Its been 255 days but thanks to the “Day Without Women” Strike I have an opportunity to return to my blog to reflect again on my trip to South Korea Last Summer.
A royal guard parades through Chankgeok Palace and to take walk the entire grounds takes at least one hour. The architecture is breathtaking especially with the background of the mountain behind.
The Korean Folk Life Museum provided a really amazing moment for me when I encountered artifacts of early print writing. I had taught a lesson in World History about Korea and had found a photo online of the artifact to teach about how Korean culture had been influenced by its neighbors. Imagine my surprise to find it in person!
After lunch we climbed a hill and found ourselves in a neighborhood (Bukchon) with narrow stone paved streets and historical architecture. Signs were visible cautioning people to keep the noise down; while it looks like a museum it is still an inhabited neighborhood! Quietly we ascended a winding street and stopped to inspect an open house that showed tourists what the interior of the homes looked like.
Finally we made it to the top of the hill were one home has a business demonstrating a traditional Korean Tea Ceremony for tourists. We dressed up as members of the ancient scholar class and were schooled in the traditional and purpose of taking tea Korean style.
