Children's Day and Buddha's Day

May has started out fantastically! :) It's only the 12th of May and we've already had 2 holidays.  The first was Children's Day (어린이날) which is celebrated on the 5th.  Children's Day in Korea is a National Holiday. To celebrate, parents give presents to their children, and spend the day with them. Some children are taken on excursions to zoos, museums, and amusement parks.  Apparently at least 70 countries worldwide celebrate a specific Children's Day holiday. The US even had one before we had Mother's and Father's day, but a specific day isn't observed! :)

Samgyeopsal

 To celebrate the day off, Leigh and I got together with Leigh's childhood friend from Canada, Mark, and his girlfriend Unju.  We went for a small hike at a park in Pohang, Yeonil. It's off the beaten path, and down a very long, unmaintained dirt road, but we had a great time and the park was beautiful.

Unju, Mark, Me, Leigh

  We took the short way up, made it to the overlook of Pohang, and found a spot to cook and enjoy a Samgyeopsal lunch! Leigh and I love love love Samgyeopsal, you can cook pork like this, we've had duck this way, and our favorite is Sogogi (beef!) What's Samgyeopsal?

Samgyeopsal (삼겹살) is a popular Korean dish that consists of thick, fatty slices of pork meat like bacon. The meat is cooked and eaten directly from the grill by the diners'.  Samgyeopsal is usually served with 2 dipping sauces, gochujang (red pepper paste) and a salty sesame seed oil.  You can dip the delicious meat in the sauce of your choice, slap it on a leaf, and top it with fresh sliced garlic!

So we enjoyed our lunch atop the mountain! :) Then we took the scenic route down, about a 4km walk around the valley. We might not still be Children, but I'm a big fan of this Holiday! America, take notes!

 The holiday fell on a Thursday, so on Friday at school we had a special Market Day for the students.  Every day the students are rewarded for good behavior and having their homework with stickers on their sign cards. Twice a year, the students are able to spend their stickers on Korean snack foods, and prizes - candy, pencil cases, notebooks, paint sets, etc! :) My role that day was a clerk in the Market room, where the students got to practice their English and buy all kinds of goodies! ;) It was really cute!

 The next holiday was Tuesday the 10th, it was Buddha's Birthday. For weeks leading up to Buddha's Day I've seen festive Lotus lanterns lining the streets in Pohang and Busan.

The lotus lanters have wishes written on them

The lanterns are lit to express their wishes to light up the dark world with good deeds. While there were a ton of festivals going on, and temples hosted special Buddha's day meals and teas, we opted out as it was a rainy day in the Pohang, and my scooter had been stolen the week before.  I'd had an appointment to buy the new bike I'd found, but due to the rain the shop was closed :( kind of a bummer, but now that I have a better understanding of Buddha's Day, I'll definitely partake in more of the culture next year! :) When in Korea... :)
Much Love, Hope you had a Happy Children's Day and Happy Buddha's Birthday, or May 5th and May 10th respectively :)

Loving experiencing the things I am! :) Always, Em