Jeongok Paleolithic Festival

Let me tell you about the cool Paleolithic festival that I went to during my Children’s Day weekend up in Seoul.  It was up in Jeongok which was about an hour and a half drive north of Seoul.  We knew we were getting close when we drove under this really cool archway. It had cavemen, a woolly mammoth, and a saber tooth tiger on it.

Once we got to the festival the first place we went to was the Paleolithic museum. When we finally found it I was surprised how futuristic it looked. It was all silver, shiny and curvy. Even on the inside it everything had curves to it and looked like it was a museum from the future. I thought this was strange since it was a museum that was about evolution, the history of humans, and had a lot of really old things in it. My dad called it ironic.

That cool looking silver thing is the museum.

This was the center lobby area. It looked like a lounge from a spaceship.

This was the main exhibition area.

The museum was really interesting. I learned that there were many human like creatures that walked on their feet like us that lived for a long time before humans like us evolved. They were kind of ugly. One of the cool features of the museum was that when you got there you got a card that you can use to set up a photo of yourself on a computer. Then when you went around the museum you could scan your card and then morph your picture to see what you would look like as different species of our human ancestors, such as Australopithecus (Lucy), Homo erectus, Homo habilis, and Neanderthal. It was really funny to see what my mommy, daddy, and I would look like as these different species. I also learned about evolution, archeology, cave paintings, Stone Age tool making, ancient musical instruments, and saw a really cool replica of a mammoth bone hut.

The first pic is me, then me as a Australopithecus, then me as a Homo erectus,
next is me as a Neanderthal, and finally me as a primitive Homo sapiens.

This was the really cool mammoth bone hut. It would have been
so cool to live in one of these.

After we were done with the museum we headed back out to the festival grounds. I got to try out a bunch of old traditional Korean farm tools that were used to get rice off the shaft, grind it, pound it, and then carry the loads of hay. Then I got to play some old games. And then I got to play with some big grubs. They were freaky looking, but I was tough and pick a couple up and played with them.

This was really heavy but I make it look easy :)

Yummy Grubs!!!

Then we found an area that had a bunch of cool sculptures, and another area that was full of pretty purple flowers. So of course we took a bunch of pictures.

After the sun went down we stayed and watched the closing ceremony concert. There was a bunch of performances. There was modern pop, an older style Korean pop, hip hop, and rock. There were TV cameras everywhere because it was being recorded for TV. After all the music was done there was a really cool but short firework show.

Not sure who these guys were, but the crowd got really excited when they came on.
My dad's students told him that they were really popular.

Yay Fireworks!!!

It is pretty north and close to the DMZ, but if you get the chance to go to Jeongok I highly recommend going to the Paleolithic museum there. And if you can make it up there for next years festival you will have a great time. 

Click me for some info about the museum. 

Click on the slideshow below to see the full album that includes more pictures of the festival.

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

Have you ever gone to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival? I have! There are many sights to see. The city of Jinhea is famous since it is the city with the most blossoming cherry trees in the world. When we got to the Cherry Blossom Festival the first thing I saw was…A BIG RED SHINY TRAIN!!!! We waved to the passengers.

      The train was going really slow and lots of people were trying to get pictures of themselves standing in front of the train as it was coming up behind them.

After the train went by my mommy and I posed on the train tracks.

After that we went to the famous bridge where there are a whole lot of cherry trees. It is really beautiful! The pink peddles were falling and the sun was shinning! It was like warm snow in spring!

This was just the street that we parked on. Lots of the sides streets where lined with cheery trees and really pretty.

This is the famous bridge that everyone gets there picture taken at. It was really
pretty but it was packed with people trying to take pictures.

We decided to take pictures from the side of the bridge since everyone else
were trying to get pictures at the end of the bridge. I liked this view better anyways :)

Then we explored the vendors and found many kids craft tents. I painted a ceramic rabbit car pen holder. Then we spotted a Bow and arrows tent. They are made of bamboo wood. We bought one for 6 bucks. It came with the bow and 5 arrows.

Painting my rabbit car pen holder.

The cool bows.

These were toy swords you could buy. Much cooler than the toy
swords you would fine at a festival in America.

We then climbed up a bunch of stairs on went up this cool lookout. You could see the whole city and the sea from the top of the look out. It was really neat up there.

At the top of the lookout. 

Taking pics of Jinhae

There were 365 steps leading up the mountain to the lookout. It is called the "Year Stairway."

It always seems that I become an attraction to the locals when I go to festivals.
I always have people want to get their picture taken with me :)

After that we were all hungry so we went to a chicken ginseng soup restaurant. The chicken was filled with rice, dates, ginseng and some other stuff. We tried the food and I was not surprised. My mom and dad liked it, but they said it would have been better with wild rice. 

Yummy sam gyeop tang. 

The cherry blossom was really good. I wish we had boughten more.

For dessert we bought some of the famous cherry blossom bread! Then it was time to go. I love the cherry Blossom festival!

Great Video Montage of Korea

I came across this video that I really like. It shows a lot of the things that I really like about Korea. I hope you enjoy it.

Jinhae Naval Academy

The first warship we went on.

My family and I went to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom festival twice. This is about our first trip.  I was so excited to be there. On this trip we spent the day at the Naval Academy.  The Naval Academy is only open to the public during this festival. They have two war ships and one turtle ship the tourists can explore! 

On the first war ship, the sailor told me about a how a helicopter can land on ship.  

This is the area where the helicopter would be parked. But today it was used as a concession area.

Another cool thing this ship has is a HUGE gun thingy. The barrel is as long as three of me. 

My mommy, daddy and I in front of the huge cannon.

On the second ship I saw mini boats. The mini boats are the ones that head to the land and the soldiers jump out with their guns. The back end falls open and is a ramp for the soldiers. 

The next cool thing I saw were the Gunner Pod things. This is where the soldier sits inside a glass ball and gets to shoot his big gun. It looks like it can rotate so the gunner can shoot in all directions.  

One of the many cool looking gunner pods.

Reporting for duty.

The last exciting thing I did on this ship was, I went in the control room. I got to sit in the captain’s chair! The ship was really Big! I liked the warship. 

I hope I don't accidentally shoot a missile off.

Sitting in the captains chair!

The last ship we saw was the turtle ship. In the turtle ship’s parking lot the motorcycle police were demonstrating their different formations. They had to drive by us a handful of times and ask the observers to stand back. Many observers didn’t listen so they started their show late. They did different shapes and I liked the triangle.  When we reached the turtle ship I really liked the way it looked. It’s roof is covered in spikes and it has a cool dragon figurine mounted on the front of it.

We had a great time! I would really recommend that you see the Naval Academy, and remember it is only open to the public during the Cherry Blossom Festival. 

3D Magic Art

It all started when I was watching T.V. I saw a commercial for an exhibit of 3D Magic Art at Bexco which is in Busan. I was so excited to tell my mommy and daddy about it. I rushed to them. I asked “Can we go to the Magic Art show?” My mommy responded with “Yes.” My daddy said “Sure we can go!”

The next day we drove for about an hour to get there. Along the way we went a crossed a huge bridge and saw some really cool looking skyscrapers that were still being built. Once we arrived I zoomed out of the car and started running to the front doors of Bexco. Right outside the doors we saw a group of girls that looked like they were straight out of a comic book. I took some pictures with them and then headed inside.

Some cool skyscrapers that we saw while we were on a bridge going over the sea 

Comic book soccer player girls

At the ticket counter, daddy asked for two adults and one 아이 (ah ee which means child). The ticket lady laughed at him so I think he accidentally said 오이 (oh ee which means cucumber) and not child. After we all got the tickets, I zipped in. All the paintings in the show are made so you can pose with them and it will look like you are part of the picture. It was really fun, and we took a lot of pictures. My favorites were: butterfly, a naked lady, and money falling out of a refrigerator. After posing with all the pictures, I got a Caricature drawn of me. It looks so cute because it has me and a cute bunny. She drew me in an Alice and Wonderland dress.

In Korea there is a long running joke about acting like you are going to stick your finger in someones butt. In Korea it is called ddong shim (poop finger). It is also a popular joke in Japan.

Getting my caricature drawn

I had a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :} Then it was time to go and check out the largest department store in the world which was only a few blocks away. Check out more of my photos of this trip on my photo page or just click on the slideshow below! And be sure to check out my next blog post which will be about the exploring the world’s largest department store.

K-pop Dance

I have been going to dance class 5 times a week for about a month and a half. It’s really fun and I am glad I get to do it every day during the week. I was in dance in America, but I only had class once a week. So I really like how in Korea they have classes every day. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I practice ballet, on Tuesday I practice Hip-Hop, and on Thursday I practice belly dancing. I like doing Hip-Hop the most.

My school is putting on a big recital at the end of this month. I was sad when they told my daddy that I wouldn’t be able to be in the recital because I was a new student and wouldn’t have time to learn all the dances well enough. But then last week the director called my daddy and told him that she saw me doing the Hip-Hop dance and was really impressed with how well I was doing it. So now they want me to be in the recital for the Hip-Hop dance!!! I’m so excited about it. 

My daddy found the songs I am dancing to on youtube so I can practice more at home. I found out that many Korean pop songs have special dance moves that go with the song. So a lot of the dance moves I am learning for these songs are the same moves they do in the video. 

Check out the k-pop videos below and dance with me!!! 

My Awesome New Phone

Can you imagine getting a phone for free and when you are 7! Well guess what! I got a phone for free and I am 7! It all started when I went to our Korean friend’s Hey Suk’s house. While I was playing, BAM she offered me her old phone. She said “You can have my touch screen Samsung phone.” “It is really nice.” “You can watch live Korean TV, listen to radio, use the English – Korean dictionary, make video calls, play games, take pictures, and listen to mp3s and video record things.” I responded with a big “YES!!!!”  

My new phone is better than my mommy’s and daddy’s so they both really want it! I always say NO!  

We had to take it to a phone store to set it up with service. For the basic plan it costs 12,000 won (about $12) a month. The registration fee was 24,000 won (about $24). I have to pay for all outgoing phone calls I make and text I send. Korean phone companies charge in 10 second increments and a minute cost about 10 cents. I think a text cost 20 cent, but I’m not sure. It’s nice that they charge in 10 second increments since I won’t use the phone much.  Best of all is that incoming calls and texts are free!

Some Korean variety show I was watching. In Korean every phone has
 whats called DMB which allows you to watch live TV

Before we left the store, the worker gave me a piggy phone holder. It is really cute. It’s all pink and it has little cute arms and feet. It also has a cute little smiley face. I love my new phone and holder!

Freezing Fun in Hwacheon

Good luck kiss from the Sancheoneo (Mountain Trout).

One cold January weekend, my mom, dad, our friend Steve, and I bundled up for an ice festival in Hwacheon, which is in northern Gangwon province. It is high in the mountains and close to the DMZ. We drove through many towns and mountains that were beautiful. Then we finally arrived. We thought we were early because there was no one around. We found out later that it was canceled, but we made the best of it. As we explored we found a frozen river with some people playing on it. We found a place where we could borrow a sled that had a rope attached to it so someone can pull you. You could also borrow ice picks so that you can push yourself along the ice (I liked pushing myself but my mommy was too scared to let me, she was afraid I would poke my eye out… *sign* Moms).  I had a great time playing and sledding on the river. Check out the video below of some of my cool sliding.



Then we checked out the surrounding area. Along the river there were ice sculptures that were bigger than a small house. My mommy took pictures of daddy and me as we climbed all over them. Climbing on them was so fun and scary. I almost gave my dad a heart attack. The ice was freezing cold too! 

They don't look that big from here, but these were about 2 stories tall

I look so small next to these snow sculptures.

On the nose of one of the characters

The next thing we did was go inside a big snow fort. The first thing we saw in the fort was a bunch of different colored lights in a long tunnel made of ice. It looked really beautiful and was really fun walking through an ice rainbow tunnel. 

The big snow fort with the cool lit up ice tunnel inside

Inside the ice tunnel

Later, we left the river and found an ice sculpture park. When we walked in the first big room we saw a beautiful walkway that was decorated in color changing lights. There were lights everywhere and they were all changing and flashing in cool patterns. It was like a neon winter wonderland. We stayed in there for a while because it was so neat.

The weird but cool neon, light up room

Then we walked through that cool looking room and then out into the courtyard. The courtyard had many ice sculptures that were as big as a living room. Some I liked were: a Smurf house, a boy and girl getting married, a humongous cake, a pea pod, and a giant frozen water mill.

The smurf house, cake, water mill.

The enormous frozen water mill

I enjoyed the day, however I would have liked to do the other activates this festival usually offers. Since the festival was canceled I wasn’t able to do the sledding down big hills, ice fishing with my bare hands, or eat some of the special mountain trout that live in the river in that area. Hopefully next year the festival will be in full swing and I will be able to do all the extra fun stuff.

Click me for more info on the Hwacheon Sancheoneo (Mountain Trout) Ice Festival