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Saying Goodbye to Summer with Blooming Cosmos
The winds have shifted and the cooler breezes have been blowing in to say autumn is here and winter is on its way. With autumn comes some amazingly colorful mountain views but also to delight, the cosmos bloom. It’s a flower that holds on until the end and seems to wave goodbye to summer and welcomes us in to autumn. It’s one of the last flowers to enjoy before the plants begin to wilt and turn brown winter ice and snow make their own beautiful scenes to view.The pinks and white of the blooms conjure up memories of the recent spring and summer fun we had frolicking outside with bare feet…
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Seokguram Grotto: Seoul’s Version
Seokguram Hermitage (경주 석굴암) is one of those places that makes it onto every list of top 10 temples, Buddhist sites or wondrous views while in Korea. If you haven’t heard about it yet, head over to my friend Dale’s website and read more about it there. As I’ve read the name and heard it again and again, though haven’t yet been the site myself, I recognized it when I came across the name in Korean as I sat on the side of Mt. Inwang in Seoul. Seokguram… Seokguram (인왕산 석굴암), when I realized why I recognized the name it made me all the more confused as to why there…
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A Landscape Revealed
At the foot of Mt. Inwang (인왕산수성동계곡) an interesting thing happened a few years ago. During demolition of the Ogin Sibeom Apartments in 2008, a scene very similar to that of the artist Gyeomjae Jeong Seon’s (1676 – 1759) in his “Eight Scenes of Jang-dong” appeared. During the rapid growth and industrialization of the area, the scene on the side of the mountain had been covered over with an apartment building in 1971 and wasn’t viewed again for more than 30 years. Upon razing the building a stone bridge was uncovered and the city, which had bought the land back for reclamation, decided to turn the area back into the beautiful natural…
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Flowers In Jongno
This past Sunday the sun was shining, parka weather said goodbye and a warm breeze was blowing so naturally I couldn’t help but head out for a walk. I headed to Jongno to see what was going on and for the most part I found a lot of people planning their gardens and purchasing seeds, plants and fertilizers, which got me oh so excited for my rooftop garden. I haven’t tilled the dirt that the owners before us left up there just yet so I’m not quite ready for the seeds, so instead I enjoyed the scene and purchased some succulents for inside the abode. While I was out I…
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A Hidden Lake That’s Not So Hidden Anymore: Jusanji Lake, Cheongsong
Popular scenes from the movie “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring” were shot at the Jusanji Lake (주산지) located in Juwangsan National Park and up until then, this lake was pretty much a secret to everyone except the locals in the Cheongsong area. It’s not a secret anymore though. A common stop on tours out to Cheongsong, Jusanji Lake is… not much to write home about but holds a special place in Korea’s heart. You’ll see why. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking. These funds go to maintain the site. Thank you for your support.) How…