HANSEN FAM IN THE ROK // GWANGJU - GYEONGJU

Until you hit middle school, it is common knowledge that your parents are the greatest, strongest, smartest human beings on the planet and it is irrefutable that your father is super man. Then you get to middle school and instantly your mother and father become an uncool and pesky bauble and their company is certainly an undesirable asset to just about any situation that involves being seen in public.

Seamlessly, however, it does seem that this (too) all comes full circle because as an adult, your parents once again become super humans. It turns out all that time you spent dissociating and building up your uncompromising, independent image was rubbish because you don't even know how to cook a chicken.

SO MUCH FOR BEING COOL.


Ladies and gentleman, my family came to the ROK because they are awesome.


My parents arrived on the 26th. We headed straight to a kimbap nara, or Korean diner, to inject the kimchi IV. I had to work the next day, so we all stayed in Gwangju that night and the next.

Although a number of people told me this was the stupidest idea ever, I decided we could all stay at my milk-box sized apartment to cut out language barrier logistical errors the following day (read: taxis). Also, it is not uncommon for Korean families to sleep together on the floor in one room and I was just throwing in a (free, I might add) cultural experience! My parents slept in my bed and Alie and I slept on the floor space that makes up the rest of my apartment. I neglected to considered that they were all going to have large rolling suitcases or that 50% of my family snores but, well, we're now all a little more Korean because of it.

After a mishap in planning on my part, we spent the 28th at the Gwangju Bus Terminal dragging our bags around, seeing a film in English and eating traditional food of the land, TGI Fridays. We boarded a bus to Gyeongju, a city on the east coast, early evening and arrived happy and tired. Gyeongju was the capital city of the ancient kingdom of Silla and therefore is full of historical treasures. The entire city was registered by the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage and houses large concentration of Buddhist art.

Bulguksa temple
Some historian will probably shoot me in the foot for saying this, but albeit impressive, all temples kind of look the same. However, as you can see by the number of people in the photo, this one is rather well known. It is home to seven national treasures and is head temple of the Jogre Order of Korean Buddhism.




Gyeongju Cheomseongdae
OR, the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia.





ETC.




After a day exploring the country side, we took a late bus to Seoul.

P.S. My dad turned fifty two days before he arrived in Korea. We bought him this cake and atop placed one candle for every decade he's been alive. Perhaps he's wishing his daughters will eventually quit moving across the world so his holiday travel expenses will quit quadrupling in price?