Post trip reflection

Upon returning to Kansas City, post a trip reflection (minimum of two paragraphs) summarizing your thoughts on the trip: What did you learn? What had the most impact? What surprised you both about the trip and yourself? etc. You do not need to post a classmate response for the last day but you are certainly encouraged to read each others reflections.

Last dinner in Korea

A traditional hanjeonsik meal in a beautiful hanok.

Ihwa Mural Village

Clearly many of the murals are made with the selfie culture in mind. And we were happy to oblige

Walking the old city wall with great views of Seoul

We were able to look at the old city wall and learn about the structure that once contained the city of Seoul. Much of the wall is being rebuilt or repaired so that people can see the original path

Ihwa Mural Village

Ihwa Mural Village Tour

We had a tour around the village where we learned history of the residents who live there and the revitalization that the city has undertaken in this area. It is really a beautiful space but points out the problems that people of lower class have all over the world

Breakfast in Seoul

  김밥.  Tuna and kimchi kimbap

Lunch of Buddhist temple food.

The food is all vegetarian and beautifully presented with obvious care

Relaxing at a traditional tea house

One of my favorite activities of the trip

At the temple

Joygesa Temple

Started morning at a Buddhist temple in insadong. A beautiful and historic setting. We were lucky to arrive early and able to hear the monk chanting some prayers in the Dharma Hall

Jamsil Stadium

We all got to experience the Korean baseball game. That was a great time

Noyangin Fish Market Tour

We toured both the old traditional fish market and the new fish market. We learned a lot not only about the different fish in the market, but also about the politics of the remodeling.

Kakao Friends Mueseum, Store and Cafe

Cuteness everywhere

Jongmyo Shrine

On the way to our street food tour our guide took us to the top of a building where we can overlook the jongmyo shrine. This site serves as an area to perform ancestral rites for the deceased Kings of the Joseon era Dynasty.

Who are these guys?

Gwangjang Market

We went to a traditional Market to eat last night. On the way we stopped at a hanbok store where women buy fabric to have made into the traditional clothing. The market is bustling with activity and there are multiple food stalls and other vendors selling a variety of goods. At our first stop we ate two different types of Korean soups - a cold noodle soup and one with handmade noodles- as well as  wonderful dumplings. Then we tried chicken feet and pig's feet. And finally we stopped at a stall that served a variety of tasty fried snacks

Aardman animation exhibit was amazing

We had an opportunity to visit and animation exhibit at the  Dongdaemun  Design Plaza. It was an amazing exhibit. Although it was about a British animation team it reminds us that we learned in class how much animation for American television is done in Korea. So there is a great interest in animation here.

BBQ dinner

Well after a long rainy day it was quite nice to sit down for BBQ and conversation.

Comfort women statue

I was really moved by this simple protest across from the Japenese Embassy. It represents the suffering of Korean women who endured the captivity of sexual slavery during WW2. Most of these were under the age of 18. Someone left a small pair of shoes. Thinking about who left them and what that meant brought tears to my eyes. There are students camped out in the rain to protect the statue from being removed by the government since it is quite controversial and disliked by the Japanese officials in Seoul

Tongin Market

After the rain let up, we made our way to the market to eat lunch. Each student purchased replicas of old coins which they exchanged with the vendors in the market for various foods to add to their lunch trays.

Gyeongbukgong Palace

We survived a torrential downpour while touring the palace. Ran to the safety of the National Contempory Korean History Museum.

Exploring Hongdae.

Dalkgalbi for our first group meal

Spicy but delicious

First meals in Korea

A few of my meals in Seoul. Lunch at the market, breakfast croqette with cute coffee, and first time trying 호벅 죽, a pumpkin porridge that reminded me of my butternut sqash soup, but I don't serve mine with kimchi.

Hongdae on Friday night

Despite being up for 20+ hours i could not help but explore the bustle of Hongdae.

There were so many people. Wow - I forget what this looks like. So I see lots of new things here. And, in addition to the many street musicians (Hongdae is the largest area for buskers in Seoul) I also saw a bunch of groups that looked more like dancers than straight musicians. Budding K-Pop stars - see the guys above. This street is near your hotel - across from the “music” street is the “fashion” street - so, of course, I thought of Lauren. She will geek out here. I was pretty tired though and went back to the hotel early to go to sleep. Talked to Eric at 2 in the morning! Cause I was wide awake, but went back to sleep. There were some funny things - I seriously saw a women walking a sheep on a leash into a cafe last night.  No, I did not have anything to drink - it was real. 

Blue Nile Cafe

Had a wonderful time eating Ethiopian food with our class. We also had a coffee ceremony for the first time.

Food History Presentations

I really enjoyed the food history presentations last night from our students. Did anyone else get hungry? A have a few more foods on my list to try on this trip.