Freya's Historical Day Out!!

What a day. The sky's blue. Not a single cloud visible.

but.... Gyeongbuk Palace was CLOSED!!! 

we were about to explore the palace only to find that the palace was closed!!!

so..to make up for it...we just circled the palace around...and  took some pictures. 

Luckily..Freya was still as cheerful as she was ... 

even...when I told her that the palace was closed!!! 

oops....Bless You! 

Now..let's explore the palace's vicinity.

A contrasting blend of Freya's pink jacket and the white bricks of the palace... 

Encountering a what looked to be a chimney....at National Palace Museum. 

way to spend a day, right, Freya? 

I guess...she kind of enjoyed it... 

Outside the walled palace.... 

then..we're ready to go the main entrance... 

which turned out to be quite far..and we got to walk around the walled palace..... 

until we reached the closed gate of Gwanghwamun. Yes, the palace WAS officially closed..on the day we went there.

Should've learnt some information before leaving, Suray.!!!

TWO Colors of Spring..in Pleasantville!!!

One is the pale white and grey color that even the bright blue sky cannot overtake it. 

Yet, this is a quintessential color of spring--at least what I saw along my walk veering off the alleys near Gyeongbokgung Palace. 

Even a facade of Museum of Contemporary Arts along with the passing by cars...only enhanced the grey-white feeling of spring that my eyes were witnessing. 

Just when I veered off into an alley around it, I couldn't help but notice a remarkably stand-out cafe(?) at the intersection of the alley... 

This is unquestionably one of my fave pictures that day.

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Until, of course, I found this eye-opener brightly colored(^-^) flora at one corner of the alley I was passing through. As though, I was suddenly zapped into one episode of Pleasantville..when I suddenly realized that everything is COLORFUL at that very exact moment.

Had I been dreaming? I mean, I'd been exposed to ONLY grey+white  (yet, never dull) color of spring...until I came across this alley. 

Now, that's what I call 'COLOR life' 

even...I suddenly became an avid lover of scarves and handbags store.!!! 

And..I was finally able to spot one girl in YELLOW jacket among the mostly-dark side of people's jackets..though it's Spring!

So, that's the 2 Colors of Spring...at least to me.

Being A Joseon Dynasty's Guard....

Before we left, we got something else to do. We signed up for a chance to try out passing an examination to be a Joseon guard. 

As it turned out, well..I was surrounded by high school students who were more than eager to try this one out. I was beside myself...:) since...not many adults ( as expected!!!) were into this kind of stuff. 

But..that didn't hamper us from 'enjoying' this act of valor:)* 

Archery was one of the examinations we got to master. 

After a 1.5 hour long exam, we got a photo session with the guards who helped us get through the *supposedly* rigorous test we'd ever been into. 

And last ..but surely not least...a picture with our group's chief of guards. Oh, my friend, Ismail, managed to get a dip of lucky present since he managed to pull it off during an archery session. Bravo, dude.

Spring @ Gyeongbokgung (part 3)

#Pray for everyone affected by Jindo ferry incident. 
--> so, I just hope that everyone, my friends..anyone who happen to read this blog...please try to understand that IF I start posting up my pictures and all of the activities I've been doing for the past weeks (blogging that I've been doing on a daily basis for the past years..), please..believe me that it DOES NOT mean that I am insensitive of what IS happening. I AM and I do. My heart goes out for them.
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March 30, 2014

We're back: Pak Ryan, me, and Ismail. Thank to Mr. Ryan who informed us about the ceremony @ Gyeongbokgung. 

Ismail: the adventurous guy. (ㅋㅋㅋ). 

Mr. Ryan who speaks Indonesian quite fluently. His works involved with Korean historical artifact and I was more than happy to have him as a friend as well as an avid guide who kept telling us what the museum had in store for its visitors. 

Hmm..I tried to remember what those were, but one thing for sure..they are dolls inside the Jagyeokru or water clock!! Yes, that's what I learned. During Joseon dynasty ..well ..who would've known that timekeeping was an important factor of daily life. So, by using clock (water clock) that strikes itself...was one of the way government (king) ruled its people. 

Water clocks worked as the liquid flow through layers of layers in a precise manner intricately prepared by its maker, of course. I think this one was made during King Sejong (15th Century).  

When the assigned time struck the designated time..the doll would strike the drum which actually made sound to tell what time it was. Pretty impressive, indeed. 

In short, this water-clock is deemed to be one of the influential inventions in Korean history.  

Jabsang: roof figurines:) or roof-tile decorative creatures adorned the tiles at palaces or royal palaces in Korea. These ones are the ones stored in the museum. 

This is a dragon statue ...said to be found (dug out of) inside the lake near Gyeonghoeru (경회루) pavilion.  

Now...moving on to an experience of becoming a Joseon guard. #more on this on my next entry.

Spring @ Gyeongbokgung Palace (part 2)

#Pray for everyone affected by Jindo ferry incident. 
--> so, I just hope that everyone, my friends..anyone who happen to read this blog...please try to understand that IF I start posting up my pictures and all of the activities I've been doing for the past weeks (blogging that I've been doing on a daily basis for the past 4 years..), please..believe me that it DOES NOT mean that I am insensitive of what IS happening. I AM and I do. My heart goes out for them.
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It's the same day (March 30), 2014

The  ceremony of Joseon's guards inauguration had just started and I was more than ready to enjoy the whole procession. 

Water-colored version of the guards in charge. 

When the King arrived, all guards knelt showing respect.--right? 

hmm, not all of them--as it turned out. or I may have missed something! 

As the inauguration came to a complete order,  folk-dance and musical performance were sequentially in display. 

A quintessentially Korean percussion show: checked! 

Apsara-like percussion performers: checked!  

a panoramic view of the whole procession. 

I think this was the dance-sight-sound of the day! 

What I found interesting was the fact that even a cameraman was clad in Joseon's traditional attire, too. I assume it was meant to make it NOT so conspicuously visible to spectators that a modern symbol like camera DID exist in the midst of traditional ceremony like this. Hmm, pretty understandable:) 

The newly appointed guards were ready to leave the ground. 

now...let's go to another venue where I'd experience something else. 

This is what I like about Seoul: right in front of this palace...lies high-rises that dotted the spectrum of two different worlds, yet uniquely complementary.