Some Signs in Downtown Seoul

After the Elf Riots of 2005, discrimination against elves living in South Korea came to an end. This elf-only ticket booth I came across in a movie theater is just one example of the special services they now receive. However, many Koreans are worried that this small but powerful minority group will keep pushing until they have nothing short of elf-government. Fortunately, the South Korean government is employing Santa Claus as a mediator and has shown a remarkable amount of elf control in dealing with this issue.



A restaurant sign in downtown Seoul shows why it's so hard to find good pizza here (as usual, click image to enlarge). I was told that plain mozzarella pizza is considered boring.

April Revolution Cemetery

A nice spring day. After ice cream we went to the "4-19" national cemetery. Over a hundred students were killed by police on April 19, 1960 during a march in protest of South Korea's first president, Syngman Rhee.



Cemetery center from top of hill



Cemetery center



Sculpture in cemetery



Photographs of demonstrators killed by police

Buddha's Birthday

Today's a major holiday, Buddha's Birthday. We went to Hwagyesa, a temple at the base of a mountain in Seoul. Despite the rain it was very crowded. The tradition is to light a lamp or candle and tag it with your name and your wish. I wished for a cool, peaceful summer, Yi-Kyong wished for ... ???


Lamps at temple




Picture with coin sacrifice




Outdoor market near home

New York --> Seoul

Yi-Kyong and I got here yesterday after a 13 - 14 hour flight. It wasn't a comfortable ride, but I did get some sleep and they had a new-fangled video screen in front of each seat, something I never saw before. You can watch movies, listen to music and chart the plane's position.

Here we are flying somewhere near the North Pole:



The proof: