Relaxing in Seoul

After clearing immigration and customs, we met Lori in the airport.  She's blond and tall, so she is fairly easy to spot among the dark-haired Koreans.  We had no problem getting all of our luggage--plus ourselves!--into her car, so we didn't have to use the subway.  Most of the way, we traveled along the broad Han River, with wonderful views of the brightly lit highrises on the other side.

U.S. Embassy housing in on the U.S. Army base in the center of Seoul.  This means that we are staying in a guarded enclave where everything is American, even the currency used.  Lori lives in a large and lovely house, decorated with items she has collected during her travels and her tours in South Korea, Guinea and Japan.  Her children, Michael, age 10 and Elizabeth, age 8, were already asleep, and we were all tired, but we stayed up for a while chatting. 

National Museum of Korea

Without having asked for a wake-up call, I slept in until 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.  The girls were already up, but still I was ready to go out for the day before they were.  After a breakfast of Cheerios (yum!), Lori drove us to an entry of the base, from where we exited and walked a block to the architecturally stunning National Museum of Korea.  There were descriptions in every room in English, and we were able to learn about the ancient history of Korea and the various kingdoms which ruled while looking at the artifacts.  There was a special exhibit on U.S. collections of Korean art, with pieces on loan from museums in San Francisco, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Cleveland and other cities.  There were brief descriptions of some of the major collectors such as Avery Brundage and Samuel Morse.  I found that the pottery, lacquer-ware, paintings and other objects on display seemed to be more exquisite than most of those in the regular exhibit halls, although these indeed were wonderful.  Had wealthy American collectors managed to acquire some of the most prized pieces over time, I wondered?

After a couple of hours at the museum, we met Lori at the base entrance, since she has to escort us onto the base.  (We are free to leave on our own anytime.)  We relaxed at her spacious and comfortable house for a few hours during the mid-afternoon while she attended her language school graduation ceremony.  Her housekeeper, the very friendly Mrs. Moon, was here also, darting here and there, tidying and cleaning.  (Lori says she cleans the bathrooms every day!)  I did laundry, so we have clean clothes.  Elizabeth returned from her day at modeling job, with her light blond hair in wavy curls and make-up on.  She looked lovely, and she was very excited that she had earned 30,000 won (about $300) that day.  I would have been excited too!  Besides, it wasn't work for her; it was a fun adventure.

Calligraphy demonstration at Sanchon Restaurant

That evening, Mrs. Moon watched the kids, while the four of us older ones went out for a restaurant meal which included traditional entertainment.  Tray after tray, bowl after bowl, Buddhist temple food, which is vegetarian, was presented to us.  Katie, Lori and I had a great time trying the different dishes and guessing at the ingredients.  We were also amused by watching the faces Katya, an extremely picky eater, made as she sniffed at and occasionally even bit into some of the food.  The rice has herbs mixed in with it, so she diligently picked out the white grains while trying to avoid anything green.  (Yes, she is 17 and does not seem to be growing out of being finicky.) 

Korean dancer

After the main courses, the first performer came to the center stage.  First he played a stringed instrument, then he demonstrated traditional calligraphy techniques.  He gave one of the samples to two women at the table next to us, but they passed it on to us.  After his demonstration, various dancers in flowing silk dresses and short jackets performed individual folk dances to recorded music.  Most of the dances were slow and graceful, but occasionally the tempo increased and the dancer would whirl around as his or her costume twirled and raised.  The dancers all wore white socks, each with a small bump above the middle top.  The headdresses were quite elaborate.  One dancer, robed mostly in white, wore a pointy white hood which covered most of her face.  (Lori and I were reminded of the hoods of the Ku Klux Klan.)  Her costume had long sleeves held out by drum sticks, which she used at the end to play a standing drum.

Korean dancer

Korean dancer

interior decoration at Sanchon restaurant

After the show and dessert (also scorned by Katya), we walked through the brightly lit, neon-filled, people-packed shopping area back to the subway and then Lori's home.

Lori, Sherri, Katie and Katya at Sanchon restaurant