Mount Fuji from the plane after taking off from Narita, on the way to Seoul.

Paige at a Korean phonebooth near Beomeosa Temple in Busan.

Detail of the eaves at Beomeosa Temple in Busan.

Bukmun gate and fortress wall near the Beomeosa Temple, on the way up to the peak of Geumjeongsan.

The view from Geumjeongsan.

Paige at the batting cages in Busan.

Cocktail show at a bar in Busan called New York, NY.

Ancient tombs of Gyeongju.

One of the Buddhas at Bulguksa Temple near Gyeongju.

Paige at a gate of Bulguksa Temple with a banner for the upcoming celebration of Buddha's birthday.

I met this guy outside Bulguksa Temple. He offered to help me find my way, and when I said I wanted to take the bus to a nearby Grotto, he told me the bus didn't leave for an hour. He then took me on his scooter to his tourist shop that specializes in selling Korean Ginseng, and told his friends that we encountered along the way that I was his new girlfriend!

These Buddhas are at the National Museum in Gyeongju.

We happened upon this ceremony at Gyeongbukgung Palace.

I tried on a hanbok at Gyeongbukgung Palace.

This was taken in a tea house in Seoul.

We ate vegetarian food! :)

This dessert is called patbingsu. It has ice on the bottom, red beans, fruit, some corn flakes, and vanilla soft serve. It took 5 of us about 10 minutes to polish this off. :)

The Han River at night.

This was taken from a pagoda like observatory in Panmunjeom, the "Truce Village" on the border between North and South Koreas, inside the DMZ. The buildings are on the border itself. The silver buildings belong to North Korea and the blue ones belong to the UN.

The flagpole in the background is the tallest in the world, at 160 meters. The North Korean flag at the top weighs 600 pounds. The buildings surrounding the flagpole are part of a North Korean "propaganda village" in which no people live. According to our tour guide, melancholic music is blasted for 6 to 12 hours a night, every night, from the North to the Joint Security Area. I had to wear this white jacket because the shirt I was wearing was apparently too tight, thought it was the only shirt I had with me in Korea that wasn't a T shirt, which we were forbidden to wear.

I took this as we were entering one of the UN buildings that straddles the border between the North and the South. The two soldiers are South Korean, and one of them stands half exposed and half hidden from the North by the building. Here, you can see the concrete border that measures 17.5 inches across and 5 inches tall.

Here I am with a South Korean soldier in North Korea, inside the UN building.

Me with 2 South Korean soldiers, with the flagpole in the background.

I did Tae Kwon Do with a club at Yonsei University! :)

The Kukkiwon, the headquarters of WTF Tae Kwon Do.

My friend Charles and I visited Dongsong High School because Charles used to practice Tae Kwon Do with them when he studied abroad in Seoul, since they have the best TKD program of any high school in Korea. The guys seem rather unassuming, don't they?!

These guys were having an informal Tae Kwon Do practice at Dongsong High School.

There was an interesting saying across the front of the War Memorial of Korea.....

I made a lotus! :)

A female Buddhist monk gave me a lantern at the Lotus Lantern Parade in Seoul.

Women in hanboks at the Lotus Lantern Parade.