Insadong

This weekend, I went to an area of Seoul called Insadong with my coworker Lauren. First, we visited a Buddhist shrine, Jogyesa. Because it was a Sunday, the shrine was packed. One of the weirdest things about siteseeing in Seoul is that many historic areas are encapsulated in a small, quiet pocket of the city with trees, but if you look around you can see skyscrapers just outside the protected area. The shrine was one such area. The center area was a large building with three enormous golden Buddhas inside, each of which represents something different. To enter the main building you must remove your shoes, and monks are constantly chanting inside. The compound had an Information Center for Foreigners, where a helpful English-speaking old man gave us a little more information about the compound. Unfortunately, they were completely out of information packets written in English. Oh well. I took one in Korean, and maybe someday I'll be able to read it.

After visiting the shrine, we went for a walk through Insadong, which is one of many shopping districts in the city. It was pretty much a long roadway with shops on both side, and it was packed to the brim with people. Around the midpoint of the road there is a complex which is four stories high and is basically an upward winding path with shops all along and a performance area in the center, on the ground level. The stage featured a few very strange plays as well as a group of extremely out of sync bellydancers while we were making our way through the complex.

At the very top level, we found a special treat: apparently it was the day of the Women's Festival. As we had been seeing fliers for this event, we were anxious to see what it consisted of. It seemed like rather a big deal. However, it turned out to be located on about a 20' x 20' patch of roof, with a few tables lining the sides of the area. There was no discernible goal of the event, nor did there seem to be many activities. However, we did get a chance to draw pictures on a wooden board of things that stressed us out and then have a man hold the board so we could punch it in half. So all in all, a worthwhile venture.