The Right Tool

Kat and I took a hanji class yesterday in Gwangju. The teacher was pleasant and skilled, and pointed us to a stack of project catalogs. We selected a simple pencil box since time was an issue. What we really wanted to learn was the technique of bleaching hanji paper, which this project Pictured. Long story short, we ended up with plain, unbleached boxes, but the class was a major success because we learned of this tool, perfect for smoothing paper and getting it into corners of boxes. Win.

Spectacular

The performance in Gwangju was full of awesomeness. Kudos to Holly, Brooke, Jenny, and, of course, the superstar performers. Well done.

Shabu Shabu

The Provincial Mayor of Gwangju, this city of 1.5 million, hosted our group for an elegant shabu shabu dinner last night. It was a traditional sit-on-the-floor restaurant where we cooked veggies, beef, seafood and more kinds of mushrooms than I've ever seen before in a hot-pot of broth on the table. No octopus for me, but many were consumed by our group.

Go, Brooke!

Our Fearless Leader is now the newest Kimchi Ambassador of Gwangju!

Wet...But Wonderful

Today was the ribbon cutting ceremony at Choong Hyun Babies Home and Memorial, a Korean War orphanage turned Korean adoptee center. It poured rain, so much so that the Chang Mi dancers had to cancel their (outdoor) performance. The center is fantastic in many ways, with traditional buildings restored beautifully and quite a history.

Hanji Heaven

Wow! What a day. Kat and I left Seoul early this morning and took the train to Jeonju, the center of hanji paper-making. Visited a folk village, and then the event we'd been most anticipating: the Jeonju Hanji Museum! We learned ALL there is to know about the paper-making process, AND got to make our own hanji paper! in Gwangju now, ironing dance dresses and getting ready for the first performance tomorrow.

Beauty

Three of our dancers tried out Korean facial masks last night. The masks must have been good ones; the girls looked spectacular today, especially the birthday girl!

Nanta!

The International Korean Adoption Services (INKAS) group sponsored our entire group tonight for the TOTALLY fabulous show, Nanta, that pretty much defies description. Half culinary arts, half drumming, it was gut-bustingly funny. Three from our group were called up on stage.

Dongdaemun Market

We wrapped up our shopping day at another old, traditional market, Dongdaemun. We walked through the coolest of all food markets before we reached our destination, the hanbok (traditional clothing) part of Dongdaemun, which consists of no fewer than a zillion individual vendors. Early day tomorrow as we move to Gwangju, so watch for more photos then.

Itaewon shopping

While the rest of our group had a cooking lesson (chap chae), we did a few errands at Itaewon, a popular tourist market near the big U.S. military base. Craving a cold drink (and simplicity), lunch was at McDonalds: bulgogi burgers.

Namdaemun Market

Today was market day. First stop: Namdaemun, the only place I know where you can buy knock-off designer anything next to chicken feet (cooked or raw) and hanji paper. One guess what we were shopping for.

More photos...

Find the rest of today's photos at www.flickr.com/photos/thehanjicrew

Oh. My. God.

After this next stop, I was ready to go home...nothing could possibly top this small but amazing Hanji supply shop. Our friend Jenny stumbled onto this place a few years ago, but this was our first visit. The items on display were samples -- just there to illustrate the depth of this store's supplies. It's three flights up in an old building in an alley. Who would ever guess it holds such treasures?

Dance prop shop

Where else would a group of Korean dancers go shopping? This street near Insadong market is lined with stores that cater to traditional Korean performers, with shops overflowing with drums, fans, masks, hats, hair decorations and more. Costumes were ordered and supplies purchased: check.

Seoul subway

Clean, fast and efficient, we took to the subway today.

A visit to the Target offices in Seoul

This was super interesting... One of our group arranged a visit to this buying office who source clothing from Asia for Target stores. Thanks, Amy!

Oops!

Make that Flickr URL www.flickr.com/photos/thehanjicrew , then click on the photo stream and click on sets.

Our hotel has a stand with red bean paste fish like this one, right outside the door. Ooooooh, so good! Also fresh fruit and fried things on sticks. Street food all the time, like a year-round state fair.

More photos coming soon!

Want to see more photos?

I'll dump my photos every day into our Flickr.com account:
www.flickr.com/photos/hanjicrew

Click on thehanjicrew photo stream link on the right side of the page, then click Sets on the photo stream page... Click on Korea trip2012.

Dinner Monday

Jenny met us at the airport, we rented our phones and we checked into our hotel (small room, but fantastic location in an area surrounded by large colleges = restaurants galore, super shopping). Dinner at a big hot-pot-style bulgogi restaurant. Yum. Slept fine, but up by 5 a.m.

Photos

We made it! Endured our 14-hour Asiana flight from Chicago to Seoul, including this bibimbahp lunch. No wifi in the hotel so I'm catching up Tues. morning from Dunkin' Donuts. More photos coming on Flickr... Stay tuned!

(Almost) on our way... on the train to the international terminal in Chicago.

It's time to pack up for the big trip...hard to believe we're heading to hanji heaven in a few days!