South Korea

May 19 – June 9, 2004

South Korea Photos

• Seoul: The royal Changdeokgung palace with the Biwon garden, the Insadong area with its tea houses and arts and crafts shops, various museums, street food, views from the surrounding hills, and the amazingly diverse birthday party for the Buddha.
• Suwon: The Korean Folk Village with its displays of traditional Korean food, performances, weddings, houses, temples, and of ondol, the traditional underfloor heating system .
• Seoraksan: Where the climb up and down Daecheongbong offered great views, but almost destroyed my legs; a more quiet birthday celebration for the Buddha, and more pretty scenery.
• Odaesan: Two temples in pretty environments: Woljeongsa and Sanwongsa.
• Gyeongju: Tumuli in the city and outside, an observatory, street vendors, buddhist carvings and hermitages in Namsan, and the world heritage sites of Seokguram and Bulguksa.
• Haeinsa: A beautiful temple surrounded by forest, and the home of the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of Buddhist scriptures, carved on woodblocks in the 13th century.
• Jeonju: Where traditional Korean architecture is kept alive and rebuilt, including the Hanok Experience hotel, a confucian school, and a tiny tea shop. Plus, the local specialty, bibimbap.