Olympic Park and Olympic Museum in Seoul

     This past Saturday I went to Seoul to check out the Olympic Park and Olympic Museum. Olympic Park is actually a huge park of about two square kilometers which houses a lot of the original stadiums used for the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988. There is also a small art center SOMA which has an outdoor sculpture garden. On the morning I was there they were actually setting up for a Kara concert. Kara are a popular South Korean girl group who have been around now for about 5 years. The above picture are of Kara.

     As you enter the park from Mongchontosong subway station the first thing you will see is World Peace Gate and then you'll enter Peace Square where they have all of the flags of the 159 countries that competed in the Seoul Olympics. Some of the countries are no longer in existance such as East and West Germany while Honk Kong was still under British control. The first two pictures above are of World Peace Gate. The third picture is of the East German flag, the fourth picture is the West German flag and the fifth picture is of Hong Kong where you can clearly see the Union Jack. The other pictures of different flags can be found on Facebook.

    If you turn left from Peace Square you'll see the Olympic Museum which is full of a lot of history of past Olympics with special emphasi of course on the Seoul Olympics. Included in the museum are such things as replicas of past Olympic torches and a lot of the mascots from previous Olympics. The first picture above is of Amik, a beaver from the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The second picture above is of Sam, an eagle from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. The third picture is of one of two tiger cubs used in the Seoul Olympics Hidori and Hosuni which are popular in Korean legends. The fourth picture is of Hidy and Howdy two polar bears from the Calgary Olympics in 1988. The pictures of a lot of the other mascots from previous Olympics can be found on Facebook as well as other pictures from the Museum.

    In the leadup to the Seoul Olympics the Korea government had a monthly lottery which lasted for 67 months in which people could buy tickets which cost 500 won (approximately 50 cents)each for a chance to win the monthly price of 100 million won (approximately 100,000 dollars). The above three pictures are actual tickets from the different monthly draws.

    After leaving the Museum I went to the top of Mongchon Fortess and took the two above pictures of Peace Square and the various flags and of Mongchon Moat which is frozen over ass it was about minus 10 degrees Celsius in Seoul on Saturday.

     There are about 200 different pieces of outdoor sculpture in the park itself and I've included some of them in the above pictures. Some are pretty straight forward while others are up to you to decide what they are. The other pictures of some of the other sculptures in the Park can be found on Facebook.


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COEX Mall - Kimchi Museum and Aquarium

     Today I went to the COEX Mall which is a giant megamall in the Gangnam district of Seoul which is home to more than 250 stores and hundreds of eating places. It also includes the Megabox movie theater with 17 screens, a night club, banks, a post office, a huge bookstore and music stores. It also contains a small Kimchi museum and the COEX Aquarium.

     The Kimchi Museum is located in the basement of the COEX Mall and provides information about the Korean staple food of kimchi and how it was made and stored both in the past and present day. There are multiple different kinds of kimchi as you can see from the above pictures. There are upwards of 80 different kinds of kimchi. Traditionally kimchi was buried in pots in the ground which would keep the kimchi at the proper temperature for long fermentation. In this way no heat was gained or lost and the kimchi could be kept a long time without losing its taste or healthful benefits. The rest of the pictures of the Kimchi Museum can be found on Facebook.

     Also at one end of the COEX Mall there is also the COEX Aquarium. The COEX Aquarium has over 650 different kinds of animals including both land and water animals. Everything from bats and spider monkeys to penguins and sharks. The above pictures are from the Aquarium and the rest can be found on Facebook. The weather is finally starting to warm up some so hopefully it will be a chance to venture outside next weekend instead of looking at indoor options.


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Beopjusa (Beopju Temple)

     This past Sunday I went to Beopjusa which is located on the southwestern slopes of Mt. Songnisan which is about 2 hours away from Choenan by bus.The temple was founded by the great monk Uishinjosa (의신조사) in 553 during the Silla Kingdom. Although the magnificent temple is dedicated to the worship of the Maitreya Buddha, it was built with the hope that ancient Korea’s Three Kingdoms would be reunified. Sadly, Some 14 centuries later millions are still hoping for a unified Korean peninsula.
    

    The buildings on site have been destroyed and rebuilt many times throughout its history but now it houses the country's only remaining five story wooden pagoda known as the Daeungbojeon. A five story pagoda like this was the inspiration for Bruce Lee and the making of the movie Game of Death. Unfortunately Bruce Lee died before the movie was ever finished.This pagoda was originally built in 553 and was rebuiltin 1624. The above two pictures are of Daeungbojeon.

     Another interesting structure is the Ssangsajasekdeung (Twin Lion Stone Lantern). It was built in 720. The above two pictures are of Ssangsajasekdeung.

     Most people however come here to see the 33 meter tall (108 feet) bronze standing Buddha which was built here in 1990. As you can see there is still no shortage of snow here in Korea especially when you get in areas located close to mountains. It was definitely a very relaxing day being at a temple being surrounded by pine trees. This Buddha cost of a little over four million dollars with a lot of money being raised by private donations.

     I have included some other random pictures (see above)from the three kilometer walk to Beopjusa from the Songnisan bus terminal. The rest of the pictures from Beopjusa can be found on Facebook.



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Chuncheon

     This past Sunday I went to Chuncheon in Gangwan-do province. This was my very first visit to Chuncheon and the northwestern part of Korea. I still can't believe how cold it has been this winter here in South Korea. Hopefully the weather will start to warm up now that we've entered February. I went to two different places this past Sunday which are actually connected Soyang Dam and Cheongpyeongsa Temple.

     Soyang Dam is the largest dam in Asia and created Lake Soyang. The scenery around the area is quite beautiful. During the early part of winter you can actually go ice fishing in this area. Also from Soyang Port you can take ferries which take you around the lake or take a ferry to Cheongpyeongsa Temple. The above pictures were taken from Soyang Dam. The rest of the pictures from Soyang Dam can be found on Facebook.

     Cheongpyeongsa Temple is located 19 kilometers from Chuncheon and you can reach the temple by ferry from Soyang Port and takes approximately ten minutes. Since I went there in late January I'm sure it's much more colorful in the spring or summer, but it's still cool to keep finding new places to visit. The only way to get to this temple is by water. The temple was first built in 973 and actually changed its name to Cheongpyeongsa in 1550 and has become a famous temple in Korea. On the way to the temple you pass by Guseong Waterfall. The above pictures are from Cheongpyeongsa Temple and the rest of the photos can be seen on Facebook.

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