우리 사랑하는 할아버지! My Beloved Grandfather! (oo-ri sarang-ha-neun ha-rah-boh-ji) You might think that when you see this picture, "oh he seems stiff." But not at all, quite the contrary! One of the sweetest! :-)
지현 숙모/Aunt Ji Hyun (soong-moh) She treated me so well and is so sweet to me! I would have gotten a picture of 현수/Hyun Soo but he was asleep because he works nights and sleeps in the morning. Perhaps later I'll get a picture of him.
Living Room
Kitchen
One last look at Gyeonggi-Do 경기-도. This probably isn't the best picture but this place has lots of cool things to look at.
Unfortunately, I couldn't stay with him long. :-( I didn't even stay a whole day with him. Because my back has been hurting, he and Ji Hyun 지현 thought it would be best to take me to my mom's cousin Sookhee 숙희 who lives in Seoul 서울 and also because he has to work. I didn't know I was going but then I overheard in the other room. My grandfather came to me and started crying. Everytime I think about that, I start crying.Seeing older people cry, especially men, is really sad. I hugged him and said, "울지 마세요/Don't cry." (oorl-ji-mah-seh-yo). Seeing him cry made me really sad that I cried too. I had to go to the bathroom so no one would see me cry. Technically, I haven't seen my grandpa for 13 years but that time I don't remember meeting him that well. So, this really was the first time meeting him. I didn't want to go yet; I wanted to stay and spend more time with him. Wow, writing this has been hard because it makes me cry each time. As of right now, I know we will meet up during my stay here in Korea but I'm not sure when. I hope that by the end of the study abroad, that I'll be better able to converse with him.
After a few minutes, we arrived in 강남-구, 서울시 Kangnam-Gu, Seoul Si where 숙희 이모/Aunt Sookhee lives. It was sad seeing grandpa and Ji Hyun 지현 go because they took care of me so well. Sookhee 숙희 made me feel really comfortable here. She looks very similar to my aunt back home but she acts similar to my mom. She speaks English as well so it's been helpful conversing with her. Seoul 서울, especially 강남 is so beautiful and it's one of the richest parts of Seoul 서울. This is where all the celebrities live! After I got settled in, we did some sightseeing. First, we and her daughter (technically my 2nd cousin) Ji Eun 지은 went to Bong Eun Sa 봉은사. Bong Eun Sa 봉은사 is one of Korea's most traditional Buddhist temples built under the name of Gyeonseongsa 견성사. In a couple days, it'll be Buddha's birthday and so they prepared many special things for the event.
Bupwangroo 법왕루. This is where the king of the Dharma, Buddha is placed.
Jinyeomoon 진여문 (Jinyeo Gate 진여 게이트). Entering the Jinyeo Gate 진여문 is an act of searching for the unchanging truth.
Me and Ji Eun 지은
Lanterns. People would write on the lanterns a wish they have. The red color means that it's regarding someone who is living.
These candles were used to light incense.
Stone pagoda
Seounbuldang 선불당. It refers to the place where Buddha is chosen.
Jijangjeon 지장전. Jijangjeon 지장전 is a tribute building for the Bodhisattva Jjang. Jjang had sworn to succeed Buddha's wish to save all mankind, especially the ill, from pain and hardship by becoming medicinal herbs. Also, Jjang is known for the vow to be with all mankind suffering in hell till there was nobody left in there.
Jijangjeon 지장전. The white lanterns represent a wish that is regarding someone who has passed away.
Advertisement for Buddha's birthday. I'm not Buddhist but Happy Birthday Buddha!
After checking out the temples, we headed to the Coex Building 코엑스 빌딩. One, no, THE coolest mall EVER!!! If Utah or even the United States had anything close to this, I would be thrilled! They even have an aquarium inside. You can try to compare but it really falls short. It has 9 floors. One of the floors was just food. They set the food up to appear like you were shopping in Nordstroms if that makes sense. It was so nice that you forgot they were selling food almost. I couldn't take a lot of pictures inside the mall because Korea is huge on not taking pictures of their merchandise. I tried to do what I could. This building/mall has every brand name clothes in the world and brands that are exclusive as well. Everything is expensive; talk about $600 for a jacket/shirt. Anthropologie seems dirt cheap compared to the brands here. So many of the clothes looked like Anthropologie; I thought I was going to die......... Even the baby and children's clothes were high end like Burberry and Ralph Lauren (they really like Ralph Lauren) and so much more. The clothes literally look like they shrunk adult clothes to mini me size.
Seoul 서울 Kangnam 강남
Coex Building 코엑스 빌딩. Seriously, if you ever get a chance to come to Korea, visit this place for sure. It especially appeals to young people but it's incredible to anyone really!
I thought I was looking at department store cosmetics until I realized I was looking at food. The store on the left makes it look obvious but pretty much all the stores look like the one on the right. Didn't know it was food at first. I think they took a food court and made it high end.
Ddeokbokki 떡볶이(duck-boh-ki). So good!
Inside Coex Building 코엑스 빌딩. This isn't even the best part of the building but everything is so cool here.
Today was so much fun! People were not kidding when they said Korea has everything and that it's super fun. Amen to that statement a hundred times. Each day keeps getting more fun and interesting!
