South Korea: Land of History, Beauty and Mystery

Pat Johnson and Regina Fraser

A visit to South Korea can be a wonderful and unexpected introduction to the Far East. Not only will one experience centuries-old traditions and structures while visiting colorful temples scattered throughout the country, but also see the latest technological innovations in transportation and architecture in the bustling cities of Busan and Seoul. Many may know of Seoul, South Korea’s largest city as a former Olympics site. Busan, however, is Korea’s second-largest city and a thriving urban center that reminds us of Chicago.

Koreans are welcoming and gracious, making it easy for tourists to feel comfortable and be inclined to “stay a while.” As one travels, there are discoveries to explore beyond the well-known Korean shopping experiences in a land that offers surprises in every region of the country.

Our “Grannies on Safari” television crew arrived late September at the spectacular high-tech airport in Seoul and were greeted by our host and guide Jinny Han. For the next five days Jinny would be the person to ensure that we saw a lot of South Korea and that our days would be filled with cultural events, temple tours, interviews, food tastings, and meetings with people doing all kinds of amazing things. We traveled by coach, train and van with our knowledgeable guides, and as our trip took place after the summer tourism season, we had plenty of time to see everything.

Korean History and Culture
We particularly enjoyed visiting ancient palaces and Buddhist temple complexes in the Seoul and Gyeoungju areas – Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung, Bulguksa and Seokguram Grotto. During our trek we learned about Korean history, customs, traditions and how food plays an important role in determining ones background and status. The eating of food is one ritual that is associated with current activity still performed today in the number of food festivals throughout the year. The Seoul International Food festival is one of the most well known festivals and takes place in May. When we visit Korea again, this would be one of our must stops! Varieties of painted Buddha sculptures in each complex, especially the larger-than-life images of the sacred Buddha, covered with gold-colored veneers, were marvelous.

We enjoyed walking through the quiet temple grounds and even left our mark on a new building tile at Bulguksa where they were laying a new tile roof. For a small fee, you could purchase one of the tiles and inscribe a greeting. We chose to write “Live a Happy Life” and signed “Grannies on Safari.” This tile will be on the building years to come.

Next we went to the Korean Folk Village, a living museum that recreates the lifestyle of several Korean centuries of history. A 30 minute drive from Seoul, a visit here is worth a two or three hour stay. Our guide, Mr. Lee, introduced us to this site and shared compelling insights into ancient dynasties, rituals as well as his thoughts on contemporary Korean culture. He made us feel as though we were traveling through Korea’s past and present, all in one afternoon.

We tried on traditional Koran wedding and royal dresses made from beautiful silks embroidered with brilliant threads. The dresses made us feel a bit like royalty ourselves! As we walked about the park, wearing our costumes, we learned that a TV crew was filming a period television show within a few feet of us.

Shopping and More Shopping
While visiting Seoul, we experienced one of our favorite walking excursions, located near the city’s center in the Insa-dong shopping area. There, we stopped at a most delightful tea house where tiny, colorful birds flew around the premises as we sipped ginger tea and ate small sweet soy and sugar cookies. The birds, abundant plants that surrounded us, and floral scents permeating the air, charmed us. Yet we had more to see, as Insa-dong is popular with tourists and locals because of its fine selection of arts, crafts and clothing. Pat purchased a Korean-style indigo silk jacket for herself, and Regina found a typical silk Korean little girl’s outfit for her granddaughter. We learned that the more expensive goods are now made in Korea, and the less expensive ones are imported from China. Sound familiar?

Attending the now world-famous NANTA Cooking Show was a real treat. NANTA means “reckless punching” and the show is the nation’s most well-known, non-verbal stage performance. It integrates traditional Korean percussion tempos with western performance styles. This fast-paced, high-energy cooking show featuring large knives and cleavers used real food that not only went flying all over the stage but landed in the audience as well! The humor was contagious. Think “Iron Chef” but with a ton of laughs.

A Chicago Connection
The connection between Chicago, our home town, and Korea was confirmed many times during our travels, but especially so with our visit with Bora Hong. Ms. Hong was Pat’s intern at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs in the late 1990’s, when Hong was a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute. It was good to reconnect with this creative young woman and to visit her art gallery, The Gallery Factory located near the famous Gyeongbokgung Palace - a new emerging arts district in Seoul. Her pristine space presents regular exhibitions of works by cutting-edge and seasoned Korean artists from around the country. Touring her exhibit was a delight. The hanging and wall mounted hand cut and carved paper and wood constructions were whimsical.

Icheon - World-Class Ceramic Center
We then visited the Icheon World Ceramic Center in the Gyeonggi-doProvince, featuring more than 1,500 ceramic works by internationally known masters from Korea and around the world. For centuries, Korea has been a leader in the creation and production of fine ceramic works, particularly, Celedon. It is only fitting that a world-class museum was built to honor not only the Korean masters, but other cultures that produce ceramics. Our timing was wonderful in that we were able to view pieces from a recent Ceramic Biennale exhibition that featured some of the most contemporary and finest works from international artists. Placed throughout the center’s grounds were bold and colorful child-like sculptures that brought to mind an “Alice in Wonderland” fantasy playground.

Korean Food – The importance of Rice
Icheon is known as the place where some of the best rice in Korea is grown. We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch and visited with the owner who discussed why Icheon rice is sought after and how it is prepared. The texture is smooth and the rice is slightly transparent.

We thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, rice and several tasty Korean dishes. Korean food is not only varied – each meal is served with many side dishes such as spinach, and cabbage – it is also spicy. Korean food has some similarity to other Asian cuisines in that ingredients usually include fresh fish, rice and vegetables. However, the Korean process of pickling adds a unique flavor. Kimchi, usually made of brine, garlic, cabbage and hot red peppers is the signature Korean dish and served with all meals. Beware when eating Kimchi as one has to be careful not to eat too much if you are not accustomed to spicy foods. We especially enjoyed the Korean barbeque and looked for this cooked-at- your-table grilled beef dish, all the time. The sizzling meat and many sauces were a real treat.

The Modern Side of Busan and Seoul
Busan and Seoul are modern bustling centers of commerce and industry. Youcan find anything you want; high-end international brands, including signature Korean brands like Samsung, Hyundai and LG, as well as high-end international consumer apparel brands. Busan also is a major Asian seaport and transportation hub. We marveled at the numbers of containers stacked high and as far as the eye could see. The port also boasts one of the largest fresh-fish markets we have ever visited. Fish varieties ranged from the familiar huge lobsters to the exotic such as shark, eel and cuddle fish. All one has to do is select a fish and give it to the fish monger, who will cook it in seconds.

New housing construction is on the rise in Busan and we were dazzled by dozens of projects in process all over the city. On one side of the bay was a brand-new neighborhood of high-end homes, hotels and apartments on coveted beach-front property. Both Seoul, already popular for its dynamic and energetic neighborhoods, and Busan, a growing metropolis, can hold their own in the development and commercial growth of cities across the northeastern Asian region.

South Korea – A Country of Contrasts
South Korea is a place to touch the ancient and the contemporary. The friendliness of the people and the historical and cultural beauty of this county will surprise and delight. There is more to South Korea than shopping – much more. The temples, mountains, high-speed KTX trains and overall sophistication of the people will impress the seasoned traveler and new tourist alike. We invite those who are looking for a satisfying Asian travel experiences to journey to South Korea.

For more information about touring Korea contact the Korean National Tourism Organization at http://www.tour2korea.com/

This article was recently published in The Trumpet Magazine