Baekcheon Sa

Baekcheon Sa

This is a temple/shrine in the city of Sacheon. Its claim to fame is that is houses one of, if not the largest reclining Budda anywhere. It is located near the city hall on, as most temple are, a mountain that has no less than two manmade lakes along the road up to the temple site. Please feel free to check out the pics at this link. Baekcheon Sa

Something New

The Suncheon Bay Area has been holding the Suncheon Bay Garden Expo Since the month of April, and will run through October 20th. Suncheon is located on the south coast of Korea near Yeosu. I have not had a chance to visit but plan to in the coming couple of weeks so I can give a personal review. Until then here is the link for you to look at on your own.

Suncheon Bay Garden Expo

Maybe I Should Change the Name

Well it has been a while since I posted. I guess my move to Sacheon took me a while to adjust to. Now that I live in another place and not Daejeon the Daejeon Traveler may not seem accurate but I still like it. Anyway, it is the end of Summer in Korea and that means FESTIVALS. Korea has more festivals than you can shake a stick at... if you are into shaking sticks. I have a list of some of my favorites here and I am just hitting the tip of the iceberg.

With regrets I have to say that the Yeongdong Grape Festival is not as good as it was when held in conjunction with the Nangye (Traditional Music Festival) and wish they would change it back to the old format. But that's just me.

ALSO... I have moved to Sacheon and have created a new page for that area which includes Jinju and Changwan. Jinju is home to the annual Lantern Festival and Changwan is the sports center for the area. If you are in the Gyeongsangnam Do area be sure to check it out.

Get out and see the country. It's a beautiful place and a great time of the year to be living in Korea.

Hello everyone, probably really just one, hope you are having a great Chuseok Holiday! For my friends outside Korea, Chuseok is one of the biggest holidays in Korea. It is all about honoring your elders and ancestors, which happens to lead into my new page on Parks and Places to visit in and around Daejeon. Check out the new page and the information on Ppuri Park. I also added information on Wuri Park located in Yuseong Gu near the Homeplus on Hanbat Dae Road.  Be sure to get out and enjoy some of the Korean festivals or sports events and take advantage of the great fall weather.

GRAPE FESTIVAL--MY APPOLOGIES

Well, First let me say I am sorry for a date mistake. The folks in Yeongdong have decided to split the festivals this year so the date of the Grape Festival has changed to August 26 to 28. The Nangye Music Festival will be from October 6-9. They are also adding a Dried Persimmon Festival that has no dates but may coincide with the music festival. I will let you know what I find out. Hope you have a great time.

New School Year

A new school year has begun a TCIS and the first day brought winds from Typhoon Muifa and day two has brought rain... lots of rain. The forecast on the weather console in middle school says, "It's raining cats and dogs!" which is pretty accurate. Though we didn't get to move to Techno Valley we have much to be thankful for and need to give praise for the many ways that God has blessed us here at the beginning of the year. I hope this blog will be a blessing to those new and old that want to know about things to do here in Korea. Please forward any information that you think will add to the site. God Bless

Home From the Holidays!

2011 has started with a bit of a chill in the air. My trip to Kansas City was fast (except for the four plus hours delay due to fog at the Incheon Airport in Korea) and sweet. It was great to see everyone and spend some time with the grandkids. Two weeks at Christmas time goes by pretty fast. I didn't get tome to visit some friends because of the hurried schedule but at least I will have time this summer since I have no classes to take, Yeah!! Of course no posting is a posting without some pictures to share and of course all you have to do is follow the link. If you think some of the pictures could be better just consider the subjects and give me a break.

Those of you not knowledgeable about Kansas City, the place with all the pretty lights is know as the Country Club Plaza which has been lighting the holiday season for over fifty years. Of course what is Christmas without family pictures? Enjoy my family, Mom and my sister Sue, my son Chris and his family, my daughter Rachel's family and Michelle's family.

I wish you all the best in the coming year. May you be found in the place you should be at the time you should be there doing what you should be doing. May you feel the love of God daily and take time to tell Him thanks for all he has and will provide for you, even when you don't deserve it (most of the time for me). Last, be sure to be God's hands extended and reach out to someone in need even when it does not fit your schedule or mood.

Blessings to all!

The end of October and first of November are a celebration of color here in Korea. One example is the Daecheong Lake Chrysanthemum Festival. As you can see when you look at the Gallery of pictures the variety is marvelous. I took a few of my students last weekend so there are a few pictures of them and some of a colleagues kids too. It has been a really great fall. The trees are in full color this week and the air is crisp. It has even been a little windy the last couple days so it feels a bit like home back in Kansas. It is hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner but it is coming fast. I hope I can keep up with all the things that need to get done in the next four or five weeks. Enjoy the pictures!

Chuseok Road Trip

I just wanted to make a quick post to show why you need to drive through the Korean country to get a real feel for the beauty to be seen here. (It is not always long legs and shorts) Take a look at a few of the pictures taken on my four day, 1,100 km road-trip (yes, on my motorcycle) through the northeast and along the east coast of Korea. Even in the rain you can't escape the natural beauty of this country.

Wet September

Well, after one of the wettest August in Korean history, we have begun the month of September with what has to be one of the wettest first 14 days for the month. It did dry out enough to take in the annual Nangye and Grape Festival in Youngdong on the 4th. In fact for a day, it was actually bright and on the hot side, but you can see from the pics it was a good time for all that attended.

This weekend kicks off the annual Baekjae Kindom Festival held in Gongju and Buyeo. Pictures for that will be in the next entry. The middle school students took part in a Love-All-Serve-All (LASA) trip to the Nuri Center and got a little hands-on experience working with young people with various disabilities. Yes it rained most of the time but was a great experience for them.

August/ Sept Things to Do

Well, it is fall in Korea and that means festival time. Actually it seems there is always a festival of some kind going on. Some festivals that happen close to Daejeon are the Nangye/Grape Festival in Yeongdong, the Geumsan Genseng Festival in Geumsan, and the Baekje Festival in Gongju and Buyeo. I have links in the link section for all of these and some sports information as well. Other items to follow will be more on places to visit in Daejeon like the National Science Museum, O-World (the zoo), and some parks you might like to visit.

Welcome

Hello all!

If you are here you have chosen to check out my Korea travel and event blog. As you might guess from the name of the blog I live in Daejeon, South Korea but this site is not just about Daejeon. I hope to help folks know and share about happenings around Korea including sporting events, festivals and places to visit in and around Daejeon. It seems to me there is a lot of information about Seoul already out there so I am not going to devote much time to promote things there. Please feel free to advise about things going on that I may not have anything about as the more information we have the better. If you have lived in Korea for any time you know that getting information about activities can be hard to come by at times. I am always taken back when a Korean staff person at my work asks if I went to something that happened the week before without ever telling me about it in the first place. Anyway, I will attempt to help, if in only a small way, to help expats and visitors to Korea know of happenings in our area.