Kimchi

Traditional Kimchi fermenting pots.

Do you like fermented foods? Koreans love fermented cabbage, radishes, and cucumbers which they call Kimchi. As noted, it is the national food. You can find it everywhere. They even have festivals throughout the country celebrating Kimchi where they get together and make tons of kimchi.

From Wikipedia: Kimchi (Korean: 김치 Korean pronunciation) is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings.^[1][2][3] It is Korea's national dish, and there are hundreds of varieties made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, scallion, or cucumber.^[4] Kimchi is also a main ingredient for many Korean dishes such as kimchi stew (김치찌개; kimchi jjigae), kimchi soup (김칫국; kimchiguk), and kimchi fried rice (김치볶음밥; kimchi bokkeumbap).

Lane likes Kimchi, although he generally dislikes cabbage. He likes Kimchi Mondu and many of the kimchi sides you get when you order at a beef and leaf restaurant. We had yet to try Kimchi Fries, kimchi pancakes, kimchi fried rice... If you like spicy food, kimchi might be for you.

Seomun Market

Located in Daeugu, Seomun (West Gate) Market is a traditional Korean outdoor market.  It was one of the three major markets dating back to the Joseon period (1800s).  It has everything from spices, socks, kitchen wares, fish, and fabric.  We wandered through the outdoor sections, as well as the 5 stories of fabric. We shopped in the late afternoon, so the market was pretty quiet.  I am sure in the morning (and summer) it is teeming with activity.

Seomun entrance.

Looking down the street at all the vendors.

Spices anyone?

Lots of fish.

Fabric shopping in the fabric mart.



Banwolseong Fortress

Banwolseong Fortress was built during the Silla Dynasty (57 BC ~ AD 935).  Translated to mean Half moon fortress, it is located in the city of Gyeongju on the edge of the river.  There is very little left on the grounds.  An ice house, which was built in the 1700's was moved to the area, although it is believed an ice house existed in the fortress.  The earthen walls are well preserved. 

 

There is much excavation in progress at the site.  They are currently working outside the fortress to the west, which would be the village associated with the castle.  They have found evidence of a moat that surrounded the fortress, which actually moved water from pond to pond, rather than stagnant water.  It was pretty interesting.

 

The area is full of history and artifacts.  We didn't even say half of the sites in the area.  It was so interesting, I might have to go back the next time L has to go to Daegu (the nearest base to Gyeongju) for work.  I am sure the kids would be more than happy to take a road trip!

 

An x-ray image of the grounds.

Seokbinggo, the ice house inside the fortress walls.

Inside the ice house.

The fortress wall and recently excavated moat.

J with excavated stone items. 

 

Gyeongjucheomseongdae(Cheomseongdae Observatory in Gyeongju.  It is believed to be the oldest astronomical tower in Asia, built around 632 A.D.

 

Here is an interesting tidbit regarding the construction (taken from http://eguide.gj.go.kr/01_travel/ht_wolseong.jsp). "Take a closer look at the symbolic meaning of each stone of Cheomseongdae. Consisting of 27 steps except for the foundation and the upper part, there were 361.5 stones used (401 in total), which is the number of days in a year. The body piled round used 27 steps, amounting to 28 steps when the square-well-shaped stone piled up above is added. The number 27 is related to Queen Sondok who designed Cheomseongdae (Queen Sondok is the 27th ruler of Silla), while the number 28 symbolizes the number of the basic Oriental constellation, or of the 28 heavens in Buddhism. Looking from the window in the center, the 12 top and bottom steps mean 12 months and 24 seasons in the lunar calendar. Each side of the square-well-shaped stone on the top of Cheomseongdae directs accurately towards the north, south, east and west. Moreover, the window rightly heads towards the south, having light shining directly to the bottom of Cheomseongdae in the spring and autumn equinoxes while disappearing in the winter and summer solstices, enabling accurate divisions of the four seasons."

A new walking bridge under construction leading to the fortress area.

Namsan Mountain (경주 남산)

 

One day of our adventure south we took a hike on Namsan Mountain near Gyeongju.  The mountain is home to over 100 temples, 80 Buddha statues or carvings, and 60 stone pagodas from the Silla Dynasty.  We hiked to the top of one of the peaks.  We saw a few stone pagodas, a gazebo foundation, and the view.  We did not see a temple or a Buddha.  Guess we were on the wrong trail.

 

We had quite a time parking the truck in the "parking".  You drive up this dirt road and pick a spot along the side, any open space.  We didn't realize this was the parking area.  We drove up to the end of the road at the rangers station.  No space for a u-turn, so we backed down the road to the first area we could park in.  There was space for us, but it was tight.  It required about a 90 point turn.  Too bad the man in his car across from us wasn't willing to move about a foot.  Would have made parking a whole lot easier! haha!

The view from the top.

Gazebo foundation.  Each boy is a pillar.

One of the many stone pagodas.

Driving in Korea

What do you think?  Every time I see this photo it makes me laugh.  There are so many roads like this in Korea; too small for anything other than a compact.  The boys thought it was pretty funny, which is why I ended up on the road taking a photo (I really need to do that more often; take pictures of the funny stuff.  It is all part of the experience).

Our church is located on a street we would consider an alley.  The car barely makes it down the street (don't get me started about parking in the parking garage).  There are side roads this wide that are considered two lane roads.  Go figure!

This particular road was to see a burial mound.  This wasn't even the worst part.  We headed through a small neighborhood on an elevated road no wider than our car.  I am so glad Lane was driving.  At least he can see the front of the vehicle to keep it between the lines!  Thankfully there was room at the tombs for a 5 or 6 point turn.  It would have been a nightmare if we had to back out!

Jigsaw Puzzle

I took this picture on the grounds of Bulgaksa.  It's a great puzzle picture with the nice reflection.  It was a brisk fall morning, no wind.  Too bad we missed the fall colors by a week or two.  Still turned out nice, if I do say so myself.

Bulguksa

The main entrance leading into the temple.

Bulguksa is a Buddhist temple outside the town of Gyeongju.  It was originally built in 528.  The temple that now exists on the property was built in 751 A.D.  Much restoration has occurred, but there are a few original artifacts that make this a highly visited temple.

The entrance to the temple, Sokgyemun, has a double-sectioned staircase that leads to the inside of the temple compound. The stairway is 33 steps high, corresponding to the 33 steps to enlightenment. The stairs are original (750), so they have been around for quite awhile.  The staircase is actually called a bridge, as there is an archway underneath.  The stairs pictured here are Blue Cloud and White Cloud Bridges.

Dabotap

There are two pagodas on the temple site. The three-story Seokgatap Pagoda which stands at 8.2 meters is a traditional Korean-style stone pagoda with simple lines and minimal detailing.  It is the male pagoda.  Seokgatap is over 13 centuries old and was under restoration during our visit (they found a crack in a foundation stone during a routine inspection). Dabotap is 2 meters taller than Seokgatap.  It is the female pagoda; known for its highly ornate structure.

Huge bell at the temple.  Wish I had a picture of the plaque to tell you about it.

 

There are many bronze Buddha statues on the premises.  They are in the different temple halls, but it is forbidden to take pictures of them or the insides of the temple halls.

 

Near the temple entrance.

Detail work.  Crazy!