Stepping Back in Time

Gyeongbokgung Palace

The changing of the royal guards greeted us as we entered the palace gates on Wednesday. The largest of five palaces in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung Palace is extensive - even though only 35% remains of the original compound. The ancient structures are framed by tall buildings AND the mountains - providing a modern context, as well as a link to the past with nature ever present in the vistas. As seen in one of our photos - we could not resist taking a step back in time ourselves.

Day 3

It's really a shame that we even we need hotels because we spend so little time staying still. We are so grateful that we are really out and about soaking in as much as possible.

Today started with another formal introduction to the educational system of Korea. We met with President Kwangia Rhee of Seoul Women's University. As a member of its first graduating class and now multi-termed president, she has put the university on the educational map, even though, at 8000 students, it is one of the smallest of the region. With a mission that includes leadership, service learning, and character development. we immediately felt at ease and excited at the prospects of building a relationship with the school. A huge surprise of the day was finding out that they run the premier primary school-- visited by educational leaders of the world. At the entrance to the school stands a huge rock with the Korean symbols for faith, hope, and love as they are the guideposts for the school. We literally had to step into pink booties to maintain the cleanliness of the floors as they have radiant heating so the children and teachers wear either slippers or socks around during the day. There are so many details to share and so many similarities with our PS. What an affirmation!

Getting Closer to Seoul

So far, we've cumulatively been in transit for 24 hours since we left Summit-- either on a plane or in a car. Three of those hours today were riding along the coast and the highway back from the northeast to the more central Seoul. We left the sunny clear skies of Mt.Sorak to a rainy satellite of Seoul and the famous Korean Folk Village. Dating back to Joseon Dynasty, the village of over 260 buildings is a testament to the former President of Korea who wanted to make sure that the culture and history of the nation is not forgetton as the world changes. We walked through looking at the various types of architecture from the time period, seeing the incredibly advanced technology (can you say radiant heat flooring?!), and trying to identify the many plants and trees. Both of us remain awed at the art form it is to grow rice. It is actually hard to describe the feeling and energy of this place and the amazing respect that the Koreans have for their history and for sharing it with the world.

Start of Day 2

Rise and Shine! We left the park, headed east towards the water-- a brief fifteen minute ride-- where we walked through the local fishmarket and got a real flavor of the life in this area. The proximity of the mountains to the fish market, almost as if casting a shadow on them, is something neither of have ever seen before. The fresh fish to the dried to the small fishing boats pulled up on the shore filled the air with the definite smell of the seafarer's life.

Day 1

Mount Sorak National Park took our breath away--our only regret is that we could not spend more time hiking through it. If we come back...

Day 1 Photo