We had lunch near the outside of the temple. It wasn't that great, but Mr.Lee from the MOE explained to us after that it is a traditional meal for the temples in this area to eat. It was almost entirely vegetables.
Showing posts with label Jeollanam-do. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeollanam-do. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Songgwang-Sa Temple
After the green tea fields, we went to Songgwang-Sa temple, which is next to Mt. Jogye in Jellanam-Do. The temple dates back to the end of the Shilla dynasty and has been spotlighted as the center of Korean Buddhism. It was incredibly beautiful, and much larger than I would have guessed. They offer a temple stay experience that I would like to do sometime next fall. Here are some pictures from around the temple:
We had lunch near the outside of the temple. It wasn't that great, but Mr.Lee from the MOE explained to us after that it is a traditional meal for the temples in this area to eat. It was almost entirely vegetables.
We had lunch near the outside of the temple. It wasn't that great, but Mr.Lee from the MOE explained to us after that it is a traditional meal for the temples in this area to eat. It was almost entirely vegetables.
Monday, May 3, 2010
지리산국럽공원 (Jirisan National Park)
On Saturday, my friends Michael and Kenny and I went to 지리산국럽공원. Jirisan National Park was the first National Park ever in Korea, and is still one of the best. It is about 2 hours away by bus and pretty easy to get to.
We met at the bus terminal around 9, and took a bus to Gurye, the best gateway to the park. The bus terminal there was really sketchy. We didn't really know what to do, luckily our friends Drew and Kevin from Incheon went a few weeks ago and they helped us via text. We purchased a ticket to Jirisan, and the bus we boarded took us up very close to the top. The ride was quite long, about 40 minutes and the roads were so steep and curvy that Kenny and I got a little queazy, but Michael loved it.
We were dropped off at a lookout point where we began to hike. We really wanted to go on some trails, but for some reason, there weren't many there. We came across a path that was closed, probably due to poor trail/weather conditions. All three of us were game for jumping over it to make it to a peak we spotted. The trail was okay, but near the end, the trail stopped. We had to literally climb some big rocks to make it to the point. Kenny didn't come all the way up, but he took some pictures instead. Here's the rock:
Here was the view from the top of the rock. It's not green yet because of the cooler temperatures. I'm sure later in summer it'd be bright green.
After we had successfully blazed our own trail, we got back on the main road and walked up to the highest point in South Korea. The view was pretty impressive. Usually we can say whatever we like because nobody understands anyhow, but there just happened to be a group of 85 English speakers on an Adventure Korea tour. I'm sure they heard bits of our inappropriate conversation. Oh well. Anyway, this is what the view looked like:
Here's Michael, myself, and Kenny.
It was definitely a full day. We didn't really get the kind of hiking that we were looking for, mostly just trekking. However, we had great weather, and saw some great views. If you're interested in more pictures, find them here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230977&id=59501140&page=7#!/album.php?id=59501140&aid=2230977&s=100&hash=d9bba7fd6adb49ae14493454e79a69d6
We met at the bus terminal around 9, and took a bus to Gurye, the best gateway to the park. The bus terminal there was really sketchy. We didn't really know what to do, luckily our friends Drew and Kevin from Incheon went a few weeks ago and they helped us via text. We purchased a ticket to Jirisan, and the bus we boarded took us up very close to the top. The ride was quite long, about 40 minutes and the roads were so steep and curvy that Kenny and I got a little queazy, but Michael loved it.
We were dropped off at a lookout point where we began to hike. We really wanted to go on some trails, but for some reason, there weren't many there. We came across a path that was closed, probably due to poor trail/weather conditions. All three of us were game for jumping over it to make it to a peak we spotted. The trail was okay, but near the end, the trail stopped. We had to literally climb some big rocks to make it to the point. Kenny didn't come all the way up, but he took some pictures instead. Here's the rock:
Here was the view from the top of the rock. It's not green yet because of the cooler temperatures. I'm sure later in summer it'd be bright green.
After we had successfully blazed our own trail, we got back on the main road and walked up to the highest point in South Korea. The view was pretty impressive. Usually we can say whatever we like because nobody understands anyhow, but there just happened to be a group of 85 English speakers on an Adventure Korea tour. I'm sure they heard bits of our inappropriate conversation. Oh well. Anyway, this is what the view looked like:
Here's Michael, myself, and Kenny.
It was definitely a full day. We didn't really get the kind of hiking that we were looking for, mostly just trekking. However, we had great weather, and saw some great views. If you're interested in more pictures, find them here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230977&id=59501140&page=7#!/album.php?id=59501140&aid=2230977&s=100&hash=d9bba7fd6adb49ae14493454e79a69d6
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Dentist- Part One
I'd planned on going to the dentist. I should have learned by now that things don't always turn out like you plan.
I had spoken to Mihey about going sometime late last week, and she mentioned it to the gym teacher, UnSeok Kim. His sister is a hygenist at a local office. The plan was to meet today, Saturday, at 3:20 in front of schoool.
The meeting each other wasn't a problem, nor was the part when we met UnSeok's best friend, a gym teacher from another middle school, YuJin, in front of the dentist office. It turned out we had an hour to spare before the appointment, so we decided to get coffee at Kenya Espress. UnSeok got a call from his sister, and there must have been a scheduling conflict at the office.
The men asked if I'd ever been to Damyang Bamboo Park. Well, I'd already been there two times, but I said sure and went along with it. YuJuin spoke a good amount of English, so we had a decent conversation during the 45 minute drive to the bamboo park just outside of Gwangju.
The bambook park was just liike it was the last two times I'd been there- walking paths with bamboo all around you. This time instead of snow and ice, there was wet dirt and more people. At least the weather wasn't as cold.
After walking around in the muddy park, we got some dinner at a samgypsal restaurant on the way back home. Even though both men are 37, married with children, they were a lot of fun to talk to and joke with. We stayed at the restaurant for over an hour, which is uncommon. Koreans tend to eat as quicky as possible, but we enjoyed the time.
I think we are going to meet again on Thursday and try again to go to the dentist. It was just a funny afternoon because it was a perfect example of how you never tend to get exactly what you expect in Korea. Instead of the dentist, I got coffee, Damyang Bamboo Park, and dinner! But I do really hope next week we make it to the dentist, fingers crossed!
I had spoken to Mihey about going sometime late last week, and she mentioned it to the gym teacher, UnSeok Kim. His sister is a hygenist at a local office. The plan was to meet today, Saturday, at 3:20 in front of schoool.
The meeting each other wasn't a problem, nor was the part when we met UnSeok's best friend, a gym teacher from another middle school, YuJin, in front of the dentist office. It turned out we had an hour to spare before the appointment, so we decided to get coffee at Kenya Espress. UnSeok got a call from his sister, and there must have been a scheduling conflict at the office.
The men asked if I'd ever been to Damyang Bamboo Park. Well, I'd already been there two times, but I said sure and went along with it. YuJuin spoke a good amount of English, so we had a decent conversation during the 45 minute drive to the bamboo park just outside of Gwangju.
The bambook park was just liike it was the last two times I'd been there- walking paths with bamboo all around you. This time instead of snow and ice, there was wet dirt and more people. At least the weather wasn't as cold.
After walking around in the muddy park, we got some dinner at a samgypsal restaurant on the way back home. Even though both men are 37, married with children, they were a lot of fun to talk to and joke with. We stayed at the restaurant for over an hour, which is uncommon. Koreans tend to eat as quicky as possible, but we enjoyed the time.
I think we are going to meet again on Thursday and try again to go to the dentist. It was just a funny afternoon because it was a perfect example of how you never tend to get exactly what you expect in Korea. Instead of the dentist, I got coffee, Damyang Bamboo Park, and dinner! But I do really hope next week we make it to the dentist, fingers crossed!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Kimchi Festival
One of the things that Jeollanam-do province is known for is it's food. Here is an excerpt from my travel book:
"Considered the 'rice bowl of Korea,' the two Jeolla Provinces are a veritable cornucopia of food. In the late spring, ample rains water the fields, and the farmers can be seen bent over, planting even rows of rice. As might be expected with such an agricultural region, the women from this area are considered the best cooks in Korea.
The conspicuous lack of heavy industry in the Jeolla provinces does have advantages, as the region has perhaps the cleanest air and best-preserved natural environment in Korea. A ride through the countryside reveals scenes that are only a memory in more devolped provinces. The Korean curve motif is everywhere in this pastoral scene- in the sublte curves of terraced rice paddies, the rolling curves of mountains, hills, and burial mounds, and the upcurved roofs of traditional farmhouses.
Gwangju competes with Jeonju for honors such as "best food in Korea" and "the most food served in Korea." This is because in the past, wealthy landlords established gracious food standards, and because the lush Honam Plain in Jeollanam-do has provided food for the city's gormets."
This describes Gwangju perfectly. A lot of times if you are hungry before you go out downtown, you're better off to NOT get food, because you are always served food when you order a drink. They don't want you to drink on an empty stomach! For example, downtown last night our free bar food was (unlimited) sweet potatoes, deep fried mushrooms, rice cakes in red sauce, and nuts. Other times, we've gotten squid or fish jerkey, popcorn, rice cakes, and other light snack foods.
Anyhow, since Ben and Neil were visiting from Busan for the weekend, we decided to hit up the Kimchi Festival together. The boys were a little late arriving, because they had a very late (or early!) night that ended with them eating at 4am at a 24 hour bulgabi restaurant.
I got to the fest grounds next to the World Cup Stadium around 11:30 am, and met up with a girl Megan from Korean class and her co-teacher. We walked around for a bit before everyone else came and saw lots of things. There were many white booths set up on the Southern Providence Food Street where you could eat to your hearts content. There were huge slabs of pork, octopus on a stick, various kinds of kimchi, and lots of Soju and Maekju. The smells were overwhelming, but in a good way. Inside one of the stadiums, we could sample and buy different kinds of kimchi. It was great. I must have had samples of 15 different kinds. I couldn't tell you what they all were though!
There was a special booth called "Foreigners Making Kimchi." I really wanted to do it, but I knew that I wasn't going to be going home until after midnight, and didn't want to be carrying around a pail of cabbage and spices with me all day. I happened to see Steve and Linda Brown (also EPIK teachers, about 50 years old) and they had made some kimchi already. They said it was a lot of fun, but wasn't easy!
For lunch, our menu was on a piece of paper, all in Korean. Alli, Emily, Brian, and I did our best to order by just pointing at one. We figured that it would be pork, because there was so much of it at this booth. We first had their kimchi, which was delicious, then they brought out a second kind of kimchi, which we determined after 10 minutes was our main course. There were dark bits of something in it. It was kind of earthy, like a mushroom, but also kind of meaty. Alli is somewhat a vegetarian, no red meat, so we had to figure out what it was. We eventually found out that it was snails. It wasn't bad, but not what any of us had expected. That's what happends when you just randomly point to something on a menu, hope for the best!
"Considered the 'rice bowl of Korea,' the two Jeolla Provinces are a veritable cornucopia of food. In the late spring, ample rains water the fields, and the farmers can be seen bent over, planting even rows of rice. As might be expected with such an agricultural region, the women from this area are considered the best cooks in Korea.
The conspicuous lack of heavy industry in the Jeolla provinces does have advantages, as the region has perhaps the cleanest air and best-preserved natural environment in Korea. A ride through the countryside reveals scenes that are only a memory in more devolped provinces. The Korean curve motif is everywhere in this pastoral scene- in the sublte curves of terraced rice paddies, the rolling curves of mountains, hills, and burial mounds, and the upcurved roofs of traditional farmhouses.
Gwangju competes with Jeonju for honors such as "best food in Korea" and "the most food served in Korea." This is because in the past, wealthy landlords established gracious food standards, and because the lush Honam Plain in Jeollanam-do has provided food for the city's gormets."
This describes Gwangju perfectly. A lot of times if you are hungry before you go out downtown, you're better off to NOT get food, because you are always served food when you order a drink. They don't want you to drink on an empty stomach! For example, downtown last night our free bar food was (unlimited) sweet potatoes, deep fried mushrooms, rice cakes in red sauce, and nuts. Other times, we've gotten squid or fish jerkey, popcorn, rice cakes, and other light snack foods.
Anyhow, since Ben and Neil were visiting from Busan for the weekend, we decided to hit up the Kimchi Festival together. The boys were a little late arriving, because they had a very late (or early!) night that ended with them eating at 4am at a 24 hour bulgabi restaurant.
I got to the fest grounds next to the World Cup Stadium around 11:30 am, and met up with a girl Megan from Korean class and her co-teacher. We walked around for a bit before everyone else came and saw lots of things. There were many white booths set up on the Southern Providence Food Street where you could eat to your hearts content. There were huge slabs of pork, octopus on a stick, various kinds of kimchi, and lots of Soju and Maekju. The smells were overwhelming, but in a good way. Inside one of the stadiums, we could sample and buy different kinds of kimchi. It was great. I must have had samples of 15 different kinds. I couldn't tell you what they all were though!
There was a special booth called "Foreigners Making Kimchi." I really wanted to do it, but I knew that I wasn't going to be going home until after midnight, and didn't want to be carrying around a pail of cabbage and spices with me all day. I happened to see Steve and Linda Brown (also EPIK teachers, about 50 years old) and they had made some kimchi already. They said it was a lot of fun, but wasn't easy!
For lunch, our menu was on a piece of paper, all in Korean. Alli, Emily, Brian, and I did our best to order by just pointing at one. We figured that it would be pork, because there was so much of it at this booth. We first had their kimchi, which was delicious, then they brought out a second kind of kimchi, which we determined after 10 minutes was our main course. There were dark bits of something in it. It was kind of earthy, like a mushroom, but also kind of meaty. Alli is somewhat a vegetarian, no red meat, so we had to figure out what it was. We eventually found out that it was snails. It wasn't bad, but not what any of us had expected. That's what happends when you just randomly point to something on a menu, hope for the best!
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