Let's Pick Baseballs

We found lots of baseball balls in Namhae Sports Park the last time that we went there. We were finding the parking lot when we saw that there are players playing baseball at the park. My hubby who loves baseball told me to watch them playing so after parking his car, we headed to the baseball park. On our way to the park, I saw a ball lying on the grass. A few steps away, I saw another one. Then, another one! And another one! My hubby was so happy with the baseballs so I told him to find balls, instead. He laughed and because of those smiles and happiness that I saw, I was encouraged to search more balls and after a few minutes, I have lots of balls in my bag. The balls that the player made homerun and went out of the park. Here are the balls.

I can find more if we stay there longer and if I have a bigger bag. haha... But my hubby told me that we can't bring them. Some players will go out later and find for the balls so I told him to leave the area so we can have the balls. Am I bad? hahaha... Hey, players! Just give them to us. I'm just so happy to see my hubby's smiles because of your balls. We'll just keep them as a remembrance from you. I'll wish you goodluck and hope someday I can see you in the baseball field and receive autographs from you.

See? My hubby was so happy while driving because of the balls. He said we can't bring those balls but still he was so glad that he has them. He hugged me, he held my hands from time to time while driving and when we are at the stop lights, he looked at the balls and laughed. Some balls are still new.

Look! My dog is also interested with the balls.

Seomjin River in Hadong

It's now autumn in Korea and it's getting cold everyday. My hubby has been waiting for this season because he can eat his favorite; the seafoods! My hubby loves seafoods but he doesn't want to eat it in the summer. And now that it's fall, we went to Namhae to eat seafoods. We went back to the restaurant that we've been to, to eat Rawfish in Cold Water.

On our way home, we decided to go to Seomjin Kang (Seomjin-gang) or Seomjin River which literally means "toad ferry". It is believed that 1590s during the Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, a swarm of toads blocked the Japanese army from crossing the Seomjin into Northern Jeolla.

Seomjin-gang drains southeastern Jeollabuk-do as well as eastern Jeollanam-do and western Gyeongsannam-do provinces, and flows into the Korea Strait. The river rises from Palgongsan and flows for 212.3 km. before it reaches its final destination to Gwangyang Bay.

Our navigation brought us to Hadong County. Here's the map of Tourists sites in Hadong-gun.

The river doesn't have much water. It's dry maybe because it didn't rain for a long time. I want to go back there again in the summer.

I think there are many people swimming in the summer because there are tubes near the benches.

Eventhough we couldn't enjoy the river, there's a trekking course that takes 4km to Seobon Park. We are planning to go back there and go trekking. I can't wait!

Here's the trekking course.

There's also a bridge to cross the river.

I think there's also a temple across the river on top of this mountain. I couldn't see it well but my hubby said it seems like a temple specially when we heard a sound of the bell.

Disappointed of the Coupon

I saw an advertisement in front of my door about the promotion that the supermarket has which is just located in front of my apartment building. It's a big supermarket selling everything. It has a big bookstore, coffee shops, spa, appliances, jewelry shops, clothes shops, grocery products, etc. The promotion is only for those who live in our building. I'm a regular customer of the supermarket because I feel comfortable buying there because I can everything I need and want.

In the advertisement, if you buy at least $30, you can get two cups of coffee at Kenya Coffee shop which is also located inside the supermarket. Last night, I went shopping and bought around $50 but I forgot to exchange my receipt for coupons. I just thought that I can just show the receipt to the coffee shop but it's too late when I found out that I have to exchange to receipt into coupon to receive the coffee. Too bad that it also listed that we can exchange the receipt the day that we bought the products but it was already close when I knew about it.

Oh well, my hubby cheered me up. He said that I can still use it when I get the grocery next week because the promotion is until next week. I always go shopping once a week for our whole week food I guess I have to go shopping earlier for our next living.

Yahooo! It's Raining

Most Koreans like rain. They think it's very romantic to walk in the rain. My husband has been for rain for a long time not only because of the hot weather but also because he really loves rain. He likes walking in the rain with umbrella. It's not only him who likes rain but also my co-workers.

It's strange this summer because it didn't rain much and today is the day that my hubby has been waiting. He was so happy when he woke up in the morning raining. The weather forecast always delivered the wrong news when it says that it would rain but it didn't for a long time. But today, the weather forecast was right. It really rained. It was really hot for the past few days and I heard lots of Korean complained about the hot weather. It even showed in the news that some of the trees died and dying in some other cities. Me who has lived in hot country never complained about the hot weather in my country, but here, I can say that it was really hot. Even when you just walked for a few distance, you will sweat a lot.

Anyway, it has been raining since early morning so it's cool now and my hubby is so happy to see the rain falling from the sky. We live on the highest floor of the building and once in a while, he looks out and see the rain falls.

In my case, I hate rain. I hate walking in the rain and taking an umbrella bothers me. Luckily, it's weekend today and there's no work so it's great to stay home in the rain.

Imjingak Tourist Site

Except from Unification Observatory, we also visited Imjingak. Another worth-seeing in Gyeonggido which is also related to unification and freedom. At the Imjingak Toursit Site, you can see the Bridge of Freedom, Peace Bell and Unification Fond. It is free of admission and open throughout the year.

The Peace Bell which is 2.23m in diameter, 3.8m high and weighs 21 tons is made of bronze and tin in the korean traditional style. The bell pavilion which is made of wood with a four-sided arched roof, sits on an area of 70.5m² and is 12.18m high.

Those who are interested in ringing the Peace Bell, in the name of peace, unification and hope may purchase tickets which cost 10,000 won or around $10. The ringing time is 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The method of ringing is seven strikes by individual or a group.



Standing behind Mangbaedan Memorial Altar at Imjingak Square, Freedom Bridge takes its name from the return of 12,773 prisoners of war in 1953 in the first exchange of prisoners after the signing of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.

Two railrooad bridges on the Gyeongui Line originally spanned the Imjingang River side-by-side. Both were destroyed by bombing and only the piers remained. To enable exchange of prisoners of war, the west was rebuilt as a temporary structure over the original piers. The repatriates were taken to Freedom Bridge by trucks and they crossed the bridge on foot.

Freedom Bridge is 83m long, 44.5m wide, and 8m high. It is a wooden structure reinforced by steel. Freedom Bridge has little architectural value but hold tremendous symbolic importance of "Return to Freedom".



See that railway train to North Korea? Everything is all set and we're just waiting for the two countries to be united.



The remained of the train that was used by the people of North and South Koreans is still seen at the site. This steam locomotive is a symbol of the tragic history of the division into North and South Korea, having been left in the DMZ since it got derailed by bombs by the Korean war. It says that there are more than 1,020 bullet holes at the locomotive which shows how cruel situation had happened at that time.



There are also some pictures of what happened during the war.



There's also an observatory or lookout to see some sites of North Korea.



For more information, contact 031-953-4744.

Gunsan Public Market

When travelling, visiting the markets is one of the most interesting things to do specially if you're out of town or country. It is where you can discover lots of strange, yummy or edible foods that you've never tried or seen before. Also, you can know what people eat in that area. So, when we visited Gunsan City, the Gunsan Public Market caught our attention not only because we usually visit some markets in town but also the market is so attractive. It looks so much different in and out from the Korean markets.

Here's the market building.



There's also a playgroud near the entrance.



The entrance.



Inside the market with lots of different kinds of products.



If you're looking for different kinds of spices, you can see them at Gunsan Market. They sell everything inside. From fruits, vegetables, spices, fermented food, preservatives, plastic trash, clothes, etc.





There are also restaurants that you can enjoy when you feel tired of shopping or looking around. Everything looks in order and the food looks yummy. Too bad that we just had lunch when we visited there. I really wanted to experience eating inside and taste the yummy smell food.



The interior doesn't only look good outside but also inside. There are even benches where you can relax and refresh specially in the summer.

Gunsan Factories

When we visited Canada, we met a Korean guy who lives in Gunsan so we went both back here in Korea, he and my hubby kept in touch. He already came over to my house twice and one day he invited us to visit his place. He showed us some places in Gunsan and what I noticed is, there are lots of factories. I've never seen lots of factories as those in Gunsan. The huge lot area has so many factories that according to my hubby, some of the area used to be sea and made it a land to build some factories. Wow! It's so amazing!



Here are some of the factories that I've just decided to take pictures of them on our way home.









The guy thought that it's easier to meet near the factories because it's the Gunsan's landmark but we almost lose our way because we didn't bring our navigation. We drove around but we couldn't find the meeting place easily so when we saw a map, my hubby got off the car and checked. Of all the factories and wide range of land, it wasn't easy to find the location. We drove around for about 30 mins before we met my hubby's friend.

I heard about the factories in Gunsan but never had an idea how many factories there are but after seeing it, wow! No wonder why they say that there are also lots of foreigners there and it's true. There are so many foreigners walking in the street. I heard they came to Korea to work in the factories.

If you are a foreigner who wants to work in the factory, I think Gunsan is the best place. Also, if you want to meet foreigner, Gunsan is also the place to meet your countrymen.

Bridge That Connects Buan and Gunsan

We visited a friend that we met when we traveled to Canada and he treated us for lunch. After lunch, he took us to Saemangeum Seawall or Saemangeum Jeonsigwan in Korean, the bridge that connects Buan and Gunsan. I remember that I've been in this place a few years ago so I checked my website and found it here. That was the time when they were still building the bridge. It was in 2007 when we last visited it and it's totally different now. I thought they couldn't finish it because lots of the residence near the bridge were against it. At that time, there were lots of boats stocked each sides because they couldn't go to the other side of the sea. I heard that was one of the reasons why most fishermen were against it.

Anyway, here's what it looks like now. And compare it here if you wonder what it looks like during the construction.



The sight view.



The fishing area where there are few people fishing.



And the bridge.

Namhae Sports Park

We went to Namhae to have oysters but we couldn't find any oysters restaurant so my hubby asked me where's the best place to visit in Namhae. Because my hubby likes sports so I suggested to visit Namhae Sports Park. He was so happy when I mentioned the park. He was so grateful that I reminded him about the park so it was our first destination in Namhae.

I remember this picture. I already posted it here on my last visit to Namhae Sports Park. It looks like the superman who helped a guy.

This nude lady is so cute. She looks innocent with wonderful poise.

Too bad that the park is under renovation. The baseball stadium is messed up unlike before that there were even players playing. But the park will look great when it's done because I saw that the workers work hard and there are lots of new things to expect for. My hubby said he would probably go back there after winter.

The stadium and some area of the park are messy but the beauty of it still remains specially the beautiful view.

There's also a big hotel at the park so you don't need to worry for your accommodation just in case that you wanna stay there for a night. The hotel has also a beautiful view of the sea.

Namhae Daegyo

My hubby wanted to eat oysters so he invited me to go to Namhae. He remembered the last time that we visited Namhae, we had oysters in a restaurant. They were very cheap so now that he's craving for oysters, he suddenly thought of going to Namhae. Besides, it's also the best time to refresh and get some fresh air because winter is just around the corner so it's getting colder and colder everyday.

Our plan was to leave home in the morning but we got up at noon, had lunch and left at 1:30 P.M. so it was almost dark when we arrived there. We almost lose our way because we forgot to bring our navigation but luckily we reached before dark.

When we were in Hadong, which is the close town in Namhae, I told hubby that there is a bridge to Namhae. He said we've been to several places in Korea and I have a good memory to remember the bridge in Namhae.

This is the bridge that I was talking about. The Namhae Daegyo or Namhae Bridge. I didn't know that it's one of the most famous landmark in Namhae.

My hubby said that Namhae is as Island and the bridge is made so people can go to the mainland easily. Passing the bridge means we have now reach Namhae. Cool!

It's a long bridge and the view is so wonderful because of the water and village seen from it.

Let's go camping

It's my vacation. Yahoooo! I have three days vacation. I mean five days including weekend so me and my hubby are planning to go camping. I just hope that the weather will agree with us. I've never gone camping for a long time so I really miss sleeping in a tent specially now that it's too hot. Going to the recreational forest and reading books is what I love the most when we go camping. The fresh air and lying down all day is what I miss the most. Koreans are very lucky for having a very good nature. There are lots of beautiful forests and mountains. I love trees and mountains although I don't climb them. I love beaches but I don't like going swimming. I just love watching them. I'm so happy and feel relax when I see trees, mountains and beaches. I'm a nature lover that's why I love Korea.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain, Rain, Go Away. It has been raining cats and dogs here since last night. Yesterday, hubby and I planned to go out but then it rained a lot. When we woke up this morning, we waited for the rain to stop but it didn't. So even when there was heavy rain, we still went out. We had nowhere to go. Besides, some roads that we passed by had floods so we just had lunch at the new restaurant that we saw on our way.

I hate rain. It scares me when my hubby drives and we can't see our way. Also, we live on the high floor of the building so I'm afraid of the lightning and thunder. And the worst? I don't like being wet because of the rain like what happened today. My skirt, sneakers and shoes were wet. I took off my socks in the restaurant. Of course I was shy but nobody saw me except my hubby. I put them under the table and wore again after meal.

Buddha's Birthday

Every Eight Day of the Fourth Month by the Lunar Calendar, Koreans celebrate the Buddha's Birtday. This year, it was yesterday May 21st, Friday. So it was holiday yesterday. On this day, solemn rituals are held at Buddhist temples, and the day's festival is climaxed by a lantern parade. Before this day, you'll see the temples including the small ones, have many lanterns hanging on the near roads going to the temples.

I haven't seen or been to temples on this day so I don't know what people do on this day but today I invited hubby to visit the near temple located on the mountain but it was raining. On our way to the temple, we decided to visit my hubby's relative. We stayed in their house for a long time then we decided to dine out together so instead of going to the temple, we just spent time with my hubby's relatives. We couldn't visit the temple because of the rain but it was a lot of fun.

Gochang Barley Plantation

Gochang Barley Plantation or Wheat Plantation is located in North Jeolla Province or (Jeollanamdo) South Korea. The weather is getting better everyday so last week my hubby search on the net about the good attractions to visit on weekend. He came with the site of Gochang Barley Plantation and we visited today.

Gochang Barley Plantation is in Hakwon Farm in Gochang. Hakwon Farm is a famous place for filming korean movies.

The weather was too hot but even in the mid day, there were many people coming from different part of the country to see the beauty of the farm full of barley plants.


When you're far from it, the wheats look like short grasses on the plain. But if you come closer, it is tall as high as waist of a middle height man.




Besides from the barley plantation, there are also lots of things to see like the bamboo where it is said that ttokaebi or a kind of korean ghost appeared.


There's also a horse-drawn carriage if you don't wanna take a walk in the sun. Hubby and I didn't take a walk. We drove the car around and just stop when we see good and cool places to stay.

On our way home, we had jang-o gui (roasted eels) for lunch. Gochang is famous for bokbunja (raspberries) and jang-o (eels) so if you happened to visit Gochang, don't forget to try jang-o gui or roasted eel.