Korean Culture

Day two of being in Seoul was all about culture. From learning about the chosen dynasty to flee market shopping it was a good day. We also have discovered some things about Korea that are both entertaining and odd.

     -The toilet seats are heated & get warmer the longer you sit.

     - Pine trees are sacred because they demonstrate how you life should go. Straight and narrow without going off the beaten path.

     - Everyone points with their middle finger. It's not offensive here. They use their middle finger like we use out pointer finger.

Anyways here's a list of some places we went along with some pictures.

First stop: the Korean Palace & Museum. We learned about the fallen dynasty, the life of the dynasty while they lived in the palace. The details of the buildings were stunning. Everything here reminded me and Danayle of the movie "Mulan"

Second stop: Tradional Korean homes. Most families now live in apartments so it is rare to find a neighborhood of tradional homes. The grandma we are with was so excited to see these. She grew up in a home similar to what we saw. When you walk in the front door you are in the living room which is surrounded by 3-4 bedrooms. She said there was and is no privacy. It's very easy to notice when someone comes home late at night :) 

Third stop: Korean flee market. This happens only on Sundays so it's a big deal. Talk about flash back to the 90s and before. They had TVs that my grandparents talk about. VHS tapes everywhere right along side every kind of antique junk finds you can imagine. It was crazy! 

Fourth stop: The Han River & Hangang Park. This is a park that Danyale found on Pinterest and we were so glad we asked everyone to go. It's a beautiful park that you can rent bikes, fly kites and of course picnic at. More importantly, The Avengers was filmed here! We played on the exercise equipment and enjoyed some fresh air along the river. It was a good way to end our city tour for the day.

After a rest and some dinner we got this crazy ice cream thing. Danyale and I just enjoyed a bit since it didn't look super appetizing to us. The cone tasted like corn flakes, the ice cream was very rich. 

It's been another great day! It's only 7am on Monday here and we are wide wake...thanks jetlag. So it's time to watch church online since it's still Sunday at home :!

Xoxo

Alaina & Danyale