IGIDAE

IGIDAE, (pronounced EE-GEE-DAY) is named after two beautiful young Korean girls.  In the late 1500's, the Japanese invaded Korea and held a feast to celebrate their victory at the nearby Suyeong Fortress.  The soldiers requested two young girls to be "entertainers". Of course the girls were horrified, and planned an act of retaliation to weaken the Japanese army. Each girl took one of the arms of a Japanese commander and jumped off the cliff into the ocean, killing themselves and the commander at once. Later this area was a military reservation, and was restricted. Remnants of the military are all around, but in 2005, the creation of coastal walk paths, bridges and trails began. 

Now Igidae trail is a beautiful beach walk along the coast, between the forest and the cliffs below. It is possible to climb down at some points to look at the tidepools or go fishing. The water is exceptionally clear and turquoise colored.

This view shows the skyscrapers on Haeundae Beach from Igidae trail.

Besides the natural beauty of the forest and the sea, there are steep rocky paths to climb, dirt paths in the forest, and wooden decks and bridges in some areas. The view of the sea is breathtaking with sailboats, fishing boats, and solo fishermen perched on cliffs.

 

 This concrete bunker was one of many,  reminiscent of later Japanese invasions. Notice the "rifle holders". 

                                                           Barbed wire and camouflage

 Tidepools and clear water. We saw lots of tadpoles in little pools of water on the mountain.

 Fishermen out on the rocks

 The rock formation above and to the right
is supposed to look like Buddha holding a
baby, or a Korean woman carrying something
on her head.

 At the end of the trail are five OR six islands (depends on the tide). On one of the islands there is an old lighthouse. There is a Sky Walk built at the end point of the trail on another cliff. It is an overhang built out of glass. After removing your shoes and putting on little booties, you can walk out over the glass and look down!

  Look out below! 

BEAUTY PRODUCTS AND COSMETICS

Korea is famous for its cosmetics, and the people DO have flawless skin. The Koreans stay out of the sun, cover their faces whenever possible, wear hats with big rims, 

and they use exotic products, such as:

Bear Oil Cleansing bar - made of natural herb extracts and bear oil

Snake venom beauty soap - no doubt excellent for skin (watch out for open wounds)!

and last but not least

    Snail mucus face mask - (there are all sorts of snail mucus skin products) - I'm taking orders if anyone is interested.

GYEONGJU

Gyeongju is probably my favorite city! Why? It is the ancient capital of the Silla Dynasty, ruling Korea from 57 B.C. to 900 A.D., the longest ruling dynasty in the history of the world! The city is called "A Museum Without Walls", because practically everything you see is ancient and museum-worthy. Needless to say, I'm in heaven.

 This photograph I took of a postcard (sorry!) is an aerial view of some of the mounds in Gyeongju. They are huge burial mounds where kings and queens have been buried with all kinds of material possessions: jewelry and crowns, pottery, utensils, and many more. In one area, there are 23 mounds in a cluster. One mound has been excavated for people to go inside.

 

 Bryan and I are sitting on each side of Queen Seondeok, a good and powerful queen during the Silla period. The sculpture shows many famous figures seated around a table. The date is April 9, 2016 - the heart of cherry blossom time.

The Cherry Blossom Marathon began with a parade of people wearing traditional Silla costumes and playing traditional music.

The Mission President signed up to run the "Cherry Blossom Marathon", his wife and I ran the 10K, and his son ran the half marathon. Bryan walked the 10K but did it in rare form and without any sore knees!

Drones overhead:

Blimps overhead:

Lots of cherry blossoms along a beautiful course that went around a lake.

             

Bryan and Brenda after the race

Bryan and Brenda after the race, after a shower, and wearing our new "Cherry Blossom Marathon" shirts

We visited Bulguksa, the ancient Buddhist temple in Gyeongju. It was built in 700 A.D.  Can you guess the function of these 1,300 year old stones?

You got it! It's an ancient "powder room", "restroom" or whatever terminology you wish.

 This huge nine story pagoda is along the running course.

 

This park is across from the pagoda, and contains many more tomb mounds.

NORMAL LIFE

NORMAL LIFE

Today's blog will feature some of the hum-drum, daily activities and sights we experience on any old day.

Junk collectors are very common! Usually they have one cart with big wheels, and they walk around all day collecting items to be thrown away (recycled). Many older people collect cardboard, and other things, starting out early in the morning and working all day.

Vendors are everywhere. Usually older women sitting on the ground will spend all day peeling garlic, separating green onions, sorting through lettuce, or rearranging the mushrooms to entice buyers. We pass five every day on our short walk to work. No license necessary - you can sell anything anywhere you want!

BUSINESSES

Every day we walk by this business several times on the way to and from the Mission Office. It has a metal frame with a tarp on it, a hose, bucket, rubber gloves, and it smells really bad. We decided to be sure to always cross the street before we reach this point, thereby avoiding becoming ill on the way to work.

After a while, we realized that it is a restaurant, and wondered who would go there. A week later, a Korean friend of ours recommended a "noodle shop" that she said was near our apartment. She said that she takes her mother there all the time and they love it. When she described the location, we were slightly horrified. "It's one away from the corner", she said. 

Sure enough, here it is, the "favorite noodle shop"! 

MISSIONARIES

We are riding the subway with Sister Lee Handa and Sister Lee Hongbee. The last name always goes first and always has one syllable. The first name always has two syllables. One-third of Koreans have the last name Lee, Kim, or Park. When a woman marries, she doesn't take her husband's surname, but keeps her father's last name. So Mrs. Kim is married to Mr. Jung, etc. Also, there is a law in Korea that a Mr. Kim cannot marry a Miss Kim - no marriages if you both have the same last name! 

We love the missionaries, and we love the subway!

CHINESE RESTAURANT

After the Wednesday English class, some of the "friends" in the class asked us to go out to dinner. "Do you like Chinese food?" they asked. "Sure!" we said. The Chinese/(Korean) food was good and tasted a lot like an Italian/(Korean) restaurant we went to a few months ago.

HATS, SWEATSHIRTS, AND MORE



The NY Yankees and LA Dodgers baseball hats were just too cute, so we asked to take a picture.  Baseball caps donning various MLB logos are seen all over!
Mickey Mouse stuff is also prevalent.



LANTERNS



Buddha's birthday is May 14, so between now and then, there are colored lanterns all over, and they are often lit at night. Many people go to see the "Lantern Festivals".



BRIDGES AND STREAMS


The serenity of standing on a bridge, watching ducks and fish in the water, and surrounded by trees, flowers, bushes, and stones - quintessential Asian!

You might be thinking, "Why do Brenda and Bryan always wear the same clothes?" Answer: These are the only clothes we have!

WORLD'S BEST, BIGGEST, WEIRDEST

Haven't we all had a fascination with the Guinness Book of World Records? Admit it, you've spent (wasted) time looking through an old book or reading something about "Man who can juggle the most objects", or "Woman who has given birth to the most children", or "Longest fingernail". These superbly superlative facts can be instantly impressive (longest time skipping rope while keeping a soccer ball in the air), unbelievably unconscionable (longest time spent in a tree), or they can be largely ludicrous (longest kiss)!

Surprise! Busan, South Korea, holds four Guinness World Records.

SHINSEGAE

Shinsegae in Busan will be registered as the world's largest department store in the Guinness Book of Records. Before the Busan store, Macy's in New York had been the world's largest. A Shinsegae press release said according to the measurement by Guinness the floor size is 293,905 square meters, 95,405 square meters larger than Macy's. Inside there are movie theatres, an ice skating rink, many restaurants, and a spa.

We haven't totally checked it out yet...but we have stood across the street and taken a picture!

WORLD'S LARGEST CANTILEVER ROOF

The Busan Cinema Center, hosting the annual Busan International Film Festival, is a building whose architecture defies rationale. The 163 meter long cantilever is supported by a "double cone" construction - from far away looks like criss-cross straws, but close up they are steel beams. 

The architecture in this city is pretty amazing. We were invited by some of our English Class friends to go to a restaurant which was located on the little walkway that takes off from the cone.

At night there are "light shows" on the underside of the roof, which is supposed to look like an ocean wave. The reflection in the water is beautiful.

HAEUNDAE BEACH UMBRELLAS (beach parasols)

Haeundae beach has the most beach umbrellas (called parasols here) on a single beach in the world. The fourth world record I will divulge after visiting.