Phillies in Korea

I stopped going into this men's clothing store downtown because a creepy korean employee that wears too much makeup always followed me around inside. No matter how many times I see this girl she always asks me if I am a foreigner and then tries to get me to kiss her hand. Even if I ignore her, she continues to follow me and stands uncomfortably close. The store sometimes smells like vomit and her presence makes me feel sick to my stomach, so I don't go in there much.

But the other day was lucky enough to find the store surprisingly clean and devoid of creepo girl so I perused some of their new gear. I came across this little number. If you can't read it, the shirt says: "1000 Champs. Game Over. We Win. Pennant Race." Simply put.

Damyang Bamboo Forest

One of the closest places to visit if you are living in Gwangju is the Damyang Bamboo forest. You can catch a direct bus from the Gwangju Terminal and it takes just 30-40 minutes to arrive. Jeollanam-Do (my province) is home to the the largest concentration of bamboo in South Korea and Damyang accounts for about 70% of that population. Many bamboo craftsmen still live in this area and much of the surrounding county survives off of their product.

The Koreans called us "crazy" for going outside on a rainy day, but we did it any way...these were the same Korean friends that suggest I have crampons to go for a short day hike in February. pshhh.

The village might have been fake but Milkis is a real boy.

Anyway, the paths were muddy but it was cool being surrounded by a thick forest of bamboo. Bamboo grows even larger than this, but many of the stalks we saw reached 6 inches in diameter and were 30-50 feet high. Pretty impressive for a grass. There was also this cool little eco-center full of wild plants, succulents, and bonsai trees. Also, on the back side of the forest, there was a traditional village in the process of being built. It was fake, of course, and is only being built to draw more visitors. Still nice, there are some close-up pics of the joinery used to put together a traditional roof and tea house structure.


Right before the entrance to the forest park there is a bamboo market. I am sure that people sell stuff almost every weekend but the entire market is open on days ending in the numeral 2 or 7. We went on February 22nd, a Sunday, and the main Bamboo vendor was open but we suspect there was more that we missed because we went late. My guidebook says the markets stays up from 7am-12 noon. Guidebooks. I bought a Korean dice game made from bamboo stalks..it probably looks alot more fun than it really is.

I'm realizing now that I didn't get any pictures of the actual bamboo...picture fail.

Here are the rest of the pictures from the day.

Wolchulsan National Park

The weather has been getting better so we took a day trip down to Wolchulsan National Park to do some hiking and get those legs going again. To get to Wolchulsan from the Gwangju U-Station, take a bus to Yeongam. It is about an hour trip and costs W6,000. From Yeongam Terminal there is a bus that leaves every 20 minutes that will take you to the base of the park and only costs a chun. Admission to the park is W2,000.

Before going into the park, there is a street of cozy little restaurants that are great for a pre-hike snack or post-adventure chowdown. There is also a great two-story temple at the base that was built in the 1400s and they are still building newer structures in the surrounding area. The park was spread out very nicely and it wasn't too crowded this time of year.

The hike turned out to be one of our favorites so far in Korea. Although we got on the trail later than planned and the Koreans were all on their way down as we ascended, the hike was both gratifying and beautiful.

Wolchulsan is a craggy area with huge rocky outcroppings and sheer dropoffs upon the ridge. The forest peters out towards the top and tall grasses grow at the ridge summit. We later found out that the top had been wooded but it all burnt down and grass had grown in its place. It felt like being on top of a large dune and we were approaching the ocean.

The sun was setting and the wind had picked up once we reached the top so our time was short before heading back down. We were lucky enough to catch them sounding off the temple's evening gong just as we were leaving the park. With a mountain mist settling in, the ochre sun going down and the sound of the gong bellowing into the distance it made for a peaceful exit to the day's hike.

There are not many but you can catch the rest of the photos here.

Cupid

Some snapshots from the Valentine's Weekend.

Hosang Park

I came across some great shots by Korean photographer, Hosang Park. The title of this collection is "A Square" and he aims to reveal what he calls the "band-aid of nature" in areas of high-density development.

I like these photos because I see these parks everywhere in Korea. Public parks, apartment complexes, and rest areas in Korea are built very quickly and all seem to embody similiar physical and spatial elements. These places are usually overdesigned and crammed full of visual data in what Park describes as "landscape as signage:"

"their presence in Korea is both a reassurance and an investment: the trees, paths, and water features, no matter how artificial, push up property prices by providing an implicit guarantee of the 'environmental' benefits of a place where they belong...crammed together as visual shorthand for endless leisure. They are landscape as signage, a placeholder for the possibilities of a park."

Check out the rest of Park's photographs here.

Sepak Takraw

Sepak Takraw is a popular game played in South Korea and much of Southeast Asia. It is played with 3-4 players on either side of the court and is pretty much a combination of soccer and volleyball. You can only use your feet and your team gets three hits to kick the ball onto the other side.



We caught these guys playing at the courts in Citizens Park in SangMu. They were not as hardcore as some of the Thai players in the video below, but its fun to play and requires alot of flying spin kicks. It's unfortunate that I only have a limited supply of flying spin kicks or else I would be awesome at this game. I rarely dish one out, only if I am in an emergency situation or someone is mean muggin' me.



Shane made the mistake of wearing the Koala Hat not knowing this little kid was going to beat him up for copying his outfit.

Halfway

Five months down. Five to go.

Phillies Spring Training

My dad has just informed me that the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies started their Spring Training schedule at Bright House Field in Clearwater, FL. To get you back into the spirit of the game, here is a picture of my phanatic mother at the final game of the World Series with her handmade rally poster. She's 5'2".

Korean Ginger Tea

I tried my hand at making the Korean ginger & cinnamon tea that is commonly served here as an after-dinner drink. After eating fermented kimchi, savory soups, spicy red sauce, and cooked vegetables this is a sweet drink to cleanse your mouth. It is served cold and has a nice cinnamon taste to it with a kick of ginger that gets you in the throat. This is why it also good to drink warm when you have a sore throat or cough.


I added jujubes in addition to the cinnamon [kyepi], ginger root, and pine nut garnish. You have to break up the cinnamon stick, peel and slice the ginger, and chop the jujube before adding them to water and bringing it to a boil. Then you let it simmer on low heat for about 25-30 minutes before taking off the range and allowing the liquid to cool. While it is still warm you can add honey or sugar to sweeten [I prefer honey]. I also sliced up some asian pear and added it to the liquid before putting it in the fridge to cool so that some extra fruity sweetness would seep in.

Biking the Gwangju Stream

The weather on Saturday hit the 50s so we went for a lil spin around Gwangju. Here is a video while riding next to the Gwangju Stream. The path curls around the entire city and we can ride from our Dong to Sangmu [where Leah and Stu live] in less than an hour.


Down the path we stumbled upon Kite Man. He was in the middle of releasing what must have been close to 800m [half mile] worth of strand. Half of the kites were birds and the other were diamonds. He would release one kite about every 15 seconds from a box at his feet. The entire span of the kites reached up and over the roof of the city. It was something spectacular to watch and one of those moments you only get once.


Happening upon Kite Man.




"Hey...that's my box of kites."

Check out the rest of the bike adventure and Kite Man photos here.