태권도
Today’s itinerary began with the practice of the Korean martial art, Taekwondo. In the hour-long class, black belt Master Kang taught us the basics of Taekwondo. Unlike other martial arts, Taekwondo places on emphasis on force through the lower body, which requires strength and stability. At the very end of the class, we took the knowledge we had gathered and applied it to the destruction of a thin plywood board. It was a thrill to successfully break the chunk of wood. Overall, learning a sacred Korean martial art was very memorable, and a great way to better understand Korean culture and history. By the time the class finished, I was exhausted, even though we had covered rather basic material.
Seoul City Hall
For the next activity on the list, we had lunch on our own. I went with a friend, Alex K., to a soup restaurant, where we devoured a beef soup. After we finished our meal, we convened with the rest of the group before embarking on a tour of the modern Seoul City Hall.
Seoul City Hall, pictured above, houses the office of the mayor and many city employees. Since a large percentage of the Korean population reside in or near Seoul, it is not uncommon for the president of the Republic of Korea to have served as the Seoul mayor. On the right is a depiction of the luscious greenery that may be found inside the innovative city hall. Altogether, there are over 2000 employees in the almost 10 story tall building.
This building, however, was built in 2012; before its existence, operation of Seoul was executed through the old city hall, located right in front of the current city hall. The title image of this post features an image of the Plus3 South Korea Professor, Minhee Yun, and I on top of the old city hall.
The new city hall serves as a representation for all the Korean people and Seoul have overcome. After the Korean war, Seoul was in shambles, however, today it is one of the most technologically focused cities in the world.
“Success comes from curiosity, concentration, perseverance and self-criticism”.
-Albert Einstein