Cherry? blossoms in Yeouido
Last weekend, the recruiting company I went through to get placement here had a party for native English teachers. Despite waking up Saturday morning with an actual fever, I got on a bus and went up to Seoul for another day trip.
I planned on heading right out to Yeouido, a small island with a lot of park space right across the Han river, to see the cherry blossoms there. Then the bus passed right in front of Gwanghwamun Square, which I was not expecting, and I was super spontaneous and hopped off.
King Sejong the Great (ruled from 1418-1450, created Hangul)
Gwanghwamun Gate (The main gate of Gyeongbukgung. Originally founded in 1395, it was destroyed under Japanese occupation and rebuilt in 1968. Although originally made of granite, this reconstruction is concrete.)
Admiral Yi Sun-shin (Undefeated naval commander)
There was some sort of demonstration going on - actually, I think there were several demonstrations in different parts of the square - and this section was for the victims of the Sewol ferry. Tomorrow (April 16th) will be 3 years since the ferry sunk. Over 300 people died and most were high school kids who were on a field trip. I was following the story 3 years ago as it was happening, and seeing this memorial in the square was heartbreaking. There were pictures of all the kids and areas to pray. I signed a petition for the recovery of the ferry at got a few yellow ribbons for remembrance.
The 40th Anniversary Monument of Gojong's Enthronement (1902)
Yeouido when I got there:
I think half the population of Seoul was there. People set up tents and were having picnics. There were guys on scooters delivering takeout. Drinking in public is totally legal here, so it was honestly like fields and fields of people tailgating for a concert or a sporting event... but for cherry blossoms.
It's the monster from The Host! I didn't know they had a sculpture of this! If you haven't seen The Host, it's a classic horror film about this monster that comes out of the Han river and eats people. Also if you haven't seen it, you should go watch it right now. And then you should watch Train to Busan - because after you watch The Host, you're going to be like, "Korean horror films suck," then you'll watch Train to Busan and be like, "Nevermind, they're good."
These were supposed to be artsy photos with Namsan Tower in the background, but it was super hazy and you can only see Namsan if you squint real hard. I promise, it's there.
63 Building (now the second tallest building in Korea since the opening of the Lotte World Tower)
Hongdae was poppin'. Honestly, spending time in Seoul the past few weekends has made me really appreciate living in Yongin. Yongin is big enough that there are plenty of stores and restaurants and things to do, but small enough that I'm not stuck in crowds whenever I go somewhere. Everything being crowded gets old real quick.
This is what the playground used to look like:
Back to Yongin:
While I was walking up all of those stairs, stopping a lot to take pictures (and because honestly I didn't want to get all sweaty just walking up the steps), there was a kid in a soccer uniform running up and down the steps while who I'm assuming was his dad stood at the bottom with a notebook, stopwatch, and bottle of powerade. Rocky climbing the Philly Art Museum steps was NOTHING compared to what this kid was doing. After I got to the top, I walked around up there for almost an hour just enjoying the weather and taking pictures of the trees. When I walked back down the steps, the kid was still at it. I couldn't believe it. I think if I walked up and down those steps more than 3 consecutive times, I'd have to spend the next day in a recliner with ice packs on my calves.
He was passing me on my way down and I had to say something.
Me: "잘해" (good job / you're doing well)
Him: "네?" (what?)
Me: "수고했어요~" (you've worked hard)
Him: "아, 네"
수고했어요 wasn't really the phrase I was looking for, but I hope he knew what I meant.
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