Seoul field trip

So for our cultural field trip of the EPIK orientation, we headed out to SEOUL! Here are a bunch of pictures and random tidbits about our trip!

yes. Gangnam style water. 

Korea House, where we saw traditional performances

cool ceiling

O-go-mu or Dance of the 5 Drums

The next few are of Korean fan dancing, which depicts peony flowers. This was probably my favorite, but I loved the drums too. These pics are from a bunch of other people's albums because they were closer and had better cameras so enjoy!

performers of a farmers percussion
group

Playing the daegum( I think), a traditional bamboo flute

Then we headed out into the city to explore the Namsan Hanock village

Namsan Tower

handmade straw baskets

the village

Chinese stuff is pretty integrated into Korean History,
hence the Chinese characters

and then in the middle there's a vending
machine. Oh Korea...

Playin games

Pretty flowers!

Lunch consisted of Bibimbap! Don't ask me to explain exactly what that is. Bap means rice tho. I think it's traditionally supposed to be served in that kind of metal bowl. You add chili paste to make it spicy, and it's delicious

Koreans are very into clean teeth- this is
mouthwash in the bathroom

Oh PS, I CAN GET MCDONALD'S
DELIVERED AAAWW YESSS

Anyway. Next stop, Gyeongbokgoong!!! I think goong means palace, so you either say Gyeongbokgoong or Gyeongbok Palace. It was here that we discovered that our lecturers weren't lying when they said we would be the celebrities of our schools and probably the city. A large group of westerners was apparently an amazing sight, because our group of EPIK teachers had their picture taken at least 50 times by other random tourists. It was quite humorous because they were unabashedly staring. Definitely going to take some getting used to!!!

Onward!

You can see a woman taking a pic of our group in the background

my bad for my finger being in the pic, whatever.
These pillars are where the servants had to stand
when the king was around

the middle is blocked off cause only the king
was/is allowed to use that staircase.

I think this was supposed to represent the
universe

again, see how the center is blocked off?
KING ONLY. 

PS, Korea doesn't have a king anymore. Ergo, NOBODY GETS TO WALK THROUGH THE CENTER

This is apparently where the king greeted foreign dignitaries 

I love this pic. So serene

Tiny doors that I still fit through!

garden!

some of decorations in the King's mom's quarters

not sure what this we, we spotted it on our way out

A changing of the guard ceremony

We then headed to the Museum of Contemporary History

Anti Japan liberation propoganda!

Being the president of the ROK

here's to many more!!!

 Driving out of Seoul I came across this mural:

Yup. 1 day in Seoul and I spotted something
Phantom related

tried this at dinner today. It was
chewy but not bad!

So there ya have it, my first trip to Seoul, which was nice to see since that's where I'll be living! Can't wait to get there Monday!