Spring time... and festivities

Jinhae Cherry Blossom festival:

I took another trip with the Seoulite group. I decided I wanted to check out the cherry blossoms, and the city of Jinhae. Jinhae is a naval port city that hosts the most famous Cherry blossom festival in Korea (more here). Jinhae is famous for this festival, the turtle ship, and being the site of a famous korean drama, Romance.

We took a special train (runs only during the festival ). The ride was about 5 hours, because there were many stops.

Only bad part: We had lunch (they had a foreigner menu that was more expensive, but then a Korean lady with us saw it and asked). I don't think they get many foreigners except at this time. No biggie in the end, but they were rude. And the trip wasn't too well planned, or we'd have known to just eat at one of the numerous festival stands.

Also, many events were cancelled due to the sinking of the Korean naval ship, which is now thought to be the work of North Korea. My thoughts are with the families of the lost.

Afterwards we saw the turtle ship

credit - not my video (from youtube)

Then we climbed a mountain to see the whole city, and got lost - a nice man helped us find the way back.

Finally, we checked out the famous drama spot and then back on the train. In total we spent more time on the train that at the festival, and if I could do it again, I'd probably stay overnight. But I sure am glad I went :)

Yeouido:

Just a beautiful park in Seoul where they hold a cherry blossom festival. It's nowhere as big as the one in Jinhae, just a group of people selling stuff, but the blossoms are definitely beautiful, so check them out.


Other minor cool news
- I finally ate the squirming live octopus/San Nakji. It didn't taste so bad. We ate at a Pojangmacha with a bunch of awesome people, the ajumma gave us (the foreigners) extra hook up, while our other friends (korean-american hence in Korea, korean) were left to fend for themselves. we got squid, snail and mussels before continueing with soju and meat. I got to speak more broken korean. overall a great time but would i eat it again... maybe

He has a really entertaining post on eating san nak ji.

- I think I am getting better at taekwondo. The test wasn't too bad, but I need to figure out how I can get more about practice with my work schedule. and I got my green belt :)

More Information

• To visit Jinhae there is no direct bus/train, except for the special one that runs during the festival, but you can take a (trip)to Busan and add it on
• To get to Yeuido, take the train to Yeuinaru station (line 5) or Yeuido (Line 5,9) See here for more.
• A note about Cherry blossoms , ( Beot-kkot Namu (벚꽃 나무) in Korean) they only bloom for about 2 weeks and they are actually the national flower of Japan, but so many were planted during Japanese occupation of Korea
• Coming soon: Buddha Lantern Festival. : I went last year - read post here. Next one begins May 14 and ends with a parade as well.