Korea - Day #14 (May 12, 2011) - Seomun Market

We were planning on going to Jeju over the weekend and today was the last day we could stay in Daegu.  While we were there, Darryl wanted to get a modified hanbok so mom took us to Seomun Market which is the largest traditional market in Daegu.  Seomun Market has more than 4,000 shops and is particularly known as a source for textiles and sewing services, a key ingredient of Daegu's fashion industry.

From the second floor

Korea - Day #13 (May 11, 2011) - National Geographic Photography Exhibition

It was raining pretty hard again (third day in a row) and it was somewhat unusual for the season.  Korea usually has a pretty mild spring.  Due to rain, we weren't able to do anything outdoors.  We found out that there was an exhibition of photographs taken by a National Geographic team so we checked it out in the morning.  Darryl was scheduled to be in my sister's class again in the afternoon.  We were also planning on meeting a friend for dinner at a seafood buffet restaurant after class.

No photos taken this day.  Are you surprised?  I am not sure why none of us took any photos.

Korea - Day #12 (May 10, 2011) - Buddha's Birthday

Today was Buddha's birthday and my mom wanted us to go to her temple with her.  She indicated that the head monk (female, which is unusual) has always asked about me.  We thought it would be a good idea to accompany her to see the temple which would be decorated with lots of lotus lanterns and catch up with the head monk.  It was raining pretty hard in the morning so most lanterns were covered with a plastic canopy.

Korea - Day #11 (May 9, 2011) - Shabu Shabu

In the evening, we met one of my former colleagues and friends for dinner.  We wanted to try something different so she took us to a Japanese restaurant specializing in a hot pot dish called Shabu Shabu.


Hot pot is ready



Vegetables to add

Thinly sliced beef

Wantons and noodles to add at the end

Salad

Kimchi

Dipping Sauces

Hot pot is boiling - let's add some veggies

It looks good enough to eat

After our massacre

 



Korea - Day #11 (May 9, 2011) - KyeMyoung University

We headed out to Keimyoung University where my sister teaches.  Darryl went to a couple of her classes last time we were in Daegu and he had a great time.  So my sister picked out a couple of classes where Darryl could come and speak to her students.  Before he joined my sister in her classes, my mom took us to a nearby shopping mall in the morning.



Darryl trying on a Crocodile Dundee hat



I should have bought this hat.

Then, we went to the university and met up with my sister at the faculty cafeteria for lunch.  Today's menu was "curry rice" and it was pretty delicious.

Darryl ready to dive in

Lunch

While Darryl and my sister were in class together in the afternoon, I went to the university beauty salon to get my hair done.

Getting my hair done

Korea - Day #10 (May 8, 2011) - Trip to Daegu

Sunday, May 8, is Parent's Day in Korea.  We decided to go down to Daegu to see my  mom and grandmother.  We took a train (KTX) and it only took an hour and twenty minutes to Daegu which was way faster than other trains or express buses which usually take about 4 hours.

My sister bought us tickets in advance and we were scheduled to leave the Seoul Central Train Station at 12 noon.  Emobu insisted on taking us to the train station in the morning.  We were supposed to leave the house at around 11:00 to make sure that we would arrive at the train station early enough to catch the train.  Emobu usually plays a piano on Sundays and when he was told that we were ready leave for the train station, he wanted to play the piano for five more minutes.  So we left at around 11:10 and by the time we got to the parking lot, he remembered that he had left his cell phone at home.  He had to go get his cell phone thinking that someone would call him while he was out on the way to the train station.  That delayed our trip to the train station for about 20 minutes.  Traffic on Sunday wasn't as good as he thought so we ended up arriving at the train station at 12:05.  Consequently, we missed our train.  Fortunately, we were able to cancel the tickets my sister bought and re-purchased tickets for the 12:30 p.m. train.

When we got to Daegu, my sister and my mom came to the train station to pick us up.  My mom was more excited and happier to see Darryl than her own daughter, me.  I came over to give her a hug when I saw her but she pushed me away and went straight to Darryl to give him a huge hug.  Thanks mom, I feel your love.  :-)

In the afternoon, we decided to go downtown to get some sushi for dinner.  Here are some photos from the restaurant with a revolving sushi tray track.