For more on Gyeongju from when we lived near here in Yangsan in 2008, go to: https://rschuckman.com/?m=200807, or click July 2008 on the list of dates on the right, or type “Gyeongju” in the search box
Full Moon Holiday is something like the American Thanksgiving. Here is the spread at Myung’s friend’s home.
Chusoek (CHO-sawk) is Korea’s biggest holiday. The big day was last Thursday, as Thursday night was the full moon. So it was basically a four-day holiday. It’s a combination autumn festival and a time for veneration of your ancestors. A big meal is prepared and displayed like in the picture above. Of course, then everybody chows down. Even though the old customs of prayerful remembrance of ancestors are not as rigorously followed as in the old days, it is still a time of remembering them. Families and friends get together, though during this time of COVID precautions, that has been mostly scaled back.
We have been getting together with Myung’s friends in small groups. We partook in the above feed at the home of Myung’s good friend, Kyungja. Her friends have all been so welcoming to us.
Besides that event, we’ve spent a lot of time with her friends. They all like coming to Gyeongju because it’s got many parks, Buddhist temples and historical sites. Actually, we’ve all been eating like horses, not just during Chosoek. My experience with Koreans is that they are like Chinese in that they use meals as the venue for interacting. That works for me. I’m really enjoying Korean food. Myung makes almost all our dinners these days. Here’s what we had tonight.
Myung usually arrays her table like other Koreans. The lettuce, sesame leaves and zucchini leaves are for making little burritos, called “ssam”.
Kimchi (of course), gochujang sauce and leftover pachingae and bulgogi from lunch
Monkfish and bean sprouts
Lunch yesterday at the Duck restaurant next door. Whew! It’s spicy, hence the sweat band.
Gyeongju has a rich history. Some artifacts are over 2000 years old. If you’re interested, it’s best you just google “Gyeongju”. The blurb on Wikipedia is good. The structures are of course all less than 300 years old, as most structures were made of wood. Much of the area is World Heritage
Royal tombs from the 6th through the 10th century are all over town. All over southern South Korea, really.
Cheomseongdae is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae means star-gazing tower in Korean. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly even the world. Wikipedia
8th century stone figures. I think they are Confucian.
Many little Buddhas behind the stone statues
The insides of the temples in Gyeongju aren’t very ornate, at least what I’ve seen so far.
Some sites are lit up at night.
My saga about getting a residence visa continues. That’s a long story! Short story is it will eventually work out, but I do have to renew the tourist visa I’m on. I have to leave the country and come back for another 3 month tourist visa, and no country will take Americans without quarantining except America. So on Oct 21, I’m flying to Seattle and flying back three hours later. Then I get to quarantine here.
Our life here has settled down, and we have our routines. I’m entertained by the new experiences. I’m starting to get a grip on the language. Myung’s having a great time with her old friends.
Fall is just about here. Just a few days ago, it started to be autumn-like. Almost no rain. Brisk and breezy at night and in the early morning and late afternoon. The leaves have just started to change and the apples are great. I’ve spent so little time in places with seasons, I’ve practically forgotten about seasons.
Fall colors have just started to come this week. They will be beautiful in 3-4 weeks.
Some of you may be asking about COVID in Korea. Well, it’s mostly under control. A couple of weeks ago, there were a few days of 300 or so new cases per day. The government reinstituted stronger restrictions. Like, even outside everyone must wear a mask. Koreans aren’t generally science deniers and are cooperative citizens, so the numbers are back down. 65 new cases during the last 24 hours and no deaths.
I think that’s going to do it for now. There are so many good photo oportunities here, I’m sure to be blogging more frequently than recently.
Until then, be well all of you. Stay safe.
Oh, you may notice that bruise on my chin. I fell hard walking in that park in the picture a coule of weeks ago, and got a concussion. I was pretty much okay after two or three days, but I still get headaches when I bend over. Not to worry. I was a nuero-trauma nurse for years. I know the deal and I’ll be fine.
Photo taken before mask wearing at all times was reinstituted. We were still careful at that time and, as you can see, have masks in hand.