Sunday, September 21, 2008

Finally, some pictures! Day 02, June 12, 2008

These are just a couple of the pictures from the first day of our actually being in Korea. If, for some reason, you want larger versions, contact me. I've have the fun of trying to reduce the pictures so that I don't use up all of my allowed storage. Trust me, on most of these the larger version is much larger. And, of course, I have lots left for people to see when they come to visit!

004 these little police stations were all over the place. As near as I can figure, they serve as information booths and places to bring complaints to. And places to film Korean dramas.

017 if you enlarge this picture so it fills the monitor, you'll see a distinctively American name

019, 007 changing of the guard in front of the palace grounds. I'm not sure if this was for ceremonial or theatrical purposes.


018 where the Emperor would review the guards and receive visitors of state

012-011 you couldn't go into the buildings, but there were ramps all over the place to go right up to them. And then there's the painting that's been done on them! Each individual beam, and all very intricate...



014 on palace grounds. Apparently, businesspeople come onto the grounds to walk on the paths during their lunch breaks, and we saw some school children running around, too. Which was a little surprising to me, considering Korean parent's penchant for education. I mean, besides school there is music lessons and tutors and more tutors and still more tutors. If you're a student, and you don't get good grades, you can't get into a university, and the University you go to determines how good a job you can get. Think of it as a difference between MIT or Stanford or Harvard versus UMass Amherst or UC Berkeley. The first three will get the top jobs and the other two not quite so good, no matter how good grades are. It's not quite that bad in the states. And there's also be "who do you know?" factor.


009 a cannon. For arrows. Not cannonballs, arrows. And you thought all those flights of arrows you see in the movies required archers.

016-015, 013 trying to find a curb cut out. Don't worry, these cars were parked taxicabs, just outside of a hotel. Except the third one, which was against traffic. And look! A crosswalk in the middle of the street, without a cut out! This was going towards the National Bank and its Museum of Currency.



006 from the Museum of Currency at the main branch of the National Bank.


005 they are trying to conquer the world!

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