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Beomeosa Buddha
Busan, South Korea
Korean temples tend to be out of the way (compared to Japan anyway). Beomeosa feels a world away once you enter the grounds, but the Beomeosa subway stop in Busan is just a short walk and then short bus ride away.
No Swimming sign in UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea (재한유엔기념공원)
There were two things that I packed for Korea that I never used. One was a long-sleeved shirt. I’m not sure if I ever encountered temperatures in the 70s during my two-month, summer stay in Korea, let alone the 60s (even after midnight). The other was a swimming suit. I never saw a swimming pool. I did see a couple of beaches, but several people told me that Koreans can’t swim, at all. In fact, while I was there a group of Korean kids died after their boat capsized just off the coast of the Boryeong Mud Festival (보령머드축제). Sad, but with no swimming pools it isn’t too surprising that the chance to swim or that the swimming skills of the natives are slim to none.
I found this sign to be a bit humorous. Is it really necessary to have a sign saying “no swimming” in a dry ditch that is less than one foot in depth? Maybe it is not always dry, but still…
BTW, this was in the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan. I will have more pictures and stories from there later. It was an emotional experience for me despite the weirdness of this sign.
Sajik Baseball Stadium – Busan, South Korea
One of the problems with watching live baseball in Korea is the amount of netting they put up around the field. One time at a game, when I was sitting next to a Korean who could speak English, I asked him why all the netting and whistles with every foul ball. He told me that a video of a fan getting hit in the eye with a foul ball (and subsequently losing eyesight in that eye) in the USA made the rounds in Korea and it freaked people out. At the KIA Tigers games I purchase seats a little above the netting so that the net doesn’t obstruct my view. That wasn’t possible at Sajik Baseball Stadium as nearly every seat has a net-obstructed view. I couldn’t take it anymore after a few innings so I headed down to one of the first few rows far down the foul line which were the only seats without a net in front of them. There was an usher checking tickets to get into this section, but I just walked past him. He figured it was easier to let me go then try to have a conversation with me in English.
Kim Jae-Hyun (김재현) steals second
As I mentioned elsewhere, I went to Busan, in part, to check out Sajik Baseball Stadium (사직야구장). I saw the SK Wyverns take on the Lotte Giants. To be perfectly honest, I was a bit disappointed.
Wiki calls Sajik Baseball Stadium the “mecca for Korean baseball”, but I find the games in Gwanju at Mudeung Baseball Stadium (RIP in 2013) to be much more fun. Everyone is closer to the field. The seats are closer together. The people are friendlier, and even though there aren’t nearly as many fans in attendance, they somehow sound louder. New ballparks with all of their frills just can’t capture that old ballpark feel.
The KIA Tigers fans are all anxiously awaiting the opening of their new stadium for next season, but they may be losing something, something magical, in the move from their old digs.
Red chilis at the Jagalchi Fish Market (자갈치시장) in Busan
My biggest problem with Korean food has to do with these guys. Don’t get me wrong; I like spicy food. However, many dishes in Korea have an inordinate amount of red chili peppers, red pepper flakes, chili pepper paste, or some sort of hot pepper sauce. Rather than enhance the flavor of something and give it a kick, I find the amounts used to overwhelm everything else. Frequently it comes out as hot as it went in if you know what I mean. I can’t taste the meat, the veggies, or anything but the hot pepper flavor. Even the instant ramen here in Korea is impossible to find in any flavor other than hot red pepper.
Panorama (photomerge) of Gwangan Beach and Gwangan Bridge at night (Busan, South Korea)
I spent last weekend in Busan on the southeast coast of South Korea. The sun never came out, and the sky was never blue during the day. However, the “blue hour” still happens even with an overcast sky.
I didn’t have a tripod and there was nothing really easy to set my camera on for a long exposure so I climbed a lifeguard tower and set my camera on the floor of the lifeguard station in order to take the photos that were photomerged together into today’s final pic.
You’ll be able to see a lot more detail in this image if you click on it while viewing it on a large screen.