Seeing as how this was my first day in Korea, my host family figured they’d start me off slow with a little bit of tourist fun. Perched atop Namsan mountain, Seoul Tower offers an expansive view of Seoul that is both breathtaking and impossible to photograph.
Since tourists are lazy and easily swindled into overpaying for uncommon methods of transportation, a cable car service is available to carry passengers from a parking lot to the base of the tower at the top of the mountain. Since I am lazy and easily swindled into overpaying for uncommon methods of transportation, I made use of said cable car.
At the summit, a large group of traditional dancers was performing 강강술래 (Ganggangsullae), a massive circle dance meant to bring about a good harvest. The dance is a 5000 year old tradition that is said to have done far more than bring good yield to Korean farmers:
“In the 16th century, during the Japanese invasion of Korea, Admiral Yi Sun-sin ordered women to do this dance in military uniform to intimidate the Japanese. The women were said to have dressed in military uniform and do the ganggangsullae dance on Mount Okmae (옥매산). The Japanese scouts thus overestimated the strength of the Korean troops. “
-From Wikipedia (don’t hate, I checked the citations)
Fear the might.
In a far less culturally significant coincidence, I found that Seoul tower is also home to a Teddy Bear museum. Never missing an opportunity to take an embarrassing photo, I did this:
The kid in blue is definitely judging me...
Thinking my presence within the museum would do little more than frighten whatever patrons were present, I elected not to do any exploring within. Instead, we headed for the tower’s observation deck so that I could see all of Seoul before I actually went out to see all of Seoul. You and I will get to that soon. First, we’re going to play a small game called “Test Korea’s Knowledge of US Culture”.
Round 1 – Cultural Landmarks
Round 2 – Slang Terminology
Round 3 – Sports Rivalries
To be fair, the only thing that all these mean is that Koreans have a definite but incomplete grasp of my country, while I need to go on a two and a half month journey to even gain a small understanding of theirs.
Now, in the beginning of this post I mentioned that the view from the observation deck is impossible to photograph. I could have maybe gotten a low quality shot out one window if I tried, and that wouldn’t be at all a fair depiction of what I saw. That being said, it would take a lot of time and talented writing to properly describe the view of Seoul from within the tower, neither of which I have in great stores so let me offer this simple compromise: If any of my readers would like to see the much acclaimed vista, wait two months, send me an email and we will go together. Make sure the email contains a plane ticket.
Also from Wikipedia.
I love steven.
hahahahah the hats