Browsing the archives for the photography tag
In case you missed it the last few dozen times I’ve said it, let me just say again: Buddha’s Birthday is my favorite holiday in Korea. On Buddha’s Birthday, or “Seokgatanshinil” (석가탄신일) as it’s called in Korean, the Buddhist faithful hang lanterns bearing prayers and wishes all around the temples, which serve free vegetarian Bibimbap [...]
Somehow I always forget about the annual Gyeongju Shilla Ceramics Festival. It’s not that I hate Korean pottery or anything. (In fact, I’m a proud owner of several Korean tea sets). Rather, the fine folks over at Gyeongju’s City Hall always double book the Ceramics Festival along side other big events (which actually isn’t as [...]
Last Sunday we decided to brave the yellow sand and head down to Hwangseong Park to check out the first day of the World Teakwondo Championships. The atmosphere was festive and park was packed with locals and visiting athletes. There were hundreds of tents strewn about hawking everything from teakwondo gear, sports jerseys and Nike [...]
I have to apologize to the regular readers of this blog (if indeed they exist beyond my lovely wife ) for being slack in posting lately. I had not one, but two, presentations to prepare for my masters program this last week. As my creative efforts have been going elsewhere, I don’t actually have any [...]
For most westerners, New Years Eve means late night parties with friends or family (and usually booze) where we count down the seconds to midnight and ring in the New Year with cheering and fanfare. Korea has a different, if no less alcoholic, way of ringing in the New Year. Every December 31st thousands of [...]
One thing I forgot to mention in my last post on the Gyeongju Cultural Center (경주문화원) is that the Center’s website has a great archive of old, black and white photos of Gyeongju. Unfortunately, the website’s only in Korean, which makes it a little tricky to navigate, plus they’ve disabled hard links. So, to get [...]
With our first blast of brisk weather and leaves starting to turn, fall is finally settling on Gyeongju. In about a week or so all the brilliant red, orange and gold autumn leaves will be at their peak, so I suggest getting out to enjoy their beauty before the dreariness of winter sets in. If [...]
If you’ve ever taken the bus from Gyeongju to Daegu, you might’ve caught a fleeting glimpse of a giant golden Buddha off in the mountains to the north. No, this isn’t some apparition induced by sleep deprivation or soju poisoning. This huge Buddha actually overlooks Manbulsa (만불사), or literally “Temple of Ten-thousand Buddhas,” nestled at [...]
Over the last couple of months I’ve managed to collect a few really killer guidebooks on the Gyeongju, mostly through tips from friends and browsing through the Gyeongju National Museum book store. If you’re visiting Gyeongju, you’d be doing yourself a big favor by picking up at least one of these books and giving it [...]
The other week my wife and I were walking through an older neighborhood of Gyeongju on our way downtown to grab a burger at McDonalds (Yeah, yeah. I know, but she’s pregnant. I’m not going to argue.) About a block from the courthouse, we turned the corner and stumbled on something we’d not seen since [...]
