October 21, 2011 – Outing to Cheongpung

This weekend our school’s teachers went on a little bus outing to a nearby historical site. The weather was quite rainy but the trip was well worth it. I have to say that the lunch was quite delicious. Some of the foods we enjoyed were:

• Pork ssam
• Tubu (tofu)
• Mixed white and black rice
• Cabbage Kimchi
• Sesame chili cabbage
• Sprouts
• Anchovy
• Green Bean
• Cucumbers
• Black soybeans in honey

This meal was really quite delicious and was nothing unusual by my western standards. I was apprehensive about the anchovy but actually took quite a liking to them. One thing that is unique to Korean dining is that the dishes are served communally and people reach for and take whatever they’d like with chop sticks. Although the school food is not served this way, most Korean restaurants serve food in this manner.

Our group took a ferry to get to the historical site. The first thing I’d like for you to notice is a particularly unique aspect to Korean ferry boats. On the bottom deck there is always a “party” area, which is basically an excuse for old people to dance and get drunk. I have never seen anything quite like this before. There was a (not particularly talented) saxophone player on stage playing to a tape accompaniment. The music sounded like Korean pop chart toppers of the 70’s and 80’s (in other words, bad). But, I saw many 50+ers running around carrying bottles of bourbon and cognac. Certainly a unique experience to say the least.

Another thing to note was the beautiful landscape. This trip was taken right in the middle of autumn, so the scenery offers quite a beautiful array of colors. Korea is a highly mountainous country, with most of its landmass consisting of mountains. As a native Texan, I got to see a few hills in the central part of my home state, but nothing like this. Even to this day I am in awe at the breathtaking scenery which this country has to offer. The name of the historical site is Cheongpung Cultural Properties. It contains some architectural examples of what Korean buildings looked like all the way back to the Three Kingdom Period of 2000 years ago. It also contains defensive sites used to repel Japanese invasion. This trip was highly enjoyable and I would recommend it as a tourist location outside of the standard “tourist” spots to hit.