the 30 min sitting meditation, we followed the master in a very slow, 30 min walking meditation down the mountain. In a single file line, we walked in silence. Listening to the calmness of the morning, smelling the fresh air and listening to the songs of the birds; it was a  peaceful, leg-shaking walk. When we finished walking, we stood in a circle as he led us in some morning stretching. We then ate breakfast (the exact same meal as the night before) and then went back to our rooms for an hour before the next activity. 


At 8:30am, we had another hour and a half of Sumudo training. I was not ready. Actually I was scared, and I wanted to make sure we got their early so I was not stuck in the front again! However, to our surprise, this training was much softer. We ended up doing Zen yoga the entire time. It was relaxing, comical, and calming all at the same time. When the yoga ended, we had a 30 minute break before we had the opportunity to bow 108 times or not. We decided to opt out and hike once again, to the top of the mountain to rest and get good seats for the Sunmudo demonstration. 

At 11am, the demonstration began. I was a little disappointed because their normal performers were out of the country performing so we had a really watered down version. However, it didn't take away from the incredible strength these men had. We were blown away by some of their moves! We ate lunch at 11:30 (again, the EXACT same meal as the
 two previous) then we collected our stuff to check out!


Overall, it was a fantastic experience. To get to participate in rituals so ancient, as a non-believer was something that I consider a privilege. The simplicity at which these people live and enjoy life is inspirational. My fear of idolatry was just, but once I dug a little deeper, and prayed about it, God used this opportunity to draw me closer to him.

A Korean experience not to be missed!

"The road to a mountain always leads to a temple;
The road to the temple eventually merges with the road to nature.
Leave all worldly sufferings behind,
Let the nature breathe into you.
Reflect on yourself;
'Tis the time for meditation and moderation.
It is a healing process invoked by seeing yourself, bared in the midst of nature and made aware to every passing moment."

Belle's favorite Sunmudo pose

Gulgolsa Temple Stay

 

 

At 8:30am Sunmundo training

       

Our group posing

      

Sunmundo master and his bamboo stick....

Relax, We're Okay!

EEEEK! Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I have no excuses other than we haven't been up to anything exciting or blog worthy. So I decided to make this an informative post and hopefully it will put some of my family and friends at ease with the current situation on the the Korean peninsula.

I have to start out by saying that life over here is virtually un-phased by the craziness that is coming from our 'totally sane' neighbor to the north. I get more stressed out from family and friends sending my panicked messages than I do from anything going on here.

I have noticed that CNN and Yahoo! and basically all major American media outlets are covering their homepages with North Korea's latest threats. The thing is, these threats have been going on for years. They even went on when we were here back in 2009-2010. It seems like for whatever reason, the US is suddenly taking an interest in the animosity between this divided nation. I don't want to be naive in thinking that NOTHING will happen, because it very much can. Kim Jong Un is unpredictable, young, and demands attention. But life here is going on without worry. I feel that although it's important to have an exit strategy  I am trying not to get too worked up about anything until I get word from the US Embassy or my co-teachers to do so.

The semester is still off and running and the spring weather here has been unpredictable. It's warm and sunny in the morning, then we get an unexpected downpour, then it clears up again, then it's back to coats and scarves the next day. Sheesh...

We have a three day weekend coming up, May 17th-19th and have booked a trip to Seoul that we are pretty pumped about. It's been a long time since we just walked around the big city. So be on the lookout for a post about that soon!

Sorry I has been so long and this post is less than exciting. But we have some fun things on the horizon that will be blog worthy!

To teach is to learn twice

A random “ah-ha” moment I thought I’d share…

You know the saying, “To teach is to learn twice.” Well, that came into full effect today. Call me dumb, but I didn’t really understand how we elected a new president until yesterday. Sure I’ve heard of the Electoral vote, and the president needs 270 electoral votes to win, but honestly, I didn’t really know what that meant in its entirety.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I teach English to a group of teachers at my school, we call it “The Teachers Class.” I always try to teach them things involving current events. This usually consists of me taking an article from CNN and then slicing and dicing it to a paragraph or two, creating a handout with key words and discussion questions. (The main goal of this class is so that teachers have a place to practice speaking in English with me and other teachers). With the election taking place on a Tuesday I thought it was the perfect “current event.”

So, I did some research, watched a few videos and educated myself in great detail about all things election night. It was important that I FULLY understand because I had to be able to break down this confusing process to a very elementary level of understanding, thus enabling me to gain a really strong understanding.

And good thing I did! The questions these teacher’s were asking me were tough and had I not researched so thoroughly I would have been embarrassed. Korean’s are very politically educated and even the students knew that November 6th was Election Day in the US, and they knew the names of the candidates! I bet you didn’t know that Korea is having their own presidential election next month and one of the candidates is a woman, the daughter of a former president! I really enjoy teaching the teachers because I learn so much about Korean culture, it’s definitely a win-win situation!

So, if you ever want to check yourself with how well you know and understand something, try teaching it to someone else. If you want to know whether or not you have mastered something, try teaching it to someone who is learning English as a second language :)

The worksheet I created for class

Fall in Korea = More Food Trucks!

There hasn't been a whole lot going on in the past two weeks, but I'll give you a summary of the highlights:

 

Oct. 14th-

Andrew and I decided to walk around Bukbu Beach here in Pohang to enjoy some of the sites of Pohang's Annual Steel Art Festival. The idea stems from the fact that POSCO, one of the worlds largest steel manufacturers, is headquartered right here in Pohang. There was a wide range of sculptures and the weather was perfect to take in the sites and sounds of yet another Korean Festival.

Week of Oct. 15th-

Now that the temperature is a little bit cooler, one of mine and Andrew's favorite Korean snacks are back in the form of food trucks, Hodak! Hodak is a delicious pancake like dessert filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Because it is served so hot, it is only easily found in the fall and winter months. Andrew and I have made it a part of our 45 minute walk home from work as the truck in conveniently parked half way through our walk. And at only .50, it makes it that much more delicious!

Oct. 19th-

I thought I was going to have to wait until the spring to experience another Korean elementary school's Sports Day event, but I was wrong. On October 19th, my school held a three hour event Friday morning where students took part in dancing contests, relay races, obstacle courses and food trucks! (Yes, they had food trucks outside the school serving pizza, cotton candy, chicken nuggets and of course silkworm cocoons, (and yes I have tried them...as gross as they sound)).

Sports day: racing, dancing and eating

For the past two weeks, students have been practicing for the big event. I remember when I was in school it was the most anticipated day of the year! It was basically recess all day followed by school lunches of hot dogs and hamburgers, but there was never any practicing. Here, each grade performs a dance number and they are ranked on them. They ranged from the ever-so-popular Gangman style dance to traditional Korean dancing. All were equally adorable and entertaining. Parents and grandparents come to cheer on their students and even participate in a few events themselves. My favorite was the 100 meter dash. Several groups of "mom heats" where the mom's were hustling at a respectable 80% followed by the "dad heats" which were so competitive it was hilarious. They were definitely going for bragging rights. The grandparents even got to "fish" for a few prizes.

All of the kids were so excited and it was sweet seeing everyone so happy. When it was over, kids left with sugar-filled bellies and parents left with typical Korean consolation prizes consisting of toothpaste, bar soap and Kleenex boxes. It was a good day to be at Dae Hung Elementary School. (Poor Andrew, was stuck inside all day  teaching middle school...)

Oct. 20th-

Bulguska Temple

The first time we were in Korea, in 2009,  we stumbled upon a really famous temple, Bulguska, in the city of Gyeongju (located only a 45 min bus ride from Pohang). The colors around this temple were so gorgeous because of all the fall colors that we were excited to return to once again see the breathtakingly beautiful site. So on Saturday, Andrew and I boarded an intercity bus to take us to Gyeongju and then took another bus for 40 min to get to the temple. The place was packed with families having picnics and couples holding hands. With our camera around our neck we were ready for the views. Sadly, our expectations were let down as the site had not been as maintained as it was three years ago. The beautiful pond (see earlier blog post), is now covered in some sort of vegetation so that you can no longer see the water. Part of the beauty was seeing the gorgeous fall colors reflected in the pond. This time around, the leaves must have peaked a bit sooner and there was no reflection in site. A little saddened, we still enjoyed the day walking the hills of the temple and basking in the sun of a perfect fall day in Korea.

Random Picture Inclusion:

Andrew's weekly pick-up game with some of his middle school students. First it started out with four students. Then word spread fast that Andrew Teacher plays basketball. The numbers have since grown...

Water.Fire.Light...and Cheesballs

Jinju City Lantern Festival

September 24th-

My co-teacher: “Sarah, we have three days off next week, because of holidays. So no school Mon- Weds.”

I wish I had been told prior to the Monday before. Andrew and I sat around talking about what we could do/where we could go for a five day weekend so we didn’t let this free vacation go to waste.

After a wild scramble of researching destinations, places to stay and pricing options, reality set in and sadly, we were unable to leave Korea. The most logical location was going to be Taipei, Taiwan, however, they were supposed to be hit by a tropical storm this past weekend, so we didn’t want to risk being hostel ridden as it typhoons…we already know what that feels like.  

So we went to plan B. Stay in Korea, but get out of Pohang for a little bit. So that’s what we did.

On September 29th, Andrew and I boarded a bus and headed to our “hometown” in Korea, Ulsan. We wanted to check out all of our old stomping grounds to see what had changed and what has stayed the same. After a quick hour and fifteen minutes, we arrived at a familiar bus terminal. I have to be honest. It was so strange being back in Ulsan. When we left in 2010, I never thought we would come back to Korea, let alone, step foot back in Ulsan.

Not much had changed to “new” downtown. We walked around a bit, got a smoothie and then got in a taxi to take a look around “old” downtown. Again, not much had changed. Some new shops replaced the old ones but the atmosphere was the same. We decided to save a little cash and walk the 30 min to our old apartment. Again, surreal feeling. As we approached our street, the first thing I noticed was my old school, and WOW, had that changed so much! Hakesong had gotten a fresh new paint job, an indoor gym with a skywalk connecting it to the main school and they got actual turf! No more dirt field! I was so excited for them, what a huge difference.

As we were about to board a bus to check out Andrew’s school, we passed his old haircut place. We took a thirty minute break so he could get his $10 haircut from a familiar face! Yeompo Elem. hadn’t changed much, but they got an indoor gym as well!

Costco: Cheeseballs and Crowds

Before leaving Ulsan we made a trip to the new Costco! Yes, Costco in Korea! We were like kids in a candy store, I wanted to grab everything in sight! We got there at 6:30pm and it was closing early at 7pm due to the Chuesok holiday (Korean Thanksgiving) that was the next day. The place was PACKED! Everyone was shopping like mad, the payment lines were the longest I had ever seen and there was not a seat left at the food court. Korean’s were stuffing themselves with Costco pizza and hotdogs. Andrew and I made a quick plan at how to cover the most ground in 30 min and then we were off. Cheese, salsa, chips, oatmeal, Clorox cleaning wipes, peanut butter, a blanket, and frozen ravioli. Doesn’t seem like much, but those items are EXTREAMLY expensive here and at Costco we could get more for our money! Something Andrew and I began to notice as we lurked at the Korean’s carts, curious as to what American products they gravitated to. Cheeseballs….the massive bucket of Cheeseballs you can buy at Costco, EVERY cart had one! We had a good laugh when we saw the cheesball display and there was only one left!! After about two mins, we saw two little kids run to the display and grab the last one with satisfying smiles. Hilarious! We loaded up our American goodness, and boarded a bus back to Pohang.

Sunday, was the actual holiday, so most of the city was shut down. Andrew and relaxed and took a long walk on the beach!

Setting our lantern afloat

Monday we decided to head to Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival. We boarded a bus at 10am and rode three hours south to experience one of the most popular festivals in Korea, the Jinju City lantern festival. When we arrived, I was happy to notice the festival was only a five minute walk from the bus terminal and there were tons of little motels to choose from. We picked a random one (worried that there might not actually be a bed since sometimes in Korean hotels you sleep on the floor) but it worked out great. $35, a bed, air conditioning and a private bathroom!

We ventured around the festival. It was filled with tents of carnival games, interesting street food, and random products for purchase. The place began to really get packed around 6pm, two hours before all the lanterns were going to be lit. They had literally TONS of lanterns. Hundreds floating on the river, thousands hung in archways with wishes and dreams attached and even some floating ones that you could pay $3 for to make yourself. Andrew and I made one together, wished for a happy marriage, and even got interviewed by a Korean news station about the process. We are famous now!

Setting our lanterns afloat was such a pretty sight. Glowing, and floating down the river, with our wishes attached, it was a special moment. Until an couple hours later when we saw where most of the lanterns ended up…such a depressing sight.  

Rough journey...

We lined the river with the other people there to get a good spot to watch the fireworks display and official lighting of the lanterns. It was supposed to start at 7:30pm, but it began fashionably late at 8:05pm and was finished at 8:15pm. But wow, what an AMAZING fireworks display! Korean’s know how to put on a show, this picture just does not do it justice. When the show was over, we thought we would go the back way out of the festival to “beat the crowd.” HAHAHA! Everyone took the back way. I had never been pushed and tugged so much in my life. I can’t even describe the scene. (For the KC people reading this, it’s like the cluster of people leaving Corporate Woods on the fourth of July, but times 100, because there are 48 million people living in a country the size of Indiana and I swear most of them were at this festival!) We successfully made it out, sweaty and alive.

We would have loved to have seen another country, like Taiwan, during our five day weekend, but then we would have missed something as neat as the lantern festival going on right in "our own backyard!"

Amazing fireworks display over a river of lanterns!