We landed in Seoul, South Korea about 1 am on Wednesday, August 10th. Before flying to Seoul we did visit the Lama Temple in Beijing. It is a Buddhist temple. As each emperor ascended to the throne, his former residence becomes a temple. This is true of the Lama Temple. It is the Yellow Sect of Buddhism, which means that it is tied in to the Dalai Lama. However, for the 60 or so monks residing there, they had to renounce Tibetan independence and acknowledge Chinese authority. They are led by the P..... Lama (cannot remember the word right now) rather than the Dalai Lama. It is a beautiful temple with many, many altars to various Buddhas and gods within the religion. It has the largest Buddha made from one piece of sandalwood. We felt a bit like intruders, but it was so worth visiting.
Upon arriving in Seoul, we went to a hotel for a few hours to sleep and shower. We then woke and took a city tour. This city is very enjoyable. The Koreans speak more English than the Chinese, so that alone is helpful. On the tour, we visited one of the five palaces in the city. The South Koreans had a king from the 12th century up until World War II. There is still a royal blood line here, and the last king's family lived in this palace until 1998. The guide explained to us what the various animals mean. For example, the lion and the turtle are protector guardians. The animals on the eaves of the buildings increase in number as you move from the outer courts (for government business) to the inner courts (the living quarters). The Koreans derive much of their traditions on Chinese ones, so the characters here were Chinese. She explained to us the colors - white is west, blue is east, red is south, black is north, and yellow is center. This is why all the government buildings in South Korea have blue tiles - because it is east of China. Each direction also has its own metal, element, and animal. Although Seoul is a city of 10 million, it is less congested than in Beijing or Tiajin. So, we had ample time to walk the grounds of the palace and get great unobstructed views. The palace had a heating system under their floors, and the queen (chosen by the king's mother) once inside the palace never left it for the rest of her life. Thirteen of their 27 kings lived in this palace; the other palaces are all connected to it, however (e.g. one of them was for the older women such as the king's mother).
After the palace, we ate a traditional lunch of beef stew in a restaurant on Insadong street, a street full of eateries, art galleries, and shops. We then went to the main Buddhist temple in Seoul. Again, it was gorgeous. The Koreans practice Zen Buddhism, focused on meditation.
Some things I learned: 1/5 of all South Koreans live in Seoul. The Korean Peninsula is 70% mountainous. South Korea was mainly agriculture, then manufacturing, now services. South Korean school children begin school at age 8, and they go to school more than 12 hours a day for 12 years. All of the school children here learn English, and most attend public schools. The Koreans pride themselves as hard workers; unless they are a CEO or professor, they only get 1 week vacation per year! Their language is beautiful, and it has 14 consonants and 10 vowels. It is hard for them to learn English because of our grammar; they place their verbs at the end of their sentences.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable day. It made me wish I could stay here longer! Plus, the lack of smog was sooooo refreshing!
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