I have never experienced the seasons change as rapidly as they do in Korea. A few weeks ago it was winter - freezing and snowing, the trees were bare and the grass was completely dead and brown... the next week it poured with rain, but I lost the need for my thick winter jacket... the week after, the sun was shining again - it was shining nearly all winter, but I could actually feel it's warmth this time. The grass turned green over night and all of a sudden, the bare trees of winter burst into full, glorious spring time bloom - it is, in a word, stunning. And better still, no longer am I bound to the confines of my apartment with the ondol switched onto high. Now, my time off work is spent lazing about in one of the many nearby parks with a book or a few friends... it's noice. It's different. It's unuuusual. Most of the foreign teachers around here had Wednesday off work due to a local or provincial election (can't be sure of which it was... most of the explanations I've received from my Korean co-workers have been vague and/or sketchy to say the least) - but we at the wonderful ECC were lucky enough to get Tuesday off as well! (yes, we were the envy of many). So my fellow Aussie co-worker, Mardi, and I decided to head into Yeouido Island in Seoul to have a look at the Cherry Blossom Festival. Wow.... I don't normally go ga-ga over flowers (or trees for that matter), but these flowery trees were gorgeous. I must've said "it's so pretty" about 7 million times in the first 10 minutes of being there - and that's just the times I said it out loud.
A stream running through the beautiful Yeouido Park - with the obligatory high-rise buildings in the background... wouldn't be Seoul without them.
(BTW. Yeouido... seriously, how many vowels do you want to put in a single word!?)
I like photos that capture the old and new... well given that the park isn't even 10 years old (like most things in Korea) I guess I should say that I like the contrast between the traditional and the modern style - or something like that.
Purdy cherry blossoms... around much of the world, these would often just be regarded as nice flowers, but almost everything in Korea carries a deeper symbolism - even the letters of the Korea alphabet represent the land, the sky, people etc. Aside from the visual beauty of blossoms, Korean thinking uses their short, but stunning existence as a metaphor for life. The fleeting glory of the blossom signifies the precarious and transitory nature of life - something we're supposed to be reminded of during the festival. Nice huh?
... Aaaand back down to earth - in the Korea of day-to-day- an outing wouldn't be complete outing without seeing something completely bizzare... and here is a fine example. Yes, these girls are riding a tandem bike - whilst wearing roller blades. "Why?", you may ask? Well, my guess is as good as yours... but it typifies the sheer randomness I see here on a daily basis. I'm learning not to ask questions about it as the answers are generally more confusing than the behaviour in question.
The Cherry Blossom Festival was a nice day out for many a couple... as I imagine it would be anywhere in the world. Difference here is that couples often wear matching outfits. The matching aqua tops above are far from the best his-n-hers outfits I've seen, but at least it gives you an idea. I once saw a couple wearing identical hot pink t-shirts with a picture of said couple printed (in a love heart) on the front. Let me also throw in that the guys carry their girlfriends handbags everywhere - no matter how girly the bag may be.
Ahh... Beondegi - the bane of my pedestrian life in Korea. Beondegi are boiled silkworm larvae... mmm... unfortunately it is also very popular snack here - you can get it in on the street, in restaurants, bars and even in a can at the supermarket. Every bloody street vendor (of which there are many) boils up beondegi for peckish passers-by. The main problem is (if you can get past the obvious 'you are eating freaking pupae' issue) - that it smells absolutely vile. I have to remember not to breathe when within 15 meters of it, as it is one of the most pungent, thickest, stick-in-the-back-of-your-throat smells going 'round. I've had a few close calls with the old gag reflex and really want to avoid jumping on the Korean band-wagon that apparently okays vomiting on the street (although they do it when drunk... which, judging by the number of spew piles dotted around, is quite often). Moral of the story is: I hate Beondegi.
Ah yes. Back to the Cherry Blossom Festival.... in all it's Korean-ness.
This picture is my attempt at capturing the Korean penchant for unashamedly photographing oneself in a range of hilarious poses... but they do it for serious. I could have taken this picture a million times since arriving here- insomuch that everyday I see girls sitting on their lunch break taking pouty photos of themselves with their mobile phones... or just sitting and and checking themselves out in the obligatory hand held mirror. I'm not sure how much of it is vanity and how much of it is just taking care of their appearance... but it makes me giggle.
Another interesting insight into Korea... here you see families and friends picnicing on a hillside. Well, to be accurate, this was less of a hillside and more of a ditch leading down from the blossomed Yunjungno street to large, noisy road. I'm not sure why this was deemed a nice spot to sit and eat kim-chi and drink ginseng tea - particularly when Yeouido park was mere minutes away - but for some reason it was. It's not like there was even a nice view across the large road onto which the picnicers were facing - there was just a big, packed car park! I really don't get it, but again, I got a good giggle out of it!
I don't think I'll ever get used to the cartoons... This one is on a police station. If there's one profession that shouldn't use cartoons, it would probably be the police, right? And maybe politicians. Which reminds me - the candidates for the election on Wednesday... well, their campaigns involved a lot of dancing and singing in the streets. One candidate (I only know him as #2) had his campaigners set up shop on a traffic island in the middle of a 6 lane road and dance on the back of a truck to cheesy music while illuminated by a range of colourful disco lights. No joke.... perhaps candidate #2 is a joke.
I put this one in just because it is such a typical view in Korea - I like the views across the Han river because it's one of the only times (in Seoul at least) that you can see more than 100 meters in front of you - normally you are crowded in by big buildings.
Hehehe... this kid had a sticker with his name and parents mobile phone number stuck to his back. It made me happy to see that this kind of thing happens all around the world - I remember my dad writing my name and address on my arm in permanent marker at the Royal Melbourne Show... just in case we got lost and it was really rainy or something.
More odd posing with flowers by the Koreans... that's three different photos going on in the background there... Cos squatting with your face in a pot of flowers is the most natural pose you could get!
Meh... when in Korea eh? But just as I suspected, the photo looks ridiculous and will never make it's way into a photo frame in my house... mostly because it looks like I'm on a squat toilet hidden behind the flowers (perhaps I was?). I'm yet to discover how any of the others taking this style of photo could have avoided the same problem, yet I'd put money on it that this pose is the source of many a framed photo in Korea.
Seoul through the blossoms.
Yunjungno street with its festival goers. There were parts of the street that were so densely covered with blossoms that it felt like we were walking in a cloud... or a fluffy, white tunnel... or some other analogy that describes the feeling better...
And to top off a great day, I found this. It's a truck with rotisserie chickens on the back. Yup, you can buy an entire chicken at a street stall... intended as a snack on the subway home?? Who knows, but I think it's brilliant.
Anyway, I hope that my day at the Cherry Blossom Festival gave you all a better insight into Korea... and how weirdly wonderful it is.
Until I can be bothered blogging again...
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