Namdaemun Market

I know many of you are concerned for us after reading the daily news about things that are happening in our part of the country.   Here is a notice recently posted from the US Embassy in Korea:

A Security Message for U.S. Citizens

The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that despite current political tensions with North Korea there is no specific information to suggest there are imminent threats to U.S. citizens or facilities in the Republic of Korea (ROK).  The Embassy has not changed its security posture and we have not recommended that U.S. citizens who reside in, or plan to visit, the Republic of Korea take special security precautions at this time.  The U.S. Embassy takes as its highest priority the welfare of American citizens in Korea.  Should the security situation change, the Embassy will issue updated information.

Life in Korea is going on as normal.   The American media will take any small thing and turn it into a very big news story.  Thank you for all your prayers and concerns, hopefully life here will continue to stay normally crazy.

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Spring is just around the corner here...how can I tell?

Not by the warmer temperatures--although they have been nice after a very cold winter.

Not by the blooming flowers--although they are beginning to bloom and they are beautiful.  I will post some pictures soon.

Not by the increased allergies--although with the blooming flowers the sneezing and runny noses have begun.

The way I can tell is by the 2 very large insects I had inside my home in the past 2 days.  I don't handle the large bugs very well, so thankfully Russ was home to get one of them.  The other I was on my own, there was a lot of internal screaming and freaking out, but in the end I conquered that sucker.

Besides the bugs, I can also tell it is Spring because our family has the desire to do everything outside.  One of the first beautiful Saturday afternoons here we decided to take a walk.  A favorite thing to do in our family is just start walking, see where we end up and explore that part of the city.  If we end up to far away from our house we will usually just jump on a subway or bus and head back home. 

This particular Saturday we hiked over a small mountain that is right next to the base and down the other side.  On the other side of this mountain is one of my favorite markets in all of Seoul-Namdaemun Market.   I love to shop in this market.  It doesn't matter what you are looking for, you will be able to find it here and most likely at an awesome price.  It is expected that you bargain for everything and there are often hundreds of people packed all around you looking at the exact same thing you are.

The weekends are the craziest time to shop at Namdaemun Market.  I usually go during the week when it is much less busy and much less crowded, but this particular Saturday was a crazy one because of the beautiful weather.

This is an indoor/outdoor market.  The outdoor part consists of permanent stores that have an outdoor entrance and temporary carts that are pulled in and out every day.  Pretty much anything you can ever want or need you can purchase in this market...

Fur coats-some are expensive and look real-some not so much-

 Socks-so many socks-

 

Shoes-there are a lot of shoe stands here, but this is not the best place in Seoul for shoes, so I haven't ever purchased any at this market, I have done extensive research on the best places to purchase shoes in Seoul-

Kitchen supplies-

 Dishes-there is an entire floor of a huge building that has stand after stand that looks just like this-it is a mother with small children's nightmare-

Luggage-

Belts-

Asian Souvenirs-after living in and visiting numerous Asian countries we have realized that pretty much all the souvenirs look the same-

Anything Hello Kitty you could possibly imagine-

Gaudy, rhinestone covered decorations and jewelry boxes-

80's looking decorations-

Bedding-

Clothes-

More clothes-only these are the cheaper ones and they are in piles in the middle of the market on a cart-you just dig through the piles-

Undergarments-and they just try them on (over their clothes) right in the middle of the market-

Fake designer purses-

Jewelry-

They make their own jewelry-they sit at these stands and sell what they make-

again more gaudiness-that is a lot of rhinestones

Hair accessories-

Lucy is in heaven at this stand

Herbs-

They have a beautiful flower section in this market as well-it isn't nearly as big as the flower market I previously blogged about but the flowers are cheaper and this market is closer-

check out these roses-they were sprayed like this but they were so beautiful and vibrant-I took this picture for Lucy I knew she would like these

One of the very best parts of this market is the food!!  They serve what we call street food primarily at this market.  It is cheap and delicious.  Our family can all eat at a stand in this market for less then $20.00. 

All these foods are ready to be purchased and heated up and eaten.  The front round things are called Korean Pancakes.  They mix all different types of things in their pancakes and they taste delicious.

This lady owned the stand and she was excited to get her picture taken making our food.

In the front is my very favorite Korean food-Tteokbolki.  Behind it she is heating our Kimchi pancake and some Korean Dumplings on a hot skillet.

You eat at tables in the middle of the market with people walking all around you (and staring).

 After dinner we had dessert at a fruit stand-you can buy an entire skewer of fruit for less then $1.00-a perfect dessert-

  

Whatever they are selling at this stand must be cheap-lots of people buying-

 Walking around the market-

My friends and I will often go to this area for lunch.  We like to eat at "restaurant row".  Using the word "restaurant" is a very loose use of the word.  They are just more permanent food stands.  You order outside then they bring the food inside.

"boiled rice with ass orthed mixtur" translates to rice with mixed vegetables in a hot pot-delicious and only about $6.50

If after you leave the market you still aren't shopped out, you can do some underground shopping on the way to the subway-

Market shopping and street food make for a wonderful way to spend a beautiful Spring day.

Suwon Part 2: Fortress Wall

It is very difficult to find something to follow up a visit to a toilet museum.  Pretty much anything you do after walking around a toilet shaped building will be a let down.  But the original reason for us making the trip to Suwon was the hike around the fortress wall.  So, after the museum that is where we headed.  

You may remember me writing about the Seoul Fortress wall in a few different posts, the Suwon Fortress wall is a smaller version of the Seoul wall.  The actual name for the Suwon fortress wall is Hwaseong Fortress, it was constructed between 1794-1796 and is about 3.5 miles around.  It goes over 1 small mountain and right through the middle of the city.  It was a great hike and we had a lot of fun reading about the history and taking pictures at different parts of the wall.

We started at the bottom of the mountain and hiked straight up the stone steps.  At the top we had some great views of the city.

 There are 10 lookout posts at different points in the wall.  According to the signs, these turret-like protruding sections were placed at regular intervals along the wall so that defenders could protect the wall and drive back approaching enemies.  The lookouts are called "chi" which means pheasant in Korean because pheasants are adept at hiding in the grass and and remaining watchful. 

Along with the 10 lookout posts there are 4 main gates in the wall and 4 secret gates.  The secret gates were used to bring goods and supplies into the city.  The secret gates were much smaller then the main gates, but still very large.

The girls at the top of a secret gate.

This was a "secret" gate.  Seems like the massive roof structure kind of gives away the secret. 

There was a huge bell that for a very small fee you could ring.  The girls were really excited to ring the bell.  They tried to hit it loud enough that all of the city below could hear it.  I'm pretty sure they succeeded, they really had that thing ringing.

 This was cool sign that they had posted at one of the lookouts.  It told the KM and direction to various major cities in the world.  Even the distance to the north and south pole.

Russ is such a good dad.  He uses every moment he can to teach the girls new things.  They are like sponges and soak it all up.

Walking down the mountain towards one of the main gates.

 The city has been built all around the wall, but it was crazy to see how busy things were just on the outside of this old, historical wall.

The roads were built right around one of the main gates.

This was a great picture of how the wall winds over the hills.

Teaching the girls how to shoot a cannon.  Just what we need-Lucy knowing how to shoot a cannon.  :)

 These 5 beacons were used to send military messages of impending attack to the people inside of the wall with the use of fire at night and smoke during the daytime.
-One signal fire was lit during normal times.
-Two signal fires were lit when an enemy appeared close to the national border.
-Three signal fires were lit when an enemy reached the border.
-Four signal fires were lit when an enemy crossed the border.
-Five signal fires were lit when fighting took place.

 This was one of the largest churches I have ever seen.  It filled up at least 1 whole city block.  I don't know what kind of church it was but it was massive and very old looking.

 Instead of taking the subway home we decided to take the train.  It only took us about 30 minutes to get from Suwon back to Seoul, it was a much faster way to get home after a long day.  On this adventure alone we rode the subway, bus, taxi and train.  We definitely take advantage of the public transportation systems in this country.

Hiking this fortress wall was a lot of fun for our family.  We commented numerous times how great it would be to bring visitors to this area...  hint, hint!