Sunday June 30

Today was the first day of our 5 day field trip outside of Seoul. We boarded 2 very comfortable tour buses at 8:00. Because we had 2 busses everyone got their own seat and space. Mark Peterson, a history professor from BYU, is accompanying us on the trip and giving us lessons on Korean history and culture. He firat came to Korea in 1960 on a Mormon mission, back when it was a desperately poor country. At dinner he told us the average Korean income in 1960 was $80 per year. On his mission, he got a $90 a month allowance. He has seen remarkable changes in the last 53 years.

Our first stop of the day was King Sejong's tomb, about a 2 hour ride fom Seoul. The trip went quickly as Professor Peterson was on my bus, telling stories and sharing his expertise. It was extremely hot, humid, and sunny, but the tomb is a remarkably serene and beautiful spot. I mentioned in an earlier post that King Sejong is one of Korea's most beloved figures. In addition to developing the Korean script (hangeul), King Sejong also supported the arts, music, science and technology.

Next, it was on to lunch. This is by far the best meal I've had so far. We are in a region of Korea famous for its rice. We had an 11 course lunch, with rice served in a steaming hot bowl at the end. I won't go through all 11 courses, but one course was breaded, deep fried stingray - tasty despite the rubbery yet crunchy texture. Also, something that I thought was a green bean but turned out to be the hottest something I've ever eaten in my life. Dessert was a cold, iced pumpkin juice.

After lunch we went to Cheongju, home of a printing museum. Koreans were the first to use moveable metal type in printing, even before Gutenberg who gets all the credit. The museum covers all aspects of printing, and includes a hands on workshop where we made our own books and paper. It was a 2 hour process, and a little frustrating at times. The workers didn't speak English, and they hurried through the complex steps. Most of the time, instead of just showing us again how to do things, they ended up making the books for us. Which was fine with me.

Next, off to the Ramada in Cheongju. It's a beautiful, 16 story hotel, but oddly there's almost nothing around it. We had 1 hour to freshen up, then walked across the street to a restaurant that had a buffet. It was a combination Korean, Japanese, and American buffet. Nothing spectacular.

After dinner, we went to a gigantic store - like a Walmart - built under the hotel. There were clothes, school supplies, kitchen goods, groceries, a food court, etc. The seafood and meat sections of the grocery store were incredible, and fragrant. All sorts of dried seafood and meats out in the open. It definitely would not pass health inspection in the US.