Hello, Fall!

Happy National Foundation Day!

This weekend was a nice, long three day weekend thanks to yet another public holiday. There are roughly 20 national holidays here in Korea. Gaecheongeol or National Foundation Day (in English) celebrates the state of Gojoseon, or the first Korean kingdom, founded by Dangun Wanggeom. He is said to be the "grandson of heaven" and to have founded the kingdom in 2333 BC, around present-day Liaoning, Manchura and the Korean Peninsula.

This first weekend in October also ushered in perfect fall weather. Sweater and scarf season has arrived, along with that low in the sky, bright but not hot sun that is the signature of early fall afternoons. RCP and I had quite a weekend full of varied activities from one side of the city to the other.

Friday Night in Itaewon

Lined with about 2000 shops as well as jazz bars, nightclubs and ethnic restaurants, Itaewon is quite popular with expats and tourists. The sidewalks have about 400 roadside vendors along with every American brand from Nike to Quiznos. It's not one of my favorite destinations, as there are just too many people there that look like us. It is somewhat of a mix of Times Square meets the East Village with an Army base thrown in.... but with all the "dirtiness" of Times Square before The Disney Store moved in. (Yongsan Garrison is the principal U.S. Army base in Korea and located at the end of the main street in Itaewon). Itaewon is not a scene I need to frequent but there are lots of great restaurants to choose from as it is the only area in Seoul  most densely packed with diverse ethnic restaurants.

Date night in Itaewon...and some 

really great Thai food.

Pad thai was fantastic. Love it when they pile on the bean sprouts.

Itaewon.

Time for another drink!
Between, a trendy but low-key place for after dinner drinks.

In Korea it is more common for people to gather at tables for drinks than at a bar.
I love this mentality. Why stand and drink when you can sit, relax and drink?

Saturday: Circa 1988

Saturday we went back in time with a trip to Olympic Park, 23 years to the day that the 1988 Summer Olympic Games ended. Quite a trek via subway, Olympic Park is located south east of Hannam and is a vast expanse of more than 1.5 million square meters housing six sports facilities, commemorative monuments and 200 original sculptures by world-renowned artists. The entire park feels a bit forgotten and deserted for such a major event having occurred there, but at the same time it's full of people, as the entire park has been turned into a very nice public space with wonderful grassy knolls full of kites and family picnics. Even though there are dozens of other cities in the world with similar remnants from their own Olympic Games, it's somewhat amazing to visit an area where such a worldly event has occurred. This is one area, for a brief moment, where the world was at peace. You can almost see the crowd of people pouring into the gymnasiums and hear the cheers of the crowds. Do you remember what you were doing in 1988?  I was seven and too young to remember these games, RCP was 14 and remembers the platform diving set against a background of the city of Seoul. Who would have thought 23 years later he'd actually be living in that background. Olympic Park is a peaceful but powerful place.

Some 1988 Summer Olympic Game Trivia:

- They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia 

- They were the fourth Olympic Games to be held in autumn.

- These were the last Olympic Games for two of the world's "dominating" sport powers, Soviet Union and East Germany, as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games.

- North Korea, still officially at war with South Korea, boycotted the games. 

- Hosting the 1988 Olympics presented an opportunity to bring international attention to South Korea. In an attempt to follow the model of 1964 Tokyo Olympics as a rite of passage for the Japanese economy and re-integration of Japan in the family of nations in the post-war era, the Korean government hoped to use the Olympics as a “coming-out party” for the newly industrialized Korean economy. The Olympics gave a powerful impetus to the development of South Korea's relations with Eastern Europe, the USSR and with the People's Republic of China. 

- Some athletes you might remember.....Diver Greg Louganis, Sprinter Ben Johnson.

-  This is the last time the US are represented by a basketball team that doesn't feature NBA stars; the team wins the bronze medal after being defeated by the Soviet Union.
- Table tennis is introduced at the Olympics, with China and South Korea both winning two titles.

Where dreams are made.

RCP's Olympic dream, all to himself.

 I would love to play where Stefi Graf won the Gold.
Being the only person in an empty Olympic stadium is pretty cool.

Chris Evert made it to the quarter-finals.

Question: Who did Stefi Graf beat for the Gold? 

Answer: Gabriela Sabatini.

 More Olympic tennis trivia.

Like it happened just yesterday.

The Rose Garden.

A massive Korean wind chime.

Seoul Park, 23 years later on a beautiful fall afternoon.

Swimming.

Tumbling.

Does the Happy Box sell Happy Tickets?

Pull!

A Fall Harvest

On the grounds of Olympic Park we came across this giant wheat field. It's an odd place for a crop of wheat but what a fantastic Fall sight complete with scarecrows....Korean-style. Happy Fall from Seoul!

Here's to a beautiful fall!