Tag Archives: korea

Korea adventure – day # 27-28 – Temple stay (part 1)

Written on Week 33 (2013)
Published months later
Joensuu, Finland

From one of my students I heard that one could stay overnight on one of the Buddhist temples. Honestly, the comment raise my attention and I decide I want to try it. The search on the internet started and I found this temple stay website. Due to the time, location and cost I select this temple: Geumsunsa

My adventure in the temple stayed started at the moment I wanted to reach the temple. It can be challenging, particularly if one has not knowledge of korean language, so despite the website has good explanation to transmit a message might be challenging. First, I got down in the wrong side of the subway Kyungbokgung (???) station. However, I am thankful for that mistake as I saw that this particular station is VERY interesting.

Secondly, I wrote the name of the temple in latin characters and I though to get a taxi once I emerged from the subway station. Surprisingly, my English message did not say anything to the taxi drivers. Then I went to ask help to dunkin-donuts personnel, which were very kind to help me. They wrote the name of the temple in Korean but still the taxi drivers say no. The temple did not show up in the GPS, it seems. So again with the dunkin donuts personnel, we wrote the whole address and indications, in Korean, and one employee helped me to talk with a taxi driver. Finally I was on my way. When I was reaching my destination the streets were getting narrower, to the level that a car had difficulties to go through…. then we reach the limit and I needed to walk.

This temple is in Seoul, and without a question, simultaneously is not in Seoul. Check the path from the following photos.

 

Where the bus might drop you

Where the bus might drop you

Going up

Going up

Going up

Going up

Going up

Going up

If you want to go up, you need to walk

If you want to continue up, you need to walk

Going up

Going up

Getting to the Temple

Getting to the Temple

Finally, I reached the temple, but to my adventures previously described, I arrived 30min little late, shame on me.

This is the main door the temple.

 

First door

First door

Once in the temple, we receive clothes and the program of activities is explained. At this moment we were mixed koreans and foreigners. Afterwards, we were only together for the meals.

The next photo is our schedule, which was in our room’s wall during my temple stay.

kr_post15A_00_50

The first activity is the tour around the temple. Now that I am writing my memoirs, I see I missed important shots, but hopefully this set of photos offer an insight of the temple.

For me was interesting to hear the explanation of the doors. Big temples have three doors, which means the paths towards Nirvana. In these temple we had two, the main door to the temple (showed in an earlier photo) and the second door (shown below) the entrance towards the stairs that take us to the main temple.

The second door is on the right side, in the "middle" of the photo.

The second door is on the right side, in the “middle” of the photo. I am taking the photo from another angle.

My impression, for a very short exposure to Buddhism, is that as other religions has several symbols. To me was interesting to learn some of their symbols, making me aware of my own ones as catholic. For example the stairs towards the main temple has a meaning.

In reference to the constructions the buildings are colorful and inviting. It called my attention that the ceiling of this building is actually a garden of the main temple:

One buidling

One buidling

The celing of the previous building and garden of the following temple

The celing of the previous building and garden of the following temple

Temple

Temple

 

There are also offers for Buda, and for the dead. As I said, in our believes we use several symbols, which in my personal experience are very important. One day I will talk about this.

In this case food is an offer as well as the lamps, which in my personal opinion I think are beautiful.

The position in which Buddha has his hands have also meanings. (Here link1,  link2 and link3 with information)

Here some photos showing the temple(s) and surroundings:

Offerings

Offerings

Lamps

Lamps

View

Detail of the construction with the nature surrounding us

View

Ceiling of one building and the roof is the garden of the main temple.

Other temple

Pick to the view of another temple

One side of the temple, preparing the lamps for the decease.

One side of a temple (downstairs, after the 1st door but before the 2nd door). The hanging lamps are the preparation lamps to a celebration for the decease.

Buda inside the temple

View of the temple downstairs

Lamps in the ceiling

Lamps in the ceiling

Another temple

Main temple is above this construction. The garden is the ceiling of this building.

Landscape

Landscape

View from the main temple

Outdoors view from the main temple

Detail inside the main templ e

Detail inside the temple.

Doors closed

Doors closed

Buda

Buda

Here we making a line to get our dinner. We are in purple uniforms while the monks are in gray. Yes, we ate sitting on the floor and the food was vegetarian and very good.

Line for lunch

Line for dinner

As with Catholics, Buddhists can also make money donation to for the construction of their temples, in this case their names are written on the tiles being used in the construction, as in this case:

Name of donators

Name of donators

Construction

Construction

View of the temple towards busy Seoul:

View of Seoul

View of Seoul

Another activity was the bell ringing. We all tried. Of course the best sound emerge when the Monk hit the bell. In here I got an adventure, because I was on the other side touching the bell to sense how long the cling last and suddenly a new hit. Oh man! That was loud.

Me posing after hitting the bell

Me posing after hitting the bell (me as always melting therefore ALWAYS with a bottle of water in my pocket!)

Hitting the bell

Hitting the bell

To finalize the day we had the 108 prostrations, from which we were practicing how one should make them.

While practicing, I confess that to me made no so much sense, but I was doing it as respect to the temple. They were accepting me as a visitor despite being from another religion and the less I can do is to do it properly.

The monk who was with the foreigners realized we were tense, so we did some yoga before the prostrations, which with the environment suits quite well. How much I remember my friend Anika, she would have LOVE IT!

However, at the moment to make the 108 prostrations, we have a CD in English and then it make so much sense. A lot of the things Catholics pray for are also expressed in Buddhism, give thanks for what we have, value, ask for guidance, etc. To me the understanding of each prostration transform the sense of it.

The temple where the foreigners were located was BEUTIFULLY illuminated with the lamps. It really offer a special atmosphere with the doors open, contact with nature, the light of the lamps, from several offers, and the prostrations connecting a physical activity with an inner conversation, call it spiritual if you wish.

Photos of the Temple at night:

 

Practicing prostration

Practicing prostration

Indoor's illumination

Indoors illumination

inside the temple where we did the prostrations

inside the temple where we did the prostrations

After the prostrations, we were ready to sleep. We slept on the floor. As people knows me, when I did the  judo and sometimes my back requests hard-surfaces to sleep on, so to sleep on the floor is not a problem for me. I slept well. The best of this night was that we could listen the river while falling to sleep. This was a LUXURY!

To finalize this post some photos of my walk at night through the temple, before falling to sleep.

View of Seoul at night

View of Seoul at night

The light of our room

The light of our room

Our room

Our room

The next day, in the part 2 of this post. 🙂

Korea adventure – day # 24 – Mud festival

Week 34
Joensuu, Finland

On Wednesday July 24th we went to the mud festival in Boryeong city. So we needed to drive from Suwon – point A in the photo below – to Boryeong – point B. This driving offered us the possibility to see some of the Korean landscape.

Suwon to Boryeong

Location of Suwon (pont A ) and  Boryeong (point B)

Landscape from the highway,  view from the bus window

Landscape from the highway, view from the bus window

Honestly I was unsure of what to wear and what to expect. I read a couple of things on the internet related to the mud festival clarifying what it is, but still I was unsure about it. So let’s discover.

We arrived to the festival. The mud area, where are some games as well, is  behind the tends of the photo below.

Arrival to the festival

Arrival to the festival

Somehow everything looked “calmed” when we arrived. It was a still early, I assume, because when we left was more activity.

The festival area is large and  I heard that on the weekend is busy. However, with this amount of people was possible to enjoy the MUD.

Germany present!

Different view of the festival area – Germany present!

We had some time before we were able to get into the mud.  So, first we put our bags in the lockers.

Mud is the main event.

Entrance to the lockers room. As you see MUD is THE event.

Lockers

Temporal Lockers

Message in the lockers

Message – no idea what it says.

Afterwards we went to eat lunch. One post will be dedicated to Korean meals, it deserves a post on its own.  However here an intro.

lunch time

lunch time

It is fascinating that the grill is in the middle of the table!

After a good meal, we got ready to get into the mud as time was approaching and that meant start to put mud on ourselves. No photos as available from my camera, as mud is not good for cameras.

For the dress up, I decide use some OLD cut pants which were ready to send to the trash.  Those were advices from some websites I read.  However when I saw photos taken from us, I got surprised how I was brave enough to use them. OMG!

TIP: Use something that you will not be sad that will be destroyed, but still nice and comfortable. 

This photo was taken after I was in the mud,  while I was waiting for the busses for our return to Suwon.

This photo was taken after I was in the mud, while I was waiting for the busses for our return to Suwon.

The first thing I did was to slide on that blue slide (photo above, the slide of the left), and it was FUN. However, my grip with the surface was VERY poor, and that made me slower than normal. Before my next step I wanted to be sure I was stepping correctly. All was so slippery!  So, even that must games were competitive, my aim was to experience the event and I was with a great group of ladies to do that. 🙂

My second game was on a red pool, which was located on the right of the slides. The photo does not capture it, but I confess I had a BLAST! It was so good!!!! I had much fun, the idea was to make different activities in the pool, e.g. make pairs, make teams of five, etc. Those who were unsuccessful sat in the middle and at the end we wash them with mud, shortly afterwads revenge emerge and we were shower with the mud. It was much FUN and after this moment I was really IN the event.

Unfortunately no much photos are available, except of my shoes from the picture below. This is a type of event that I could try to explain it 10000….. times and the experience cannot be transmitted. One has to live it. Great fun!  

one of those are my shoes

one of those are my shoes

another view of the festival

another view of the festival

Note: however one has to be careful too, as it is easy to slip. We had one of our students hurt 🙁 

After play and get REALLY dirty! we took a shower and got ready to get back. Below some rice fields on our way back. A very nice trip.

Landscape on the way back to Suwon

Landscape on the way back to Suwon

Next, temple stay…

Korea adventure – day #20: Amusement park – Lotte World

Week 33
Somewhere on the train in Finland

Time just flew away and I was not able to post daily. Sometimes I was not online due to technical challenges, other times I needed to finalise work and other instances I needed to live intense off-line or actually RE-CHARGE so… no able to post.  However I am still commited to document the last weeks, so making use of my offline notes.

On Saturday July 20th we had programmed to go to Everland, however we did not go.  The Everland has attractive rides, for my taste,  and high-technology developments that I would have enjoyed to experienced. However, in these days was raining A LOT  and for the  20th  the forecast was rain, which means several rides in Everland would close while raining due to security. Consequently, the organising team of the summers school at OIA decided to take us to Lotte World 🙂

Lotte World is an amusement park in the middle of Seoul.  You can see in the photos below the HUGE buildings that surround the park.

Parking our busses at Lotte World

Parking our busses at Lotte World

Buildings surrounding Lotte World

Buildings surrounding Lotte World

The entrance is actually inside a building.

Entrance to Lotte World

Entrance to Lotte World

Personal side note: Those who know me are aware that I enjoy A LOT amusement parks and rollercoaster 🙂     Sadly, since I am a researcher in games my enjoyment capability has been spoiled for amusement parks  🙁  Particularly, when I am on my own exploring the park, aghrrrr! I am not pleased about this. Automatically, when I am exploring emerges an internal analyzing button! – it sounds as a line from the Avatar movie – But it is true, it has happened to me the last time I was in Disneyworld for example  🙁   However in Disney I was with my mom and she was FANTASTIC into bringing me down to the enjoyment world without analysis. 😉

In this day I get lost from my companionship, however the advantage that I have for enjoying Lotte World is that the park cannot be compared or analysed trivially. Most of the Lotte World is located indoors in a country where space is scarce! Thus, automatically one has another experience.

Park Outdoors

Park Outdoors

Park Indoors

Park Indoors

Utilising all possible space available

Utilising all possible space available

As predicted in the weather forecast in this day rained. Thus,  I spend most of my time indoors.  It is actually strange to be indoors in a amusement park and it took me some minutes to learn to navigate. It was as being inside a shopping mall, somehow. That is, we need to find the precise door, stairs, hallway, which might not be so big and obvious as in outdoors amusement parks.

where to go next?

where to go next?

Nevertheless, the novelty  allowed me to explore freely 😉  The following videos were taken with the intention to offer a “feeling” of the park from the top-most point, a ballon!

One thing is in common in ALL parks I have visited until today: lines are LONG. Thus, I could not get into all the rides as it is my utmost goal, however I think I did relatively well with the time available. The rides I did were:

One of the museums that were in my list to visit was the Trick and Eye Museum (here info in English) and by coincidence in the park was a selection of pieces from the exposition. So, playing while taking photos!  Well suited in Korea I must say. (Side note 2: I did not had the opportunity to go the museum, but I did not get so traumatised as due to have a little taste of the exposition in here. So, I start to make my list of places to visit the next time)

Taking photos

Visitors taking photos

Interesting perspectives

Interesting perspectives

Testing what would be a feeling to have if  my  piggy bank  would have the following content 😉

Visualising a future piggy bank :P

Visualising my  future piggy bank 😛

There was Korean food too 😉  as you can imagine rice was available! 🙂 However, one could see in the park unhealthy western food influence…. Please, dear Koreans, do not copy bad habits!

What do you want to eat?

What do you want to eat?

It is difficult to say what I like most of the visit. I would need to go back to actually decide 🙂  – It is a good excuse, right? –  The whole day was enjoyable and new for me, leaving a smile in my face! 🙂

Ok, I must confess there is a ride that supports my previous thoughts that the cinema and rollercoaster are converging, and that is the 4D Shooting Theater, just check the photo.

Preparing ourselves for the ride

Preparing ourselves for the ride

At difference to Disney 4D Toy Story ride, in the shooting theatre we were sitting as in a cinema where we needed to shoot, as you can imagine through the photo. Our targets were skeletons and zombies.  Once the adventure finalised, photos of all the players with our scores were shown before we stepped out. I really wonder how will be the movies and rollercoaster 10 years from now… this is getting INTERESTING!

Summarising the day was fun! 🙂  I am aware that I just wrote some of the highlights but time is a scarce resource, as I had been whining about lately, however let’s do the best out of it. So summaries are better than no post!

Next post: Mud festival!

Korea adventure – day #16 & 30: Korean movie night

Week 31
Suwon, Korea

Oh my!
Oh my!

I am very delayed on my postings.
Time passes so QUICKLY!
After this attempt to blog my time in Korea, I stress my respect for those who blog daily. It is NOT an easy task. Anyway, let’s start to catch up somehow.

One of the main activities that took most of my time while I have been in here is polishing my lectures, lecturing and grading. I post about this main activity will come, as I am very proud of my students. Other pursuit in this time has been to catch up with some writing, in which as we know I am “slow” but advancing 🙂 Thus, most of the korean events reported in here, are mainly the social-discovery happenings.

During the summer school we have two movie nights at the video conference room of the Yulgok Hall. In each one of the movie sessions we were so spoiled with snacks and drinks.

snacks and beverage for the movie

snacks and beverage for the movie

sitting arrangement

sitting arrangement

The movie on July 16th : The thieves.

This film is good! Now that I am exposed a little bit to the region, I think I enjoy the movie even more.  It is an action movie and the story has interesting twists.  Here the trailer to make you craving:

The movie on July 30th :  The Berlin File

This movie has a complex however interesting storyline. However if one does not follow carefully what is happening one can get lost easily. On the other hand if you follow the storyline, the movie is keeps you constantly wondering. It is also an action movie with a lot of shooting. Yeap, this film confirms that I did not  born to be a double agent!  Here trailer:

Summarising:
Watch out for Korean films because they are good!

Korea adventure – day #13: Getting lost in Seoul

Week 28
Suwon, Korea

Reporting this almost 1 week late. Time passes by very quickly!

On Sunday 14.7. was my first day in Seoul. My goal was to discover the city, at least part o if. For this visit I did not have a tight schedule or fix list of museums to visit. I mainly wanted to walk in the city, as long as I feel safe.

The way from Suwon, where the campus is located, to Seoul is fairly easy. One takes a bus, which drops you at one subway station. Once in a subway one can reach almost everywhere. I will write a post only about the subway later.

I emerged from the subway at the city hall station to visit the Deoksugung Palace.  The palace is located on a street which, according to the subway map, has several subways intersections. So I though the street might be interesting.

My intention was to reach the palace for the change of guard. I was a bit earlier, but I needed to eat, re-charge my batteries and locate myself. Most of the information is in Korean, so I need some time to locate myself.  The schedule of the  change of guard “ceremony” is three times a day. The ceremonial event is interesting, as you see in the following photos.

Ceremony at the palace

Ceremony at the palace

 

Ceremony at the palace

Ceremony at the palace

Ceremony at the palace

Ceremony at the palace

Ceremony at the palace

Ceremony at the palace

But at some point, the ceremony pauses, i.e. everybody freezes,  then the public is invited to take photos with the ceremony participants. This was strange for me, but well, move and take some close up photos.

We are allow to take photos with them.

We are allow to take photos with them.

The next photo is resuming the ceremony.

I got interested on this instrument.

I got interested on this instrument.

The whole ceremony is free of charge. 🙂

Next, I decided to go into the palace. As you can imagine, I pay attention to the mobile or digital tours available, which actually were scared. I mainly saw the following advertisement but my korean is inexistent.

Publicity fo the available app as audio guide

Publicity fo the available app as audio guide

Once crossing the main door, one is in a garden which contains several constructions. It seems interesting and I got a booklet to read in detail more about it. I confess I really miss a mobile guide / game in here.  I insist good future for ubium.

Inside the Palace

Inside the Palace

What I could grasp from the surface is that some of the buildings have western influence. For example in the building below there is some kind of Russian influence/collaboration.  One has to understand more Korean history to get most out of this location.

Western influence

Western influence

The construction below was beautiful, and I like how the doors or windows “open”. Specially for this hot /  humid weather, I can understand was more a need than a luxury.

Palace

Palace

At the back of the garden there are some western style constructions, and one of them is the national museum of art. As you can imagine, I got in.

Museo of Art

Museo of Art

Ah! but before get in, one’s umbrella should be left in the umbrella’s locker seen below.

At the entrance of the museum

At the entrance of the museum

In here it rains constantly, so an umbrella is an indispensable technology to carry.

The exposition was about a Japanese artist:

Exposition of Yanagi Muneyoshi  from 25.5. - 21-7.

Exposition of Yanagi Muneyoshi from 25.5. – 21-7.

Before continue my expedition of this day, I want to share a brief video I took with the aim to share that this peaceful and beautiful location is in the heart of Seoul. At the time I filmed it, apparently it was a political event outside, thus one could listen the noises of the event beyond the garden walls. We are at the heart of  Seoul!

After visiting the palace, I start walking on Eulji-ro street. I kind of walk 5 subway stations.  The next set of photos offer an impression of the metropolis, modern, old, commercial, traffic, …

Crossing the street, from the palace to walk in Seoul

Crossing the street, from the palace to walk in Seoul

Some trafic

Some trafic

Tall and modern buildings

Tall and modern buildings

See that tower, that will be my next target I start to think….

street view

street view

After the tall buildings, the street transforms into a commercial street of  bathroom equipment.  Those stores later transform into shops for lamps, later a market shows up until I got tired and decided to take the metro again….

small shops

small shops

More traffic, walking the same street.

more traffic

more traffic

shops

shops

Looking behind, see AL THAT I have been walking. I started behind those tall buildings.

streets

streets

The market I mentioned earlier, which was closing when I reached it.

market

market

Once in a subway again, I decided to go to the N-tower.  I got down to the University station, and wait for a bus. In my way back, I took another route to try the cable cars.

Next photo waiting for the bus in a nice surrounding, and the tower behind the landscape.

start the "trip" towards the tower

start the “trip” towards the tower

It is getting closer

It is getting closer

The bus let you in a specific place and then one must walk up. Next photo is a view of Seou in one of the designated areas to look the landscape.

Unfortunately, the day I was there was cloudy. However, it is hard to get no-cloudy days. At least since I have been here, almost all days had rain and unquestionably the high humidity is a CONSTANT.

that is the view of the city while getting up

that is the view of the city while getting up

Reaching the tower 🙂

closer

closer

The next photo is once I am at the top of the tower. My camera die, so the photos are taking with my tablet.

more view from Seoul

more view from Seoul

I detect an audio guide system and OF COURSE I try it.

audio guide

audio guide

It was an audio guide, that is it. Perhaps my experience would have been more enjoyable if the weather conditions were favourable and one could actually see all what they explain in the guide. Things to think about these type of guides, the weather is NOT always perfect.

From the content of the guide, I confess some of the information was very interesting involving the history of Seoul.

audio guide part 2

audio guide part 2

As I live in Brussels, at the instrument museum, the audio guide detects clearly when I am steeping in the specific circle, or being close to it and then the guide starts playing the corresponding audio. Thus, I do not have to push any button. This functionality is actually nice.

inside the tower

inside the tower

One thing I have notice in Korea, business is everywhere. One can find stores EVERYWHERE and inside the tower is not not an exception.

Next photo is a night view of Seoul. I am sure with a good camera and proper weather conditions the view could be beautiful.

Seoul at night

Seoul at night

Getting down from the tower and heading back. I confess by now, my feet demand a rest.

Good night tower

Good night tower

Bye, bye tower, until the next time.  Afterwards, I went to my bed for a very good night sleep! 🙂