Friday and Saturday in Seoul

Friday morning the adoption agency arranged for us to take a tour. Our two guides were local university students who, after learning we'd seen everything on the tour itinerary on our last trip, were nice enough to change their plans. First we saw Deoksugung Palace. Originally the home of the King's brother, it became the main palace temporarily after the Japanese burned the main palace in the 1500s. One highlight was the world's first water powered clock.


We then headed to the Korean War Memorial. There were hundreds of Korean War Veterans there for a ceremony. Rowan enjoyed the artillery exhibit (mostly because he thought they were lawnmowers), climbing on a mock Korean navy ship, and running though a model of one of North Korea's "tunnels of aggression."

Rowan with a "turtle ship"

Our Saturday plans to travel to Suwan to see the traditional Korean Folk Village were thwarted by rain, so we headed to the 63 building, one of the tallest skyscrapers in Seoul and home to an aquarium. For a relatively small space, they had quite the impressive collection, including several types of Penguins, otters, and seals. We later headed up the glass elevator to the observation deck at the top of the building.

The rainy walk to the 63 Bldg.

The Donald is Everywhere--even in Seoul

The Boy who has wanted nothing but chicken fingers eats bean sprout soup!
the "thrill deck" 63 stories up with a clear view straight down.
Notice who is not standing on this :)

We then hopped the metro to Namdaemun Market. Most of the children's areas had closed for the day, but we were able to find a new Hanbok for Rowan. Hanbok is the traditional Korean garment and he's outgrown the one his foster family gave to us. At the start of the market is the great south gate, Namdaemun aka Sungnyemun. Built in 1396, it was burned by an arsonist a few months ago. There is now a big wall around it. A performace to raise funds for reconstruction was going on as we passed by.

Our Sunday plans include church and some shopping. Maren joins our family at 3PM on Monday!