Korean couples love to get dressed up and wander around the old, traditional towns, as well as the Palaces and the Temples. All this was amplified by the hoopla of Buddha’s Birthday Weekend which has been celebrated as a festival since the Unified Silla era over 1,300 years ago. Yep – he gets the whole weekend, the festival, the parade, and all the beautiful lantern displays at nearly every temple the month leading up to his birthday and for for many, the weeks beyond (at Jogyesa they’ll be around until May 22nd). I guess it’s like leaving your Christmas lights up on your front porch all year long, just a lot less honky-tonk and a lot more beautiful!
Tag: Korea
Lotus Lantern Weekend – Part I
After a very relaxing day meandering around Sincheon, we ventured up to the subway and along the green line to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park. This area is one of my favourites already, even though I’ve only explored it for the Indian food (well, Nepalese), and for Seoul Fashion Week. The area is particularly modern because of the architecture surrounding the big Dongdaemun Design Plaza by Dame Zaha Hadid.
Jindo: Puppies, Pink Cherry Blossoms, and the Parting of the Sea
We had seen the sea parting once, not knowing it would part two more times again by sundown. Some of us (self included) were a little worried about getting seasick on the boat out to Modo Island, so instead of braving the sea we actually ended up having a leisurely morning getting ready (after a well-deserved, post-parting nap!) before heading down the cherry-blossom lined paths and street over to the festival.
The Miracle Morning at the Jindo Sea Parting Festival
Late last Friday night a mish-mashed group of new and old friends and I boarded a tour bus and took the red-eye nearly 6 hours South of Seoul to spend a weekend in Jindo: the site of “The Miracle Sea Parting” and the accompanying festival. The real miracle was that someone was able to wake me up for our 4 AM briefing and departure from the bus. Once I was up and at ’em, however, I was happy as a clam. We’ll get to those later!
Candidly Kate: Feeling Seoul Unsettled
I know that I can’t do it all, but I want to. I’m trying to do it all. I want to soak up every last bit of this wonderful, diverse city, but I also feel like I’m riding a constantly moving merry go ’round and step back every time I’m about to get off.
Cool Places in Seoul! Izakaya Zushio in Sincheon
New to Korea and feeling a little homesick and under the weather, L had been talking about hot sake for a couple of days. When we stumbled upon Izakaya Zushio and encountered such great service in such a beautiful and interesting little restaurant I didn’t hesitate to get a little footage!
We got a little Japaneasy in Korea in our new neighbourhood of Sincheon. The area between the subway and my apartment is packed with great restaurants and reminded me a lot of a cross amongst Seomyeon, Deokcheon, and Sasang. My new neighbourhood is really rad!
How to get to Seokbulsa Temple
I’ve heard about a number of people getting lost en route to Seokbulsa, a temple in Busan, South Korea. Here are directions and some footage on getting there from Mandeok Station. I think this is the most straightforward route (as you can also hike from Hwamyeong or Oncheonjang). [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti5oGJ-yxZU&w=640&h=360] Most directions to this temple…