Central Masjid & Changdeok Palace in Seoul

The majestic Seoul Central Masjid. Built in 1976. The largest Masjid in Korea to date. 

A glimpse into the Masjid and its vicinity~ Itaewon area.

The Kings' most beloved palace of Joseon Dynasty thanks to its spaciousness.

A glance into the palace and its compound.

Changdeokgung Inside (part 3): The One & Only Blue-Roofed Hall

Before long, I saw a glimpse of what the office and other high-life furnitures were like inside the palace.

The hallway adjacent to the royal room seemed to show off an exquisite taste of its heyday.

Hmmmm...this is interesting. A cabinet? a desk? a working desk? Gee..I wished I'd had a tour guide while wandering inside the palace...

...with no guide whatsoever..I could only guess what they were used to be for....^^ But, I think it used to be a place where royal guests were entertained...

Another room showing off how the grandeur of its heyday was being shown upon.

Again...no other people were visible during my visit. It's a bit eerie...well, of course there were one of two..., but still...the stillness froze me away...

This is Seonjeongjeon 선정전 ...dubbed to be the only existing palace building with a blue-tiled roof. 

Yup..it's blue, alright.

oops..this is not inside the palace. It's definitely OUTSIDE the palace....leading to Bukcheon Hanok Village....^^...which means one thing...I was oblivious that I was already outside the palace compound.*-*

Changdeokgung Palace (part 1)

딱 9시10분 아침에 도착해서 그런지.... 관강객들이 많이 없었네. 그래도 좋았다. 텅 비어 있는 궁이 사진을 찍는게 더 좋더라.

물론 쑥 들어가보니....단 구경하는 사람이 없어서...찡...무서웠더라...

ㅋㅋㅋ 무서운 영화를  많이 봐서 그랬다. 

구석 구석 곰곰히 구경해 보니 흠..신기하더라. 생각보다...창덕궁은 다른 궁보다 매력이 있네.

이러한 나무로 꾸민 울다리(?) 가까이 보니 오래되었고 잘 보존되었다.

The ornaments were intact.

The veranda seemed to be well preserved.

근데 ...너무 추어 가지고 밖에서 구경하는 게 참 힘들었다. 

Old-Days Fire Fighter in Korea

The kids got a chance to experience how it'd be like to be a fire brigade member in Jeseon Dynasty.

so...this is how they looked like. Yup...pretty impressive. ...color and outfit.

a great opportunity indeed.

And......look what they did. ^^

Gosh....imagine at that time...

All in all....it's been a worth -it time for the kids.SEOUL safety expo..Youido Park, 

April 25, 2015.

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 Palace (part 1)

#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.
---
It was March 30 and I was expecting to see the annual ceremony of Joseon's Royal Guards Assignment or Dispatch. Since it was early spring and the outdoor was a bit cold, so I decided to spend some time inside a museum @ Gyeongbokgung.

It's one of the antique cars used by King Sunjong. I think I made an entry about it years ago.^^ 

So, this time I only tried to capture the image in vintage so as to see it in its past glory. 

Okay, let's go out. Then..I overheard a commotion outside the museum and I was right. The ceremony was about to begin and ...not a minute too soon..I was ..sitting or standing in the midst of crowds after crowds.... 

wanting to catch a glimpse of what was happening. 

I was lucky to be able to sit in the first row so I could see the whole (well, not all) view of the ceremony as it was rolling up right in front of my camera and eyes:) 

At one end of the corners, a group of colorful Joseon's guards were marching towards the ceremonial ground.  

With the spring's clear blue sky at the backdrop, the picture couldn't be any clearer than this. I think it summed up the 'extravaganza' at that time. 

..now let the fiesta begin...