Changdeokgung

An incredibly old tree. I want to say 5,000 years but it was near the end of a very long and chilly tour.

A "secret" royal garden in the middle of the palace. There are three large palace compounds right in the center of Seoul. This one (Changdeokgung) has the most open space. The pond pictured here is located in a small dell which totally isolates you from the city. A quarter mile away bustles a city of 25 million.

Some beautiful fall foliage.

I took A LOT of leave shots. Not as many trees in Seoul as I'm used to.

What I've come to know as a typical throne hall. It appears to be a two story structure from the outside but its actually a single, tall-ceilinged room. The small stones sunk into the paving (the ones casting shadows left to right) are markers that showed everyone where they were supposed to stand during various ceremonies, in case you temporarily forgot your worth in the feudal hierarchy.

The DMZ

The DMZ is a 4 km wide strip that bisects the Korean Peninsula. This building, a couple yards from the actual start of the DMZ, was the closest I got to North Korea during the tour. The Korean soldiers present instructed us not to take any pictures beyond the yellow line. Despite taking this picture facing away from the DMZ I was still given a warning look.

The back of the building, which serves as a kind of lookout post and educational center.

A hazy shot into North Korea. The tall structure just above the binoculars is a huge flag poll constructed by the North to showcase one of the world's biggest flags (so large that it must be taken down in the rain because it cannot support its weight when wet). The buildings in the foreground are part of an unoccupied model village constructed to impress the South. It was a bleak sight.

All throughout the day-long tour we were shown symbolic monuments dedicated to peace and reunification. Some of them were interesting and meaningful. After a while the large number of them reminded us of the the intractability of the problem. From then on they were more awkward to view than anything. This plaque sat in front of a glass case that contained rocks from history's greatest battlefields. 86 battlefields in 64 different countries.

This locomotive is a relatively new addition to the DMZ tour. It was heading south with military supplies when the Korean war broke out. The whole train was blown to bits but the conductor was somehow able to escape. The man, now in his 80s or 90s, was there when the locomotive was rescued from a restricted area near the DMZ and brought here.

Avalon Staff and Students

The entire staff (Korean teachers, foreign teachers, TA's, front office staff) at the start of our winter semester. We're standing in the foyer of our main floor.

Four of our brightest students playing games before class. I could keep up but it wasn't easy.

The ever present peace sign. Not sure Korean kids can take pictures without them.

350 Climate Action Event @ Han River

The Han River is such a geographically significant part of Seoul, and something that I reference so often in everyday speech, that I couldn't help jumping down a couple boulders to stick my finger in it.

A wedding "boat" that hosts after wedding dinner parties, and possibly the actual ceremony as well. Hard to see but swan boats are swarming around the back....like slightly confused swan babies circling mom.

The reason for the trip to the Han was to take part in a day of global climate action put together by 350.org. My group of friends and I were the only foreigners there and had a great time, shaking hands and talking climate action with dozens of enthusiastic Korean college students.

The girl in the white american flag sweatshirt is the president of a large college environmental organization called UNEP Angel. She was idealistic and inspiring.

Me with a group of students. A couple spoke great English, and were disappointed that I didn't speak more Korean.

The penguin, a mascot for the group, ran around this huge flee market where the event was being held...giving out free hugs and getting people to write encouraging sticky notes about the need for environmental action.

If you assumed the girlfriend wasn't doing much peddling here, you were right.

Chuseok in Boseong

For Chuseok (Korean "thanksgiving") a group of friends traveled to the green tea growing region in the Korean peninsula's southwest corner. Above is a picture of the perfectly manicured green tea terraces. Had no idea that tea plants are essentially plain bushes.

A tomb located amongst the tea plants.

Friends walking up into the terraced rows of tea.

Dragonflies were everywhere. Caught this guy sunning himself.

Looking into the canopy of a stand of bamboo the tea plantation keeps for wedding photo ops.

We stayed a "pension". Kind of like a bed and breakfast. Had a big room with lots of pillows/blankets/mats and a basic kitchen. At night we cooked in half drum barbeques and enjoyed some soju in the tent roofed building in the foreground.

The pension from below, Becky and Justin stand in front of our first floor room.

A cadre of old guys playing a dice game and drinking on the station platform as we waited for our train.

Sejongno - Heart of Seoul

Sejongno is my favorite street in Seoul. It runs from City Hall Plaza north to Gyeongbok Palace. It was completely remodeled recently and now has several beautiful public spaces. The picture above is a water feature that runs the length of the street's middle plaza.

The US embassy (an ugly '70s era building) is located on the street. I took the above picture on the day of Ted Kennedy's funeral in Boston. The stars and stripes fly at half mast accordingly.

A manicured flower garden occupies much of the street's center plaza.

Kids playing in the "headwaters" of the plaza's water feature.

Myself and friend Marshall in front of Admiral Yi, one of two statues that dominate the plaza.

Kids playing in the rapidly changing fountain jets.

....with dads capturing all the fun for posterity.

Seoul City Hall

A view of the temporary facade that has been erected at the front of the new City Hall, at the heart of Seoul as far as I'm concerned.

The facade is like a giant Seurat painting made out of plastic discs. Ambiguous up close but join together to create the scenes visible in the first picture. The scenes has already been changed at least once since I've been here.

Poking....couldn't help myself.

Looking up from the base.

A Christian service/concert/event set up on the lawn at night. The production value was pretty incredible.