Jeffrey and Kristin Lee on the Road: Places of Interest, Korea (May-July)

While I was staying in Korea, my schedule was quite hectic with several events occurring unexpectedly. Nonetheless, however, I was able to squeeze some time to visit places of interest. I love to visit traditional markets wherever I go. So they are always on the top of the list of places of interest.

Gyung Dong Market is famous for wild vegetables. People come from all over the nation for these wild vegetables as well as other products.

Right next to it was the famous Herbal Medicine Market. You can find all kinds of herbal medicine materials in this market. And they are very affordable.

Next to Gyung Dong Market was Chung Ryang Ri Fresh Fruit Market where you could buy all types of produce.

The most interesting place for me was Gwangjang Market. It is well known for street food, thus most popular to tourists. It was a lot of fun to walk around and to watch people enjoying the street food.

Unexpectedly, I had a chance to take part in the Korean traditional artifact (Chilbo in Korean and Cloissone in French) Soo Kyung Lee is a grand master recognized by the Korean government. Several foreign dignitaries keep her products, such as the German Chancellor, and Chinese Prime Minister, I am not familiar with precious artifacts, but it was a different experience.

I have been following many presentations about Silver Towns in Korea. Currently, they serve only 1% of the eligible seniors in Korea. I decided to visit one of them and I chose the only Christian-run one, Gongju Wonruwon. It is run by Korean Presbyterian Denomination.

After talking with the Executive Director and taking a look at a few types of rooms, I found them to be too small for the size I expected. It was good to see a church sanctuary where you could not only worship but also pray at any time. However, I disliked the fact that each room has a name tag that shows the church title, such as Pastor, Elder, Deacon, etc. They are responsibilities while they serve at the church, not titles to carry to the grave. Since Korea has a culture of calling people titles, they should not be titles that create a hierarchy. I am glad I took the time to visit the place for my first-hand experience.

Another place I visited was Jongro 3-ga which is called a senior's gathering place. The central place is a small park, called Top Gol Park. This place is famous because the Korean Independence Movement from the Japanese occupation called the Sam Il Movement, started at this place. Unfortunately, however, this place is central to many seniors including the homeless. Apparently, the government was preventing people from entering freely, and many seniors were gathering outside the park.

I heard that this park area is for low-income seniors and there is another gathering place across the street. This place is called Kook Il Kwan. It is a 15-story building and it is for the well-off. Apparently, this building has every thing to satisfy the needs of seniors. I did make the time to visit and explore this place. Perhaps next time.

At the entrance of Jongro 3-ga, there is a special street called Song Hae Gil, Song Hae was a famous comedian who was the MC for a popular singing contest program, called All Nations Singing Contest. He worked until he was close to 90 and was a role model for many seniors. This street was built in memory of him.

Near my place in Incheon, I found a wide farming area close to a waterway. Many citizens borrow a piece of land for their weekend farming. I called one of the owners and learned that I could borrow a piece of land for farming for the whole year at approximately $110. I would definitely try it, only if I stay in Korea more consistently. I was encouraged to get back in touch with the owner in February.