Special Visitors

A breath of fresh air arrived on September 4th when my parents landed in Korea for a much-needed visit. It had been just a few weeks shy of a year since I'd last seen them and their timing couldn't have been better. That day at school felt endless as I waited for their phone call to let me know they were in the country. I told each class about their visit and watched as the kids' eyes grew huge with disbelief. "Teacher, your mother and father...Korea?! Wow..." One class commented on how happy I looked as I told them and I could see my excitement rub off on their faces as their smiles widened.

As the last class arrived, I finally received the phone call from my dad. They had made it safely and were sitting in my apartment waiting for me. A 40 minute class couldn't have gone by slower than that one, and when the final bell rang I grabbed my stuff and headed out the door. Without letting my sandals slow me down, I literally ran all the way home and laughed to myself as my own image conjured up thoughts of a sappy movie or commercial. It was worth the run when I busted through the door and saw them standing there—face to face, not on a computer screen.

With only a few short days before they headed to Japan we tried to make the most of our time together. They sampled a few ubiquitous Korean dishes (galbi, bulgolgi, and bibimbap), visited my school, strolled through my neighborhood, indulged in some shopping, met my friends, and experienced one of the largest palaces in Korea—Gyeongbokgung.

Although short, their visit was exactly what I needed to reenergize and refocus myself for the remaining month of school and two months of traveling. I was sad to say goodbye, but excited for the experiences they had yet to have in Japan. Sharing my life in Korea with them is absolutely one of my most cherished memories from this year.

With a stroke of luck, we arrived just in time to see the changing of the guards ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace.

A palace bedroom

The painted ceiling of a palace room

A tour guide in traditional Korean dress, hanbok.

The populated palace suddenly opened onto an expansive garden.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame... One More Time!

Our last baseball game experience in Seoul was a flop for these reasons:

1. We found out after arriving at the game that we had Unreserved Seat tickets.

2. It was Children's Day, which meant... no school.

3. On Children's Day, kids get into the game for free.

4. Everyone in Seoul is trying to save a buck.

5. There were no Unreserved Seats available...

6. And no standing room available...

7. And no walking room available.

So, in July we decided to try again, but this time with better tickets. We got our tickets, showed up early, and walked right in to our shiny, empty seats. The game was excitingly close and although our team (Doosan) lost by a point, it was the hottest day of the year, AND it rained; we were more than happy with the experience. Go Doosan!

Check out this video for some spontaneously choreographed stick banging...

Bang–Bang–BangBangBang–BangBangBangBang–DOOSAN!

Biggest Church in the WORLD

Name:  Yoido Full Gospel Church

Location:  Seoul, South Korea

Denomination:  Assemblies of God (Pentecostal) 

Members:  over 830,000

# of seats in building:  26,000

On Sunday, I took a trip to Yoido Full Gospel Church; which houses the largest congregation in the entire world. The experience was, as expected, overwhelming. The massive building somehow seems even grander on the inside and resembles a concert hall with multiple balconies and levels. Once inside, I was seated in the foreigner's box on the upper balcony. Headphones were provided to foreigners with 7 language choices to select from: English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian-Malay, and Russian. 

The full choir and complete orchestra overflowed with somewhere around 100 people, and gave an impressive performance that was border-line "over the top." Surprisingly many of the hymns were familiar standard songs from home including, Amazing Grace, and English lyrics were posted on the two jumbotron screens behind the altar. 

Throughout the service, conspicuous video cameras panned in and out of the crowd. Seated right alongside one of the cameramen, I found myself on screen multiple times, an occurrence that seems less exciting in church than at a ball game. 

Overall the experience was overwhelming, and was probably made more "interesting" given the liturgical holiday we chose to attend a Pentecostal church—the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Speaking in tongues was the topic of Sunday's sermon and the pastor definitely led the colossal congregation in "practicing what he preached." 

The massive choir and orchestra on the left

People beginning to file in and grab a seat

The many balconies and rows upon rows of seating. 

(Notice the flags from around the world)

The start of the service- just like you see on TV. Every seat was filled at this point, but I couldn't snap anymore pictures because a man came by the foreigner's box holding a sign up that read, "No Cameras Please." I felt it was a bit unfair that we couldn't take pictures, but they could videotape us throughout the service and run it on the jumbotrons...

Diary- Former Korean President

Emotions ran high last Saturday, May 23, when news of the former South Korean President's suicide spread throughout the country. Former President Roh was described as the working man's leader and often made it his mission to give a voice to the poor. Most recently, however, President Roh had been caught up in a political scandal filled with bribery and corruption. Just before his death, President Roh apologized to the citizens of Korea for his connections in the scandal, saying he felt "ashamed and sorry." Although there are mixed emotions and opinions about the innocence of President Roh, it is obvious that he was loved by many.

Korean President

by Ryan, 4th grade

I was very sad because Korean President was dead.

He was 16th president. I like him.

Because he was poor farmer's son

but he succeeded in life.

However, he killed himself.

I didn't know the reason

I hope he goes heaven.  :(

Standing Room Only

What seemed like a good idea at the time proved to be a popular notion among everyone in Seoul—"let's go to a baseball game on Children's Day." A no-school holiday in honor of all the lovely children, May 5 offered my co-workers and I a day without paperwork, classrooms, and most importantly... students. With a warm, sunny day in the forecast we decided to buy tickets for a much anticipated baseball game. Like America, Korea has a summer baseball season and a fleet of teams to choose from:  Wyverns, Lions, Giants, Bears—oh my. 

As we stepped off the subway it was evident that our "great idea" was maybe the worst one we'd ever had. Of course, with no school or work families were seeking the perfect afternoon activity to keep their kids occupied; and the stadium offered free tickets for each precious angel. Flooded with bodies, the walkways leading to the stadium were difficult to navigate as children wove through the crowds like pesky flies. 

When we finally reached the entrance we were instructed to locate our standing-room only section along the top perimeter of the stadium. Standing room only! The tickets had oversold (perhaps they didn't keep track of all the free children) and there were no available seats left. The tickets we had purchased were for unassigned seats in the nose-bleed section, but our late arrival left us out of luck. In denial, we entered the stadium determined to find 9 seats together, however, it became quite clear that we would not even locate one single empty chair. We had no choice but to traverse the dangerous stairs and head toward the standing section along the top. The climb was made more treacherous by the amount of people who thought sitting on stairs was a safe and intelligent idea. 

Along the top perimeter of the stadium, hundreds of people huddled up for a peek at the field. Some chose to opt out of the visual excitement and instead made impromptu picnics on the ground using sheets of cardboard they had brought with them. After losing half of our group and our patience, we decided to take a break and shop for souvenirs. We had already made our minds up earlier to cheer for the Doosan Bears so it was only a matter of selecting the best merchandise. 

Over half-way through the game while standing behind the "expensive" seats, luck cut us some slack. A group of school children vacated their seats taking with them all of their belongings and chaperones so we seized the opportunity and sat up close and personal with first base. Unfortunately, the Bears were unable to gain any runs and we watched our new team get embarrassingly smashed into the ground by the LG Twins. 

Next time we'll splurge and spend the $30 for front row tickets. Yes, it's only $30 for the premium seats! Until then... good game, good game.

The standing section for hundreds of bummed people without seats just like us.

During our shopping time-out we even spotted a Build-A-Bear stand!

Finally sitting! And in good seats, too—10th row from the field.

Lotus Lantern Festival

In celebration of Buddha's bazillionth birthday, Seoul hosted its annual Lotus Lantern Festival. In Buddhism, the lotus flower often represents purity of body, speech, and mind as it floats atop the muddy and defiled waters of life. Paying tribute to many Buddhist traditions, the festival offered people the chance to make their own lotus flowers and lanterns; as well as, beaded bracelets, boxes, and plates. 

Traditional drumming

Prayers were written on little slips of paper and then...

tied to a giant balloon.

Yoga/tai chi/dancing with a plate.

Making my very own lotus flower

Ta-da

At a nearby Buddhist temple, hundreds of colorful lanterns with dangling prayers swayed in the breeze and dotted the sky. The effect was hypnotic and, like staring into fire, it was impossible to look away. 

As rain began to fall and the sky grew darker, the lantern parade began. With a little luck, we found seats directly on the parade route, however, as swarms of people arrived and filled in the inches of open space, our view was eventually obstructed and our personal space invaded. The two and a half hour parade displayed thousands of lanterns in various shapes and sizes accompanied by dancers, musicians, and performers. The costumes and music from neighboring eastern countries were, at times, just as mesmerizing as the lanterns themselves.

Sitting with an open umbrella is too complicated so we invested in unattractive, but warm, ponchos.

The guard obstructing our view. His pitiful job was to hold up the tape that barred people from joining in on the parade. I can only imagine the thoughts running through his head.

Watch the video to see some dancers and floats from the parade. The best float is at the end...

When the parade finally ended, the real party began. On a brightly lit stage, dancers continued to entertain the crowd as confetti replaced rain and fell from the sky. Infected by the music, everyone began dancing, jumping, and singing as if on the eve of a new year. Mimicking the dance moves of the people on stage, I caught the eye of not only the old man dancing next to me, but also the cameramen who were snaking through the crowd. My enthusiasm paid off and I made my first-ever appearance on a jumbotron! Before I could enjoy the moment for too long, we were swept up in a conga line and pushed through the masses. A street party, driven by the sheer happiness of hundreds of people, has never been so fun.

Pony Up

I'm not usually a betting woman, but I like horses and I like trying new things. So when I got a chance to visit Seoul Racecourse Park, I was in. It was all or nothing. And by all, I don't mean all the money I brought, but rather I'd "give it my all." 

Located in Gwacheon, a suburb of Seoul, Racecourse Park and its surrounding scenery was as majestic as Disney World. Mimicking the ring of the track, green mountains provided an arresting backdrop and indicated the first signs of spring. Thankfully, the yellow dust was too preoccupied to make an appearance; and, for a moment, I almost forgot that I was on the perimeter of one of the densest cities in the world instead of frolicking around "the hills" with Julie Andrews. 

After sizing up the competition in the pre-race show ring, we headed to the foreigner's box on the fourth level. Located along the home straight, the foreigner's box offered leather seats and English betting cards. Betting started at 100 Won, which is only 7 cents; and after a quick tutorial on how to fill out the card, I was ready to win. Initially, I wanted to chose the winner based on each horse's name, but I decided to be smart with my money and check the stat board. I chose the horses with the best numbers and turned in my ticket. Only after the race finished and my 3 selected horses came in dead last did I realize I had misread the stat board. Instead of going with the top three, I had actually chosen the three worst horses on the track. And, to top things off, the horse I had planned on selecting based singularly on its name, came in first. Rats.

It turns out, I'm not that great at placing bets. In the end, I left a loser—though not by much; but I had a great time watching the magnificent speed of every horse, even if I held my breath every time they passed out of sheer terror one would stumble horrifically to the ground. 

Cost of entry:  800 won (59 cents)

Total bet:  5,000 won ($3.73)

Amount lost:  2,000 won ($1.49)

The option of hard-boiled eggs at the snack stand:  Priceless

Jockeys getting ready to show-off their horses... or mares.

Outdoor seating

Box Seats

The foreigner's box