I took a weekend trip to Gyeongju and Busan because Friday was Korea’s independence day so we had the day off from work. It was a rather spontaneous trip, we just booked the accommodations, packed our bags, and left. I must say I really enjoyed what I saw and experienced.
We arrived at Gyeongju after a 5 hour bus ride. Stupid me left my ipod on the bus despite reminding myself to take it just a few minutes before we reached the destination. I think all the coffee that I have been drinking everyday in the office must have been killing my brain cells because my memory is getting from bad to worse. So yea, obviously I was upset coz it was a Christmas present from my uncle, but no point moping over it, really gotta be more careful with my belongings the next time. Anyway our day at Gyeongju started in the mid afternoon and it was quite miserable. It was one of those “i-woke-up-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-bed” days where everything seemed to go haywire. We visited the Bulguksa Temple, which I heard is a must-see in Gyeongju. The temple was really lovely with all the intricate woodcraft accentuated with vibrant spouts of colours.

It was right at the peak of the mountain and so we took a rented vehicle up to the halfway mark, and trekked the rest of the way. I got increasingly excited as I approached the temple on the peak because it was foggy and it eventually dawned on me that I was about to be in the company of the clouds! For a moment it really felt like we’ve all gained enlightenment and I felt so so close to heaven!

Haha. Then it started raining, and that was the beginning of a horrible trek up the mountain to see some Buddha statue carved out of a granite cave. The trek up the mountain was pretty therapeutic because the delay of the circulation probably allowed us to calm our minds and hearts and prepare ourselves into a state of “worship”.

But halfway through it started to rain so the skies turned grey and gloomy, and it didn’t help that there was a whole thick canopy of trees that blocked out the already limited amount of sunlight we had. It became extremely miserable when it started to pour with accompanying winds. We ended up cold, hungry and miserable. Some of us got quite wet we really looked quite pathetic.

Our dinner was bad as well because we met a table of cheekopeks who tried to talk to us. The food wasn’t comforting at all and so we ended our horrible day eating snacks we got from the supermarket nearby, all the time praying that the next two days in Busan would be good.

And well it was indeed better. A feel hiccups here and there which tested our patience, but really reminded me again, the importance of compromise. We took a 1.5hr bus ride and arrived at Busan feeling really hungry. We went our separate ways to check in at our various dorms because we couldn’t find one that could accommodate all of us. Our dorm was a residential apartment converted into a 10man dorm. I meet people from Netherlands and Denmark but they weren’t very friendly, so yea ain’t particularly happy with the accommodation.
Our first destination for the day was the UN War Memorial.

There’s something about memorial spaces that always makes me want to quieten down, retreat into a peaceful corner and just dwell. Memorial spaces somehow make me feel calm and secure, but yet it resonates with feelings of deep loss and absence that penetrates right into the depths of your emotions; I cannot help but be overwhelmed by the whole experience.

The Wall of Remembrance presents the names of those who sacrificed for world peace. Each name, lined in neat print is carefully etched onto the highly polished granite, and allows one to see his own reflection on the wall with the names as a backdrop.

Seeing my own reflection on the wall was a good reminder of how these people sacrificed their own lives, so that we can have a chance to see ourselves live, As I ran my fingers across those names, feeling the textures of those etched surfaces, I mumbled my prayers, and gave thanks for everything that I have.

We visited the APEC building where Korea hosted the meeting in 2005. I’ve never heard of this building prior to this, the only thing I remember is the news showing the representatives from each country wearing the Korean hanbok specially designed for this event.

And my own take on this piece of architecture? I don’t think the form is very enticing; in fact I didn’t like the circular plan cos it makes the building look rather trivial. But, I think that there were some really good experimentation with materials and it was a harmonious marry of steel, glass, and timber. The best part though, was the garden! There were a lot of open green spaces for people to interact and relax. Maybe I’d visit again in autumn, when all the leaves start turning orange and red, I bet it’d be super gorgeous!

The most memorable part of the night was going to the jinjibang (public bathhouse)! It was such a crazy experience. It started out really traumatizing because I’ve never seen so many naked women all contained within one place. Everyone was walking around in an extremely indifferent manner. It kinda reminded me of the story of the king’s new cloak haha. My friends and I chickened out coz it was just too awkward for us to strip naked in front of each other, So we got changed into pink clothes (which looked like those you see in mental asylums) without showering, and headed to the sauna upstairs. After close to 45 mins in the 50degrees steam room,, I felt like a little shriveled prune with all the liquid evaporating out of my body, I left the sauna, and after some persuasion from my friend, finally mustered enough courage to try the pools. It was definitely a super embarrassing experience but after a while no one stares anymore. Because there were so many naked women you just get super immuned, and then you’d just look at what is above the neck, instead of looking at what is below the neck. Haha. It was nice because after soaking in all the hot and cold pools, there’s a little vanity corner where they provide moisturizer and lotion. So everyone just slaps on lotsa moisturizer and leaves the place feeling really happy and pampered, It was definitely a bizarre experience, but nonetheless I had fun! : )

The third day we had an architectural tour! We visited Beomeosa Temple in the morning. Again it was one of those colourful temples built out of primitive olden day materials, but was breathtakingly beautiful because of the craftmen’s skills.

Second stop was to the Busan Stadium by Spacegroup! All along I’ve only seen the model downstairs at the lobby of my office, and I can’t believe that I actually got to visit the architecture. I think its really one of the more iconic buildings that Space has done, and I feel so proud that I can call myself a part of this firm. The stadium was spectacular nonetheless, especially when we had the whole stadium to ourselves! When I was there I had this overwhelming sense of happiness. Seeing something so spectacular made me fall in love with architecture all over again. I'm so in love with this profession!

We made a brief stop at the National Pension Corporation building to take a look coz it won the Korean architecture prize or something. But, nothing spectacular, its one of those double glazing steel and glass buildings again.

Had street snacks for dinner before heading to the station to catch the train back to Seoul.
So yep, that was what my weekend consisted of – food, fun, laughter and inspiring architecture.. now it’s back to work...