Elder and Sister George

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.