Insadong again

The very next day after I visited Insadong, I went back in order to exchange a t-shirt I bought for a bigger size. This time I brought my new friend and co-worker Garrett with me. I've been trying to help Garrett get acquainted to his new life in Korea. It's been a lot of fun to play host.


One of the traditional Korean crafts you can find in Insadong are these products made out of paper. This particular store sells lamps like I bought last week, end tables like the ones in this photo, and clothes dressers. They are covered with a protectant that allows you to wipe them clean with a damp towel. Pretty cool, but expensive for the larger items.


I showed this photo to one of my students. She said the big face looks scary. I think it looks happy. Definitely on my "cool" list. It's about 18" tall and 12" wide. It's pretty heavy too, being made of solid wood. It's not a traditional Korean mask either, but I think it was made by a Korean artist.


This is one of the many crafts people who are busy creating their goods while selling them. This man was selling the image of the goblin faces, various carvings, and some nice looking pencil holders. The face is called Dokkaebi (도깨비) and when the image is hung in a house, the goblin creature protects the home.


This is a metal statue of a dragon that I thought was interesting. It's about 3 feet (1 meter) tall. I asked how much... $1500. I don't really have room for that thing in my apartment, but it would be really cool to have.


I don't recall seeing this the day before. Probably because it was raining then.


After returning from Insadong, we walked around town to find a good restaurant. We passed by this one that was closed on Sundays. As far as personality goes, this restaurant looks promising. Restaurants and bars with personality are few and far between in Korea.


We decided to eat Sam Gyeop Sal (삼겹살), a barbecued pork meal that is really common. I took this photo to document Garrett's sweating face as he muscled down some really hot peppers. We stayed out longer than is smart to do on a Sunday night which made Monday an extra long day.