South Korea – Page 7 – From Pyrenees to Pennines

Dancing for Chuseok

Yesterday was for dancing. Korean dancing. Which we saw at the very wonderful National Museum of Korea – of which more later, when I’m not pecking at a smartphone.

Here were wonderfully clad dancers in the national colours of white, red and green. The men got all the action. Tossing their heads made the ribbons on their heads swirl and circle. They strutted, marched, tapped intricate rhythms on drums, jumped and kicked as the women demurely circled round. The younger men created tottering towers of children above their heads. They thrilled us.

I wish I could post my videos. But I can’t.

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Happy Chuseok

It’s Chuseok today, the 15th September – and yesterday, and tomorrow. It’s a time when Koreans enjoy their families, honour their ancestors, and used to celebrate the harvest.

Come on girls, you’ll enjoy the chance to dress up and parade the streets in gorgeous traditional dress. Go on – you know you want to. Make your man dress up too. You know he doesn’t want to.

You’ll want to give gifts too. I know just the thing. Presentation boxes of tins of spam. They’re in every shop. The Americans introduced the stuff during the Korean war in the 1950s and the Koreans love it to this day.

Happy Chuseok!

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A moment of silent prayer

Emily’s here! Hooray, hooray.

But this afternoon she had jobs to do, and Malcolm still needs to rest.

I popped into Myeondong Catholic Cathedral, as it looked so – well – European.

I now know from the stained glass windows that Jesus and his twelve apostles are European, probably northern European.

I also saw an elderly woman at her prayers. She had a tasselled prayer card. But beside her was her smartphone. She was systematically tapping through it as she completed each prayer. Is this the 21st century version of the rosary?

Only in Korea……

By the way, this shot is of the cathedral by night, as it was when we first saw it.

Feeling rather proud…..

…… because this evening I went out all by myself to a spit-and-sawdust neighbourhood restaurant. I’d had to leave poor old Malcolm tucked up on his mattress to catch up on lost sleep. Food was of no interest to him.

No tourists here. No English menu. But I managed to order spiced octopus stew, and later to say it was delicious and ask for the bill. I tackled my six kinds of kimchee, sizzling fishy broth, a pot of rice and the octopus with no kind of panache and almost certainly appalling table manners. My fellow diners – and the waitress – cut me lots of slack.

Here’s a photo of my kimchee selection.

Tomorrow will be easier. Emily arrives. Hooray!

Changdeokgung Palace and its secret garden.

Beloved of the kings of the Joseon Dynasty since the 14th century, this palace’s true treasure is its spacious, secret garden, where Nature has been enhanced yet left in charge.

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Electric Avenue

Please admire the street wiring here in Seoul which makes French wiring seem restrained and elegant.

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Sauntering in Seoul

If you want a pair of experts in miming for your Christmas charades, we’re your team. We spent the morning getting coffee from a back-street coffee shop, directions from anyone whose eye we caught and lunch from a market stall, all without benefit of much language at all. Pidgin Konglish rules.

Mainly though we got our bearings and pottered round the markets. Whole zones – large zones – concentrated entirely on their specialisms – traditional jewellery; timepieces; electricians’ goods (whole shops for instance of flexes and cables); rubber bands; string; cardboard packaging; logo packaging; sports trophies …..

From late morning, women scurried about with newspaper-covered tin trays on their heads containing appetising looking lunches. These meals were delivered to shop assistants and tradesmen who sat on the floor of their workplace or in the street to eat.

At the moment, rain has stopped play. But we needed a break anyway.

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Rather lost in Seoul

We’re here. In Seoul. A very long flight was hugely improved by our being upgraded to First Class no less. Long story.

An hour long bus journey in Seoul dropped us off within a five minute walk of our guest house. Forty five minutes later we found it, having been misdirected by a night watchman, a housewife and a schoolgirl, before finally happening upon two English-speaking students who used an app to find our address.

Which is a traditional Hanok house – wooden, mattresses on the floor – very cosy. More tomorrow. Off to bed. I’ve had no sleep for forty hours.

Read all about it.

Here we are in London on the first leg of our journey to South Korea. But really, why bother? Look what I found being given away at Charing Cross Station this morning. Free Korean newspapers. The adverts in them reveal that all Korean life is here in London.

Survival Korean

Our trip to Korea is getting closer. We’ve got pretty good at reading individual characters in hangul, but it’s not doing us much good. I can see when it’s pointed out to me that 부산 is Busan, the city where Emily lives, but I can’t decode it all by myself. Hey ho.

So now we’re busy learning Useful Phrases. This is proving so hard that we’re keeping the list to the minimum.

Will these get us by, do you think?

Hello: 안녕하세요 – annyeonghaseyo.

Goodbye: 안녕히 가세요 – annyeonghi kaseyo

Yes: 네 -Ne (how confusing…..)

No: 아니오 – anio

Please: 그렇세요 – kureoseyo

Thank you: 감사합니다 – kamsahamnida.

Bon appetit! 잘 먹겠습니다 – jal meokkesseumnida

Thank you for the meal: 잘 먹었습니다 – jal meogeosseumnida

What have we left out? This is the most basic list remember, just to try to remain polite. We’ve abandoned all thoughts of real communication. And even this little list is taxing our poor brains. I’m sure we’ll be fine …….