Chuseok

Chuseok is basically Korean Thanksgiving. I wasn't able to get much out of my students about it, except that difference between Korean Chuseok and Chinese Chuseok (as volunteered by a Chinese exchange student). All I know is that we got a day off of classes and that pretty much everyone goes to their hometown to be with their families, and there is some ancestor worship for the non-Christians.

Anyways, the foreign faculty (and families) celebrated by hiking Kosin mountain (that's not the real name). We looked at the uninhabited Buddhist temple that is still up there and prayed for the Buddhists. Once at the top, we hung out for quite some time. It had rained all night, but by the time we made it up there, the clouds were clearing away. You could see the airport, Haeundae beach, and the Gwangan bridge which are all fairly far away. We were up there for quite some time which was long enough to get a sunburn in October for the second year in a row.

Ceiling inside the temple. Note the dragon, the storks, cherry blossoms, etc.
Buddha on a blue lion? I'm not familiar with Buddhism enough to know the significance of this.
Most of the group on the south point.
We also celebrated Chuseok by having a big dinner (Western style) together on Saturday night. Here's Andy parading the two chickens we cooked in his oven. We also had fresh baked bread, mashed potatoes, and other non-Korean treats.
Harvest Moon overlooking the Maritime University.
Chuseok also means that kids get money from their grandparents and parents. So last night when I went to go get a cell phone, the shopping district was packed like it was a Friday night. As it so happened, we met two girls who I teach at one of the stores. They managed to barter for a nicer phone than my assistant had been able to do (oh the powers of female persuasion). The salesman managed enough English to say that I should give them an A+ in class. We'll see about that, but in the spirit of Chuseok, I was very thankful for everyone's help in the process.