Bahrom International Program
Neil Macmillan's Trip Notes
July 2 to 29, 2011 at Seoul Women's University, South Korea
Costumed guides at Gyongbokgung Palace
July 02/03
Pleasant flight on Korean Air with very enjoyable dinner and lunch. Smartly attired staff offered pleasant service throughout. Arrival in Seoul with greeting by BIP staff. Some delay before we started the one-hour journey into town. Landscape fairly 'industrial' with some small islands visible in the distance. Rather foggy. Room assignments and welcome at SWU. Shoes off in the rooms which are basic student residences. Normally, the room holds four but I have it to myself.
July 4
Enjoyed a pleasant sleep. Very quiet surroundings with maple trees and evergreens. Some birds. Walk to the gate and out into the community a little, passing some local neighbourhood shops.
Welcoming ceremony quite formal with an introduction of everyone. Academic and cultural expectations were outlined. One important objective is getting everyone involved.
The imposing statue of Admiral Yi with Gyeongbokgung in the background
First subway trip into the city centre in the evening. T Money cards are very easy to use.
July 5
Intricacies of Korean language. Needs a lot of practice to learn the right sounds. Developing some facility with basic expressions.
Deoksugung Palace
Afternoon walk through Deoksugung Palace and grounds. This is open into the evening, unlike most of the other palaces
July 6
Economics lecture and the complexities of North-South relationships. North Korea considered rogue state with eilicit regime. No official ceasefire after Korean War. Many reasons why North will likely not move beyond isolated acts of provocation. Economy of South strongly tied to export trade. South Korea ranks high in GDP per capita and trade balance.
Gyeongbokung Palace Guides
Gyeongbokgung Palace visit in afternoon with entire group.
July 7th
History Lecture: Many ways of tracing the history of the Korean people. Can consider language and the archaeological record, correlating pottery styles of different regions, for example.
Hands-on Pottery Session
Actual hands-on practice with pottery in the afternoon at Icheon Ceramics Village, approximately 90 minutes by bus. Made my own small teacup with considerable help from the master potter.
July 8th
Traditional Korean Music Group
Exploring the intricate rhythms of Korea. The dancing, music and drumming creates quite a spectacular experience. Loud too, especially indoors.
July 9
At the Noryangjin Fish Market
Personal visit to the amazing Noryangjin Fish Market. A football field of individual vendors offering just about everything edible that comes out of the sea. Some never before seen varieties of mussel, scallop, finfish and just about everything else. Picture several dozen Granville Island Public Markets but with only edibles from the sea; totally amazing.
Lunch at Busan Ilbeonji
Afterwards was first customer of the day at Busan Ilbeonji Restaurant (mentioned in Lonely Planet). Only other diners were staff enjoying their own lunch. Enjoyed a broiled fish that looked somewhat like a mackerel plus numerous side dishes. This was the first time I was by myself in a Korean restaurant but the people were nice and it was early in the day and really quiet.
Enjoyed a traditional Korean wedding that I stumbled upon and went to a traditional dance performance at Seoul Namsan Gugakdang, a theatre attached to Namsangol Hanok Village before returning to SWU.
July 10
Scenes at the Korean Folk Village
Extensive bus travel day, largely through monsoon rain. But saw some interesting countryside including extensive rice cultivation. Traditional Korean dinner on our arrival in Gyeongju. Journey included a stop at the Korean Folk Village for a view of buildings and activities.
Dinner en route to Gyeonju
July 11
Morning at two main Buddhist shrines with a visit to Silla Dynasty tombs in the early evening. Saw old and large Buddha statues and the only female one in all of Buddhism. Nice wind-down in the evening.
July 12
Travelling through the countryside revealed extensive cultivation on all available flat land, Rice paddies are everywhere and there is a fair amount of habitation.
Toured the extensive operations of Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan. Large ships in various stages of completion were visible.
Interesting to see the Korean version of highway rest stops on this extensive road trip.
July 13
Statue of King Sejong at Gwanghwamun. Gyeongbokgung Palace in background
Informative session on Korean cinema followed by a lively Tae Kwon Do activity in the gymnasium.
July 14
Survey of Korean religion, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and shamanism. Historical and contemporary perspectives. Enjoyed afternoon and evening in Bukchon and Gwanghwamun areas.
July 15
A survey lecture on Korean politics. Entertaining session with some hands-on culinary experience in the afternoon.
July 16
Bus excursion with Myung Sook to eastern coastal area, to escape heavy rain in Seoul. Sunny and warm at our destination.
At an ancient shrine
The East Sea
Jungyeongmyo Tomb
The tomb is located in a significant pine forest area. Timber for Seoul Royal Palaces came from here
July 17
Temples and shrines in the park
An enjoyable day of hiking in Bukhansan National Park.
July 18
Exploring the full spectrum of Korean film.
July 19
How economic theories relate to the Korean experience. An engaging discussion-based class rather than lecture style.
Traditional Korean Costume: Hanbok
Hanbok try-on in the afternoon. The different male and female variations were explained by a specialist in traditional costume.
July 20
A survey of Korean musical forms in the morning with some excellent performed examples. Afternoon in the enormous National Museum of Korea. Too much to see in the available time but looked at Three Kingdoms, Silla and Josean Dynasty exhibits as well as calligraphy and celadon pottery. Special exhibit on the repatriation from France of the Records of the State Rights of the Josean Dynasty, known as the Oegyujanggak Uigwe. Interesting visit to Sky Art in the 63 Building, followed by Han River cruise. The view from the top of the 63 Building is considerable better than the N-Seoul Tower view, especially the downstream view of the Han River.
July 23 & 24
Enjoying the lotus pond in Bueyo
Took part in a Buddhist temple stay near Nonsan which included a visit to the Lotus Festival at Bueyo.
July 25
Infiltration Tunnel at the DMZ
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) visit. The day provided a good sense of the border tensions. We entered one of the infiltration tunnels. We could only go so far into the DMZ of course. The military presence everywhere in the area was strong and obvious and the ever-present soldiers had guns at the ready. We could clearly see the ridges where fighting was intense during the Korean War. Contrast between South Korea and the DMZ: well maintained rice paddies and other agriculture south of the demarcation line and unused and uninhabited land north of the line. However, it is an interesting area for relatively undisturbed nature. An armed soldier did a head count on our bus arriving and leaving.
July 26
Bungmun, the North Gate
Fabulous fortress wall walk in the morning in West Namhansanseong. The current wall dates back to the 17th Century but the true origins are much older. Walking inside or outside the wall is possible. Thunder lightning and rain in the afternoon and for all of the next day. Joey, and others at BIP, called it a once in a century storm.
Serious rain in Insadong and at Gwanghwamun
July 27
Certificate presentations and farewell banquet.
July 28
Academic awards in the morning. Really happy to have a windup visit to the National Museum of Korea and Gwanghwamun Square area in the afternoon. Korean BBQ dinner near BIP with faculty members Leslie, Kathleen and Paul.
Neil Macmillan's home page at Vancouver Island University.