Today was an all day event. Holt Korea found a couple of volunteers to assist our family and another Holt family to go to Suwon for the day. We rented a bus and then they drove us there and to Hwaseong Fortress and then to Yongsin Folk Village. It wasn't quite what we hoped for, but not because of anybody.....the weather didn't exactly cooperate. We had to find volunteers in advance, so there was no option to change days. It was only supposed to lightly rain, but rained pretty good at times, so the show at the fortress and the outdoor shows (including the dances I really wanted to see) were canceled for the day. It was a bummer. But, our guide was good and he was very informational about everything we were seeing. We wouldn't have gotten all of that information out of it without Phillip.
They picked us up about 8:40 am and we got back right around 5pm. We ate lunch at the village. You could just go to one area, pick traditional items off the menu and then go pick up your food, utensils and tin cups. It was very good, but Phillip did not believe we're not big lunch eaters, so I ordered very little. I told him to order what he wanted, but he said he would just eat what we didn't like. I think he was surprised that we liked it all. Of course, the fortress was first and we almost got the show in, but it rained and we just walked around it. The fortress helped protect Seoul from invaders and is VERY large.
The ride there. It was about an hour by bus. Jaemin took my camera and took a picture of Phillip, his buddy.
First was Hwaseong Fortress. There are places like this all around Korea so the kings after King Jeongjo could stop as they traveled Korea.
Waiting for the show not to begin. :)
Next we walked the fortress wall. You will see the lookout towers along the way and the expanse of the fortress....of course, not all of it.
Onto Yongsin Folk Village. First thing we did was stop for a potty break. I heard Chelsi start laughing and say 'oh my'. Kaelin opened her door and I saw a squatty potty, so I thought that's what Chelsi was laughing about. Turns out there was a window in Chelsi's stall....right to the outside.
Onto the wedding.
A poor family's kitchen.
A wealthy family's kitchen.
The little bridges we got to cross were so pretty. Especially when you could see the village nestled in the middle of the city.
Replica of life in Jeju. This is where Kaelin was born, so I did take more photos, including her with a typical hareubang statue found in Jeju.
Lunch time in the village! I don't remember what kind of bimbap it was, but it was a soup that Phillip said would be spicy. Everyone loved it, especially Jaemin! He loved the tteok too. It was cinnamon on rice cakes for dessert. We also had muk bimbap, which was very good as well. And then regular bibimbap....and sundae (not ice cream). Phillip said westerners don't like sundae because they think it's gross, but it's basically blood sausage. It's sausage and rice and other things wrapped in casings. No one in our family didn't like it...it was good. Chelsi wasn't a major fan of anything except sundae, so she ordered plain rice.
We listed to and watched the drummers for a bit. Jaemin liked that and started to lay his head down on me while keeping the beat. :)
This was just a typical home of the period. The 3 rails at the gate of someone's home had meaning. If the rails were a certain way it meant the homeowner was way away. Another version meant they were nearby, etc. It was kind of a messaging system, which was pretty neat.
The governor's office. The office is in the first picture with the torturing devices out front. The residence for the governor was on the sides of the office, in the 2nd picture.
The jail cells.
Chase had been a very bad boy.
A typical school setting.
And the kids found the fun area where the swings were and a game where you throw a stick into the cylinder. I think this was one of the kids' favorite area....especially find traditional swings where you STAND!
Jaemin's buddy, Phillip.
And Chelsi made a wish here.
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