Beomosa

Last weekend we went hiking! A teacher from Brian's school - Mr. Kim, AKA Skinhead Kim (this at his own request, because he's bald) - invited us to go hiking with himself and Yun Jae. We met at 8 AM on a rainy, cold morning and headed to Beomosa, Pusan's most famous Buddhist temple, and probably the largest. David and Duck met us at the subway stop and after buying some snacks, we were off.

Beomosa is Busan's largest temple, with many scattered compounds and courtyards. We saw the main section first, where monks with umbrellas gave us hot tea, and we listened to the faithful chanting in Sanskrit. We were told Korean Buddhism is different from other forms in that it isn't one form only. Even within that temple they practiced Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, and a sort of nondenominational Korean Buddhism.

Leaving the main compound, we walked to an area with 7 or so enormous statues of Buddha, all in bright colors. It was the perfect time to visit the temple because all of the leaves were jumping out of their skin with color. From here we started our ascent on the mountain. It was raining pretty good at that point, so the only photo is from the summit. By that time our hands were so cold they couldn't grip anything and it hurt to touch them to rocks, but the summit was this knife edge ridge of boulders with a rope to hang on to, that may or may not have prevented the gusting wind from blowing you off the top. But my hands were too cold to hold on, so I bore the pain of pressing them against the rocks and keeping low to keep from soaring into the mist hidden abyss. It was treacherous, and there was a woman screaming the whole time. Even though the fear factor makes the adventure more fun, I was glad to get out of the wind and onto more sure footing.

Half way down the mountain we had a picnic of all the snacks we'd brought. We'd planned to go up one side and down the other, but the weather made that a dangerous proposition. We were headed back towards Beomosa when we stopped for the traditional Korean hiker's fare - soju, kimchi, any other snacks, and some red wine (I don't think that parts traditional, but drinking in general is). The ground was wet so I tried out my new Asian style squatting skills. It worked ok at first, but them my legs started to cramp up. That's going to take more practice.

Once back at the temple, we saw another smaller compound with a unique dragon roofed building. It was less crowded and more serene than what we'd seen earlier. There was also a small grotto with a shrine inside that felt so cozy after the cold rain outside. Incense billowed out and a small fountain babbled within. There were persimmon trees all around the perimiter, and the leaves were beautiful.

After our temple/hiking extravaganza, it was time for the time honored pajeon and makulli. We went to a tent, a sort of permanent tent, with heat lamps and the best pajeon I've had so far. The makulli was served in a large bowl with a ladel and tasted perfect. I fell in love with the heat lamps, but even so it took an hour before my hands could grip again. We decided we could use a relaxing bath, so we were off to our first bath house experience!

We had one in mind - largest in Asia it's claimed - but good ole Skinhead Kim had other plans. He took us to a smaller one, but one where all the hot waters are from natural hot springs. The girls and boys separated here, but comparing stories it sounds like they had the same design. Duck and I headed into our locker room not knowing what to expect. There a large woman in her bra and panties showed us a locker and gave us a towel and some soap. Then she led us into the bath room. Here there were 5 or so showers along one wall where you shower first. Then there were 3 tubs in the center, the largest being a very comfortably hot tub big enough for 20 or so bodies. It had a dragon spewing water into it too. Along the long side of this pool were two smaller ones. One was the same temperature with Jasmine flavored water. The other was painfully hot and all I could bear was to put my feet in for a second. The Korean's didn't seem to mind though, and they found it very funny that Duck and I couldn't take the heat. But they were so friendly and helpful, showing us where to go and what to do when we tried new tubs. Along another wall were the cold tubs. Again, one big enough for 20 or so and a smaller one. The smaller was icy cold - awful. The larger felt great after the hot tubs. And it had this turbo shower that blast massaged you if you could stand it; I couldn't. In fact, all of the tubs had massaging jets, some more comfortable than others. Then there was a sauna and steam room. The steam room's steam tasted and smelled like green tea and it felt amazing, but it was hotter than any steam room I've ever been in. There were also sit down shower stations with big mirrors in front of them, like vanities, but for showering. There were at least 10 of these, and women were scrubbing and putting on masks and such there. Then there was a station where the bra and panty ladies (everyone else was nude) were applying various scrubs and treatments to people. We only stayed for 20 minutes, but I loved it and can't wait to go back to the big famous one. Anyone who travels to South Korea would be foolish to miss out on the bath house.

We headed to a bar in Kyungsung after all the excitement. Poor Skinhead Kim was so shy until he got some drinks in him. But Yun Jae is becoming a great friend. Another friend I hope to get to know better is Mi Yun, Brian's coteacher. Last night we went out to dinner with her and then she took us up to see the city lights from a mountain top. I didn't have my camera, but it was a glittery wonderland. We also had the best coffee we've had so far in Korea up there. Enjoy the pictures!

Gwangan Li Fireworks Festival!

So 3 weeks ago was the 4th annual Gwangan Li Fireworks Festival. Just now getting around to posting it because the video was tough to manage. Gwangan Li is a beach nearby where we live and it's got this beautiful bridge that looks like the Golden Gate, but it's white. And at night it has colored lights that change slowly through the spectrum. They estimated over 1 million people where there to watch the show, and the fireworks were timed to music they had booming out over the crowd. We went with Brian's coteacher and music teacher, Mi Yeon and Sa Jin. They brought kimbap (rice wrapped in seaweed) and fruit and we brought soju (the most common and cheap alcohol here made from sweet potatos - tastes like bad vodka and they drink it like wine) and cider (tastes like Sprite, good for mixing with soju). David and Duck got there before us and saved a spot along with Shannon, Ryan, Heather, and Sam (all friends from orientation in Seul, but we hadn't met Heather or Sam before). We were all there 5 hours early and we still barely had any space.

These photos show the beach the first time we visited the first week we were here during the day.


These are photos from the Fireworks Festival. It was unbelievable how crowded the beach was. And the subway on the way there.

This video is a bit long, but it gives you an idea of just how spectacular the show was. It went on for over an hour. This isn't even the grand finale; it's just a pinch of the splendor. Imagine every fireworks finale you've ever seen, and multiply it by 10, and make that last over an hour. That's what we saw.

Once the crowd really got packed in they wouldn't let people leave the beach, or come onto it. But we were drinking in a jolly sort of way, so to solve the bathroom problem we tried to squat in the ocean. This of course drew much attention and was generally a bad idea, but it solved the problem. It also left us with sandy, salty, wet jeans for the walk home.

After the festival we all walked back to our house and then had dinner at a pajeon and makulli hole in the wall we love nearby. The night ended in a giant Girl Fighter tournament against 20 or so Koreans, and Heather and Sam and Duck and David all stayed the night in our tiny apartment. Overall I'd say the Fireworks Festival was my favorite Pusan event so far. Great job Pusan! Since then we've seen one of the girls from the girl fighter tournament 3 or 4 times around the area where we live. Girl fighter, breaking down cultural barriers and making the world a better place.

Blow Fish Soup

I had always heard about people eating blowfish in Japan, but I didn't know until yesterday that it is quite common in Korea. Blowfish have a toxin that, if eaten, can cause paralysis or even death (aparently 1 fish has enough tetrodoxin to kill 30 humans). Many westerners are wary of blowfish restaurants, but sickness/death is rare (or so we were told). The blow chefs (as I prefer to call them) are required to have a special liscence - so why not give it a try. I'm not sure how common these types of establishments are in the rest of Korea, but you see them everywhere in Busan - just look for the friendly blowfish on the sign. The fish is served raw, fried, or in our case mixed in with a soup. I think they put two fish in each bowl of soup and its usually served on the bone. They do cut the lips off before hand and make a special banchan (side dish) out of them. It was relatively cheap ($6000 won or $6 per person) and delicious. The meat was very dense (almost like chicken). The soup was accompanied with other banchan including kimchi, pumpkin pancakes, and dried fish. Rice was also served with the soup. They put it in a piping hot stoneware bowl so the rice gets nice and crispy on the bottom - after you scoup the rice out its customary to pour water over the top and drink it afterwords (its actually pretty tasty). It was a really tasty experience and we'll probably go back soon.

the ole Korean song and dance

Last Thursday and Friday at Yong Dang (my second school) a troup of traditional Korean performers came to the school to teach the students about their culture and I got to check it out. This is at a church near our apartment. These women are wearing the traditional Korean garb called Hanbok. The performers in the videos below are also wearing Hanbok, but you can't see them as well because they're seated. This first video showcases various traditional instruments. They are playing an excerpt from a Korean opera that Kyung Mi told me lasts for 8 hours! There's a lunch built into the opera. I don't know if I'd love it for 8 hours, but the instruments are beautfiul.
In this video the woman is wearing the clothing of a queen. The dance she is performing is a palacial dance usually danced before royalty. The flowers are peonies.

The man in this video is not wearing a Hanbok, though there is a male version. This headress and drum dance were often performed in a millitary context, but also to drive evil spirits out of the rice fields in order to insure a good harvest. I like that twirlygig. I couldn't figure out how to rotate it, but the advantage is you can lay down to watch it!

And that's a bit of Korean tradition. We'll show you more as we discover it.