Seoul Tower

If y'all don't mind, I'd like to backtrack a wee bit to the end of our week of training. This entry will be mostly pictures, if you don't mind that as well. Last Friday, we finally got to leave the center and go to one of the local schools to do an observation and eat lunch. I had heard about kimbap from April and was happy when that turned out to be our lunch. This particular one had veggies, rice, pickled radish, and Spam...yes...Spam. Never thought I would be eating a Korean dish and Spam for the first time all in one bite. Oh, and I liked it very much. I think Spam will now be a staple in my diet!

Then we were all taken to a local attraction, the Seoul Tower. It was built in 1969 and is 777 feet tall from the base and 1, 574 feet above sea level. We first had to drive up a mountain, but not quite to the top; for that we had to walk. I was SO thankful that I changed from heels to flats in the last minute before leaving the center because the hike was pretty steep. Coming down would have be brutal in heels!

There is lookout point at the top of the mountain where there is something quite interesting. It is said that if a couple comes here and puts a lock on the fence, their love is forever. Needless to say, thousands of couples have come here to solidify their love or just to participate in a quaint legend. There are even benches to aid in “bringing the couple together.”

There is a more ancient side of the mountain where there are relics and like this smoke tower that is said to have been able to warn neighboring countries of impending doom, and not just the rest of Korea.

Next, it was up to the observation deck of the tower. All the windows were covered in the names of cities, in the direction of that particular city, along with its distance from the tower. I think they should to that at the Sears; pretty cool idea!

Just as we were headed back to the buses, a performance started in the square showcasing the Korean sword fighting tradition.

The ride back was about an hour or so. How did we spend our time? Karaoke...ON...THE...BUS! Only in Korea!