Roots: June 14, 2011 창덕궁, 세종대왕 과 이순신 박물관, 시조 Ashley's Grill, SPAO

Today was full packed with learning and fun experiences. Our first stop was 창덕궁 Changdeokgoong which is another palace in Korea. It's very similar to 경복궁 Gyeongbokgoong. This one however, has the secret gardens where the kings would take a stroll. We wanted to check it out because it looked beautiful but decided not to because it added more to the cost. It was very similar to the other palaces but it was nice this time because we weren't hurryingly trying to take notes but just enjoy what was around us.

Part of 창덕궁 Changdeokgoong

This was the queen's bed. Since most stuff burned down, anything that was preserved, they tried to leave it how it was. The bed was so elaborate!

Looking door into the secret gardens

We got some lunch at a nearby restaurant. That's the nice thing about Korea is that you don't have to go far to find a good restaurant. We got some Chinese food which I wasn't thrilled but it was still good. I got some 자짱면 jajjangmyeon which are noodles with black sauce. That is not a good date food; it gets everywhere! The lady noticed that I got a bit on my shirt and so she gave me an apron. Haha how thoughtful.

We wanted to check out those museums of 세종대왕 King Sejong and 이순신 Yi Sun Sin in 광화문 Gwanghwamun Square and boy I'm glad we did. Those museums rocked! They were so much fun. I just loved and was fascinated by everything. Everything was so cool to look at. They showcased 세종대왕 Sejong the Great's inventions (which were a lot), showed videos and movies you could watch about his life including the drama, and provided biographies about him and literally, everything that they could research about him was here. 이순신 Yi Sun Sin's was really cool because it showed where he fought his battles and about the tactics that were used during war. This guy was INCREDIBLE; pure genius. They had lots of interactive games for his part of the museum which was neat.

한글 hangeul/Korean alphabet

I love this statement

His real name is 이도 Lee Do (ee-doh) but his posthumous name is 세종대왕 Sejong the Great.

They made a bench with the alphabet!

This bench actually says 한글 in it!

Setup of one of 이순신 Yi Sun Sin's battles where they won surprisingly. Pure genius.

I love this statement too.

Practicing writing 한글 using the rice paper and ink brushes.

함주은 is my Korean name

After the museums, we went to 인제대학원 Inje Graduate School where we met up with Professor Peterson, 박 교수님 Professor Park, and people that were part of this 시조 poetry/sijo association. 시조 sijo is Korean poetry. It's starting to replace the easy and typical haiku. Not only is it poetry but they sing with it and use a very old sounding voice. It feels like you've gone back centuries. It was so neat. They showed us some instruments they use for 시조 sijo and let us attempt to play them. That's why I never was in the band. I just can't blow instruments; something must be wrong with my lungs. After they gave us a presentation and demonstration on 시조 sijo, they took us to dinner at Ashley's Grill & Salad buffet which was amazing. Even the inside was beautiful. It smelled like only those who have money come here. I ate so well and had great food.

How pretty with the great view, mahogany tables, pictures, and chandeliers!

I'm dying just looking at this.

The dessert was really good that I forgot to take a picture befor I ate it. :-p

Now we had some free time and Michelle found this cool store called SPAO in 명동 Myeong Dong which is a store owned by the entertainment industry SM Entertainment. It was like a dream come true for me, Victoria, and Michelle. We just had fun looking inside. It had a couple floors. A couple were clothing lines and one was a fan store. They had photos you could purchase, CD albums, 노래방 karaoke rooms, and the best part, a PHOTO BOOTH!!!!!!! Shut the front door; I'm so pumped! We did one as a group but it didn't turn out that well and so I did one by myself because I wanted to do it anyways. It's great; they photoshop the celebrities in with you. Not only was it hilarious but really fun too; trying to decorate everything and selecting the pictures. I'll try to upload the photos that I took in the photo booth because they're HI-LA-RIOUS!!! Everyone thought it was funny.