Palace, Prison, Party; An alliterative journey to seoul.

Hello everybody, sorry I haven’t updated recently, but there hasn’t been much to say.  I’ve fallen into the school routine.  The other week we went to one of Hyundai’s auto manufacturing plants with my business class.  It was really interesting, but we weren’t allowed to take any pictures.  They make six different types of cars at the plant, all at once.  They build the frames, paneling, and engine blocks and do the welding and painting there.  They get the rest of the parts from other suppliers to do the rest of the assembly.  A car comes off the line every 53 seconds!

The cherry blossoms on campus have come and gone, with the exception of one tree that is still hanging on to its flowers.

Last weekend I went to Seoul with a couple of friends.  We toured the Gyeongbokgung Palace and Seodaemun Prison.  Gyeongbokgung Palace was the largest of the “Five Grand Palaces” built during the Joseon Dynasty.  Seodaemun Prison was opened in 1908.  The prison was used during the Japanese rule of Korea to house anti-colonial activists, and could accommodate around 500 people. After the Japanese occupation ended in 1945, the prison was used by the South Korean government until 1987.  In 1992 it was converted to the Seodaemun Prison History Hall.  This was a really interesting place to visit, especially since we didn’t learn any Korean history in school.

We arrived just in time for the changing of the guards.

Throne Room

Smaller throne room

Smallest throne room

This part reminded me of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The view cleared up a bit in the afternoon.

America!

Inside the prison.

The prisoners made these wooden rods fall if they needed assistance from the guards in case of an emergency.

The bricks in this courtyard are stamped to show where they were made.  Forced labor at a different prison  provided the bricks for this entire facility.

On a happier note, the Lotus Festival, or Lantern Festival was going on to celebrate Buddha's birthday.

I had my birthday party this weekend.  On Friday night I went to see Thor with a group of friends.  We got home late and I climbed in a dorm window for the first time.  On Sunday I had dinner with a bunch of my friends at a seafood noodle place.  A big pot is brought out to the table filled with noodles, shrimp, crab, and octopus.  After dinner we went to EZS, our favorite bar, and then sang karaoke, which is called norrebang here in Korea.  I wound up with Batman voice for a little while, which I thought was a pretty good end to the night.  I don't have any pictures, cause I forgot my camera, but I'm sure some will make their way onto Facebook.