Honja

I kept hearing this word - "honja". You'd think I would remember to look it up, but that would only happen if one had a perfect memory of every intention they had. (and don't many of our best intentions come to no fruition? (or fruitation...inside joke)). It came up in Korean class 2 Saturdays ago, and I'm glad it did. I finally know it means "alone."

Last weekend I went to Seoul (again) with Jongsoo to see his mom and aunts. It was fun. We got steak and all you can eat salad. Mmm. Salad. And after stuffing myself to capacity, he and I went for a long walk along the Cheongyecheon (chun gyeh chun).

The Cheongyecheon is this stream that runs through Seoul and lets out in the Han River (very famous). There was a project funded by the people to clean up and make the stream into a park that everyone could enjoy. It's very very very awesome. There's a path on either side of the stream, and many places where you can cross, like the above, and best of all are the things that live there - the fish and birds. It's beautiful. It also has lights so you can walk there at night. 

The next day, Sunday, I went to Dondaemun honja. Jongsoo had promised to hang out with a friend, and so I had to find something to do by myself. So I went to the history and culture park in Dongdaemun and took pictures, and learned a little bit about Seoul during the Joseon dynasty and the Japanese occupation.

This guy stands at the entrance of the park. 

The park is the site of... 3 historical things? Please forgive me as I am going off of what they had written in English. My Korean is very poor. I can read and know some grammar, but my vocabulary is very small still. 

It seems that this place was along the protective wall that surrounded Seoul during the Joseon dynasty, and later on was the site of 2 stadiums (or one really, that got a massive renovation for the 1988 olympics). This particular site also had like.. some barracks for I forget which branch of the Joseon's defense. So I guess when they were digging here for the olympic stadium, they found relics and artifacts and preserved them (and also later turned them into the museum you can visit). 

This is the water gate where water would flow out of the city. It's pretty impressive to go and stand in there. 

It was pretty weird to be standing in a place where you could see something at least 500 years old, and then right behind it see this new, shiny building that resembled a UFO. Actually, if you go up 5 pictures, notice the building on the left with the big windows? That's one of the museums. The architecture is uber-modern cement. Quite a contrast with the landscaping and the age of the wall. 

I should have taken pictures of the signs so I could report this accurately. This is one of 2 water holes on the property. Very serene looking. 

Chindalae - Azaleas! and a skyscraper behind it in the not-so-far-off distance.

Two of the stadium lights remain as a memorial to the old Olympic stadium. 

That was one thing they mentioned at orientation - Koreans build new all the time. Olympics coming to your country? In America, we tend to just spruce up one of our best. In Korea, it wouldn't be uncalled for to build an entirely new stadium. However, they did not mention that there was a museum built to remember the old stadium. It's in this park. And you can see some cool items that were used in the Olympics  I saw a baseball bat and glove, and lots of old photos. The olympics are a matter of national pride here in South Korea. 

Back in 1948, the Olympics were held in Seoul during the Japanese occupation. Korean participants were forced to use Japanese names and not their actual names. So much so that many athletes felt ashamed and there are photos where they covered their faces. Now flash forward to 1988 under a semi-democratic, rebuilding itself South Korea. This Olympic advent was the complete opposite. And it's still an event that brings a beam of pride to Koreans' faces.

It was a strange thing to stand in such an "old" place, to sense its age, but be surrounded by so many new, bright, shiny and modern things. In a country where everything is being built new, tearing down the old and replacing (booming construction industry right now), it speaks volumes to see a preserved piece of an old, now obsolete wall (that once was vital) and stadium lights from 25 years ago. 

Here's the thing that held the flame from the Olympic torch. It was cool to stand next to this in person. Also note the crane to the left. LOL. Yes. Right next door to this park is a construction project. I think it's for more museum stuff? But I can't say for sure because I can't read very well.

I went shopping in Dongdaemun too. It was some kind of fashion festival? There were so many vendors and stores out lining the sidewalks with clothes. I bought a few things and ate my first Korean-mexican food - a chicken burrito. It was pretty good, and the guy working there spoke to me in English (and i answered in Korean). Then I basically rode around on the metro trying to meet up with Tian and Jongsoo. Yup. I don't know if I've said it before but the Seoul metro is pretty nice. It's pretty easy to understand. It's fast and reliable, and cheap! Anyway, it's bed time!