Happy Lunar New Year!

새해 복 많이 받으세요!

Or “Saehae bok mani badeuseyo!”

Or loosely translated “Have a blessed New Year.”

However you choose to say it (or write it) I’ve never needed a four-day weekend so badly!  But rather than spend all of it sleeping, I decided to get off my duff and go and experience some of Korea (or at least Seoul).  I have noticed that when I get out and do things like this I enjoy my time here a lot more.  Going forward my plan is to go and check out something new every weekend.  So you should benefit from a lot more pictures (or at least more interesting blog posts)!

Lunar New Year was actually yesterday on Monday the 23rd, but I got in my sightseeing on Sunday.  My first stop was Deoksugung Palace because I wanted to see the changing of the guard.  No such luck as it was cancelled due to the weather.  It was only about -6C outside but I guess that’s too cold for it.  Apparently if I had come back on Monday the ceremony would have gone no matter what but with it taking 4 hours round trip for me to go to Seoul I decided I’ll just go back in the spring to see it.

After the palace, I headed over to Namsangol Hanok Village.  Here there are traditional houses that were transported to the site and you can watch or participate in traditional ceremonies and activities.  I had a great time there.

Lastly I headed to Namsan Tower to take in the view.  Unfortunately, by the time I headed over there it was pretty dark and a bit hazy and neither my camera nor my iPhone do very well on panoramas in low light like that.  Also I’m scared to death of heights so I don’t see myself going back to get better shots.  I don’t know why, but I didn’t factor in that I’d find riding up there in a cable car uncomfortable enough that I had to get this done in one try.  It hardly helps that a couple weeks ago I watched a documentary about a fighter jet ripping the cord of a cable car and all of its occupants plunging to their deaths.   So you’ll have to ask your *other* friends in Korea for good pictures from the tower.

Here’s a link to all the pictures I took.  Enjoy and Happy New Year!