End of the year

Well December was a tough month for me. I didn't go home for Christmas and I really didn't take many photographs.

I can't remember which subway station this was.


Students taking a test at the academy.


Young Shin and Ellie

New Apartment

Before I took a month of leave, I moved out of my last apartment.

My new place is bigger and better in many ways.

I have a view of some government building with a small mountain behind it.

There are a few love motels behind me .

The blue, red and green lights outside look cool at night in my apartment.

Most importantly, I have a Hello Kitty toilet seat which makes all the difference.

Oahu, Hawaii

October in Missouri

It rained most of the time I was home in Missouri.

This is the St. Louis Cathedral.

Kansas City

Here are some pictures from the day I drove out to Kansas City to visit my brother, Chris.





This is a picture of Union Station.












Here's a shot from my brother's apartment terrace. The Kansas City Marathon was being run on the street in front of the building.

Some old pictures I scanned

This is from when I arrived home from Spain in Summer 1991

Here are two funny pictures of my younger brother, Chris.

Breckenridge, Colorado

Baegun Temple

I wanted to see some more of Uiwang, the county where I live, so I went to City Hall and picked up a map. It was Sunday, and it being Korea, some people were actually working in their offices and were happy to help me.









The area near city hall has some other public offices as well as the Uiwang library. All the building appeared to be only a few years old.

Here's a shot of the hallway on the first level of the library:





There are no public buses going to the base of Baegun Mountain on the side of the temple, so I took a taxi. From the parking lot where I was let out, it was a very short hike (15 minutes).

The Korean War Musem

We went to the Korean War Museum on Saturday. Actually it's not only about the Korean War. It also has information about all the armed conflicts in Korea throughout history. I really found it much more interesting than the other museums I've been to in Seoul.







I didn't pay too much attention to the weapons because everytime I looked at them, I kept thinking about all the poor bastards who got completely blasted. If you're into that sort of thing, you'll love this place. Every single instrument of death and destruction seems to documented and displayed within these halls. However I liked seeing the uniforms and reading about the Korean War which is still a big gray area in my mind. As with every history, there are countless details that elude me despite my careful investigations.











If you want to go there, take the blue line to Samgakji station and get out at exit 12.

By the way, there are also a lot of Daegu Tang restaurants around the other exits if you want to eat a Korean style fish stew.

Cheonggyesa

I tell people I live in Anyang, but I actually live in Uiwang which is much less known. Cheonggye Mountain and this temple are two of the biggest tourist attractions in Uiwang. It's pretty sad that I've lived here over a year and only just gotten out to see these. There's also a famous catholic church nearby as well as Baegun Lake. I met a couple people selling snacks on the way up the hill and had a few drinks despite it being 1PM on a Tuesday. I got a chance to practice my broken Korean and support a couple of locals.



I believe I read that the temple was originally built in the 13 century because temples became banned with in the city.



Unfortunately my battery died after a few shots, so I promised myself I would return. It's really a beautiful area that is lush with vegetation still very green along the Cheonggye stream banks.



To get there you take the yellow #10 Mall bus from Indeogwon station to the lower parking area and then walk up the road about 15 minutes. Or if you're really lazy you could just take a taxi all the way up the access road to the temple. A lot of people did that and then went hiking to the top of the mountain from there. In addition, there are some little restaurants and vendors along the access road.

Pics from the last two weeks of August 2009

Ceiling of a temple on Suri Mountain

Giant Buddha at newly built temple near Namtaeryeong Station

Buddhist figurines in a temple garden

Four level Dunkin Donuts in Myeong Dong Shopping Area

Mandala

Namtaeryeong Station escalators

Cucumber Gimchi

View from Suri Mountain. I think my home is somewhere in the picture.