Muju Firefly Festival

Since arriving in South Korea, the Harrington's have enjoyed their fair share of festival-going-shenanigans. Being the easy-to-please-folks that they are, they generally leave festival grounds feeling as though the day was well spent, even if a few things were amiss. However, most foreigners have more than a few bouts of disappointment when attending some of Korea's festivals as there is frequently a trend to over-promise and under-deliver. (Daejeonites who've been here a while may recall the great Rock Band and International Beer fiasco!?!)


So, with relatively low expectations for the festivities themselves, yet knowing their ability to enjoy a day trip regardless of the occasion, the Harrington's made their way to the Muju Firefly Festival

PSA's and Pictures of Lady: Second Edition

Semi-recently, Lady enjoyed a 10k walk-a-thon after being kicked out of O World's Flower Land. She is constantly receiving the attention of all who are in her presence although she'd just as rather be sniffing trees and scavenging for food bits than have people admire her for her strength and courage at only 3.5 legs.

In other news, there is never a lack of things to do on the Peninsula and with the warmer weather, why not get out of Daejeon and check out some of the upcoming events throughout May and the Summer months?

One of Korea's biggest spring events is going to be the Expo 2012 in Yeosu. If you're interested in going, but don't know if you want to spend cash to get a ticket, check out Korea Tourism Organization's Contest and get a shot at winning FREE Tickets! Or, head to the main website and simply purchase tickets.

Expos are uninteresting, eh? Why not head to Seoul, May 31st - July 31st, and enjoy the Broadway Hit

PSA's and Pictures of Lady: First Edition

Lady is indeed the most precious and adorable 3.5 legged dog living in Daejeon, South Korea, probably the world. She has recently received a haircut and been enjoying morning or afternoon runs with the Mrs. depending on the day.

In other news:

Here is the latest information regarding Cherry Blossoms and when you can expect to see them around South Korea.

If you don't make a habit of checking out Korea's Official Tourism website, you ought too, especially this page of special offers and discounts. If you have friends coming to visit, check out that Transportation deal which could potentially get you 50,000 Won free money. Or, if you're interested in a non-verbal performance, check out the discount on Bi-Bap.

The Misadventures of Taiwan: Beyond Maximum Occupancy

Saturday the 28th of January, 2012 will always standout as one of the Harrington's most memorable travel moments. Soon the date will be forgotten. Soon the taste of morning donuts and milk tea will fade. Soon the peace amongst chaos which was found on the grounds of the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial and 2-28 Peace Park will be replaced by the peace of a new solitary moment. Soon the day of January 28th will fade into conversations of piecing things together in an unorganized fashion, whereas the evening of January 28th will hold together tightly and remain real and vivid.

Following a rather peaceful day, as mentioned above, wandering and lounging about the grounds of two significant Memorial Parks in Taipei the Harrington's began a trek to nearby land which would prove magical and majestic, if not slightly overpopulated.

Walking to the Taipei Main Station and then looking for signage to point them in the direction of the slow/local train the duo were soon boarding a train toward Ruifang where they would then change trains and head to Pingxi where they anticipated seeing an extravagant display of sky lanterns. What the Harrington's couldn't have anticipated fully however, was the sheer amount of people whom they would join in this adventure. Shoulder to shoulder the Harrington's kept their footing on the platform and pondered the possibility that all those desiring to board the train would in fact be able to do so.

After waiting longer than should have been allowable, the couple miraculous made their way into an over occupied train car, which was no small feat! Being some of the last on the train, Melissa found herself being grabbed by a small Taiwanese woman and pulled onto the car while Mike found himself being pushed and commanded to push to ensure the doors could close behind him. With an hour or so of daylight left the Harrington's made their way to Pingxi attempting to look out the windows between the hundreds of faces, bodies, bags, arms, etc that were likely to block their view.

Finally, the train arrived at it's destination however, rather than feeling as if the crowd were able to fully disperse into the small city streets the Harrington's simply found themselves hemmed in on all sides. No matter, within minutes the Harrington's and other festival goers were greeted by the magical rising and floating of orange lit sky lanterns, each carrying it's own set of hopes, dreams and wishes. The evening was spent weaving in and out of crowds, making way to main staging ground and eventually backtracking so that the Harrington's could wait 2-3 hours before boarding a train (luckily they had a chance to snack on some ox tongue) and another 1-2 hours before arriving in Taipei and in their warm beds.

But...it was worth it!

Jinju's Famous Castle (a.k.a. Fortress)

Following an enjoyable evening exploring Jinju's lantern festival, a packed-tight-ocean-side-camping-venture and island exploration, the crew you've read about all month (Mike, Melissa, Aaron and Lady Annyeong) made their way back into Jinju to explore the festival grounds and nearby 'castle' before heading north to Daejeon. The fortress is extensive, beautiful and wonderful for a mid-day stroll and city views. Filled with families and couples during the days of the festival, fortress grounds also offered unique photo opportunities (as in how Lady is now 'headless') and of plentiful people watching opportunities.

The final hours in Jinju were spent tracking down Jinju Bi-bim-bap (which should have had raw beef, but didn't, but was still delicious), steaking out a firework viewing patch of hill and enjoying the glowing lanterns one more time.  Once all was said and done, the car was loaded, Melissa was dozing and Daejeon was only a mere hour and a half away.

And that dear readers is the one thrilling travel of the Harrington's as Melissa then decided to go doubled-up style on her MAED and has been begrudgingly typing paper after paper every weekend since. Fortunately, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and the MAED will be finished on January 16th, 2012 just in time for two thrilling non-Korean adventures! Hoo-zah!

Floating Lanterns and Festivities in Jinju, South Korea

The night of October the 7th, the Harrington duo alongside their Sofa-Sleeping friend Aaron and the most trustworthy sidekick Ms. Lady Annyeong loaded up the dear Guemi Matiz and hit the expressway en route to Jinju. About 2 hours, an egg salad sandwich and an unfortunate exit choice later, the crew pulled into Jinju, South Korea where festivities were just beginning to light up and had yet to receive the full flux of weekend travelers. So it was that the Harrington family and Mr. Fitz enjoyed an evening of glowing lanterns, candle-lit-floating-lantern-wishes, tunnels of glowing-red-lanterns, joyous children, fire-breathing phoenix and dragons, floating river bridges, heaps of food scraps for the Lady and a most amazing late-night-chicken-snack all on a Friday night. Having enjoyed the festivities and committed to setting up a tent and sleeping in it, the crew made their way south (slightly unknowingly) and pitched their tent between the sea and a rice field .

The Jinju Lantern Festival was fully enjoyable on all accounts. For the Harrington's, arriving Friday night was a special joy as the crowds were smaller and partaking in the festivities proved much easier than when the crew attended the same festival on Saturday night. Saturday night was highlighted by

Capturing Cherry Blossoms: the Arrival of Spring

April 16, 2011. Sintanjin, South Korea.




Cherry Blossoms: A new Vision of Spring for Wyoming Natives.

 



Everybody wants a little Cherry Blossom action on a Spring Day

 


Aaron in Cherry Blossom's




Spring with Friends



More Spring time Joy can be viewed here.

Looking Back: Dancing in the Streets

Following the world travels of the summer 2010, the Harrington's found themselves in San Francisco enjoying Mexican food, wine, cool air, family and friends while acquiring their visa for their year contract to teach English in South Korea. A few days in San Francisco is always enjoyable, particularly when enjoyed with good people and when stumbling upon annual festivals. Annual festivals in San Francisco are particularly enjoyable when live music enduces live dancing as seen in the following footage.



On that day, the Harrington's weren't fully unaware that approximately 8 months later, they'd find themselves walking the streets of another festival hosting city and stumble upon yet another instance of live music producing live dancing.



Turns out, festivals all around the globe bring out the best in people's dancing skills and for that, the Harrington's are grateful.

Nonsan Strawberry Festival

On Saturday, April 9th the Harrington's and a crew of friends made a short trek to Nonsan, South Korea to enjoy a sweet little red fruit commonly known as the Strawberry. Known for producing some of Korea's finest and sweetest strawberries, Nonsan sits a short 30 minutes train ride from Daejeon which was particularly fortunate for the Mullen's, Wagoner's and Harrington's as they found themselves with 'standing room' only train tickets. For the fair and affordable price of 2,500 Won however, the couples couldn't complain and were soon be greeted by the hustle and bustle of a Korean festival at it's finest.

Jindo Island: Moses Miracle

Once or twice every month, Melissa Harrington takes a peak at the official Korea Tourism website. A recent look around the site yielded a pleasant little gem entitled: Jindo-Sea Parting Festival. An event which occurs due to the tides and lay of the land which exposes a causeway from Jindo Island to a near-by smaller Island. Legend has it, that Grandma Bbong was stranded on one Island while a tiger ran loose. She prayed to the gods of earth and sea to allow her to rejoin her community of friends and family on the other island and low and behold, the ocean parted and she was free to go. Recently, the event has been coined a second 'name' and is known as the Moses Miracle and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

For a myriad of reasons, the festival caught the eye and attention of Melissa Harrington and a bit of prodding and reminding of friends and husbands, she found herself in the company of 3 great companions and thousands of intrigued foreigners and Koreans alike.

The day was quite hazy and left participants yearning for blue skies, however, the ocean kept it's promise and opened up from one island to the next allowing each attendee of this 'cancelled' festival to trek across the ocean, harvest some seaweed or clams, and enjoy the lovely although hazy day. If you're reading carefully, or happen to live in Korea, you may have heard or realized that this event had been cancelled, by event of course, we mean the festival. Korea has had a recent outbreak of Hoof and Mouth disease which is taken quite seriously, so much so as to cancel festivals as to prevent traveling from one region to the next and spreading the disease. Fortunately, the ocean was still affected by tides, men still arrived to sell thigh-high boots and vendors still showed up to provide hodeok and other snacks for ocean walkers.

Jindo Island is located in the southeast corner of the peninsula and is Korea's third largest island. The trip to Jindo from Daejeon is not a short one and should be undertaken only by the strong of heart and butt muscle as sitting for such a length of time can be a bit draining. The Harrington's were fortunate to enjoy the convenience of a car while in the company of dear friends but would have happily boarded a bus in order to witness this unique event of the sea and the moon.

Getting There: The primary hub for Jindo Island is Mokpo. Mokpo is accessable by train and bus depending on where you are coming from. From Mokpo, make your way to the bus terminal and head on toward Jindo Island. Once on the Island you should see a tourist information center which can help with the last leg of the trip. Also, numerous buses make the trek to Jindo for this bus, so check out sites such as: Adventure Korea and Meetup.com to see if there's anyone else looking to head your way and enjoy the sights and festivities of Korea!

Jindo Island: Photo Teaser and Youth Captured

A photo teaser regarding the happenings of the Harrington's and their dear friends the Callaway's on the weekend. Full story and additional photos to come, however for the time being, we at The Harrington Times leave you with a few photo collages of a great and glorious moment in Korean life.

This post also doubles for You Captures theme of Youth.

Youth ~ The Time of Life when one is Young

If you'd have been in the presence of Melissa Harrington the days prior to the Jindo Sea Parting or seen her at the event you would have recognized the youthful joy that is apparent in these photos. Not to mention, The Harrington's recognize that these days, are the days of their life when they are young and that means 7 hour road-trips with friends on hazy days, stopping in to eat favorite meals, grabbing ice cream and joining thousands of foreigners and Koreans alike to 'walk on water'. The Harrington's are happy to claim that they are making the best of 'this time of life when they are young'.

Friends of the Harrington's; H&K Callaway

Complete with Love Tees, The Harrington's

Jump Sequence

For more shots of Youth, head on over here. And for a more detailed recap of the Jindo Island adventure, check this out!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

If you happen to find yourself in Korea during the month of January, it is not a bad idea to check out the locations of Korea's numerous Snow and/or Ice Fishing Festivals. The best site for discovering dates and basic premises of Korea's festivals is this site here - many of the festival pages will provide a link to more detailed festival information although perhaps in Korean.

Wanting to be 'in the loop' regarding Korean Festivals, the Harrington's were thrilled to find that during their vacation period there would indeed be a snow festival in the northeastern province of Gangwon-do. Taebaek, the host city would provide a festival atmosphere set at the base of a majestic mountain, accented by a variety of snow sculptures built by art students from around the peninsula and even offer attendees the opportunity to sit and enjoy a cup of hot choco in an igloo cafe.

Rumours abounded that the festival may be cancelled due to recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease which have Korea in a bit of an uproar. However, the sculptures were presented, the igloo prepared, a hill for sledding provided and a beautiful winter day greeted the Harrington's on January 21st when they made their way to the base of Taebaek and enjoyed a few hours photographing and enjoying snow sculptures as well as learning about the coal industry of Korea at the Taebaek Coal Museum. Should you come from a location which does not frequently enjoy snow, the festival is a must, if you simply have nothing to do and wish to enjoy a long train or bus ride, the festival may be worth it and will definitely provide you something to do.

Getting There: The slow train will take a passenger from Daejeon to Jaecheon for a transfer to Taebaek (approximately 15,000W). As with most destinations during off season travel, one may also show up to an inter-city bus terminal and ask to go to Taebaek and likely receive the next available ticket to do so. From Daejeon, it's a bit of a journey through some gorgeous Korean terrain, so be sure to have a good book on hand.

When to Go: The festival is at the tail end of January although this area of Korea is gorgeous (most likely) all year round!

An Unordinary Night in Daejeon

On Saturday, October 16th, 2010 Daejeon entered the ranks of cities worth visiting. According to Daejeon Access, the Korean Government was interested in increasing tourism to the central area of Korea - that, for those of you unfamiliar with Koreas geography, includes Daejeon Metropolitan City. With this push towards tourism, Daejeon hosted an event of great variety, intrigue and only a few failures.

The Harrington's were clearly eager to enter the festivities and see what Daejeon would have to offer to their exerience with Festivals. This last weekend Festivals included three major events: The Balloon Fiesta, The Deli Show and Rock Fest.

The Balloon Fiesta was marked by a large floating Panda bear, many kites of numerous varity, toy rockets and hot air balloon baskets which were center stage for an evening pyro-technic and firework show. Mike and Melissa showed up in the late afternoon and enjoyed watching numerous adorable children flying kites and shooting flames into the sky from hot air balloon baskets. Festivities also included an impressive (always impressive) Taekwondo performance and mock K-pop performance.

From Balloons to Food, the Harrington's made their way across the street for Daejeon's Deli Tour, rumoured to be a showing of numerous international foods, beer and wine the Deli Tour didn't quite meet expectations but

The Great Baekje Revival

On Saturday, October 9th, the Harrington's loaded into a bus with their good friends the Mullen's and their new church community to attend another of Korea's fine festivals. Since arriving in Korea, the Harrington's have now attended two Korean Festivals and have noticed a number of commonalities as well as a few prime differences from attending a festival on their own (Andong Mask Dance Festival) versus attending in the company of native Koreans (Great Baekeje Revival).

One commonality of Korean Festivals is the hands - on aspect.  From opportunities to make masks, learn dances and sample foods and beverages in Andong to opportunities to make stone rubbings, wear costumes and create clay creatures in Gongju - Korea's Festivals allow guests plenty of experiential learning opportunities.

The Baekje Revival allowed the Harrington's a closer look at ancient Korean dynasties including a walk through an exhibit of ancient crowns, jewels and even bronze shoes.  The festival also offered an opportunity for the Harrington's to get to know their church congregation as well as modern Korean Culture. In a nutshell, the Koreans are proud of their history and culture. Attending a Festival in the company of Koreans often means a tight schedule of visitin exhibit after exhibit after explanatory DVD after hands on opportunity after exhibit.  Attending a Festival with native Koreans also meant the Harrington's and all other attendees began the day with ziploc baggie filled with sweet treats, salty snacks, a few mandarin oranges, tasty bread roll and a bottle of water.

Following one of the two main event centers, the couple along with the church congregation made their way to an ancient fortress wall where they enjoyed a short hike, a view of the city and to top it all off, the changing of the guards -- complete with 'realistic' sword fight.

Getting There: If you live in Daejeon, there seems to be no shortage of Korean co-teachers or Daejeon citizens that want YOU to see this festival which is a short 30 minute bus ride from the city. The festival is held in both Gongju and Buyeo if you find yourself needing to track down a bus on your own. However, you really should try to go with Koreans, it's an experience to be sure.

When to Go: This festival has a long running season - beginning in September and running through about mid-October.

A Day at the Mask Dance Festival

On Saturday, September 25th the Harrington's, accompanied by another dear EPIK teacher made their way to Andong, South Korea to watch and partake of the Mask Dance Festival. The trio had slight difficulties in figuring out what bus they could take and whether or not they'd missed their best chance. After asking a ticket cashier the group discovered that they could in fact board a bus at the desired time of 8:15 am and would arrive in Andong approximately 2 and a half hours later.


Upon arrival the group used thier intuitive navigation skills as well as the large balloons and many other festival goers to determine where the festivities were taking place. As they entered the festival grounds they were amazed by the numerous tents offering all manner of goods from crunchy cinnamon pancakes, to pickled shrimps and kimchi, from puppets and masks to chrysamthemum tea. The tea of course caught Melissa Harrington's eye and tastebuds and was promptly purchased...well, as promptly as possible. The ladies selling the tea were adamant that Mrs. Harrington purchase the chrysamthemum because it was grown and harvested in the area whereas the other teas were not, therefore, the ladies would not tell Mrs. Harrington any thing about the other teas.

The festival also provided many hands on experiences. One could make a mask, learn a mask dance, make soap, sample many foods and drinks (apples, mushroom tea and ramen to name a few). One highlight however, was the station for children to blow bubbles. The bubbles were HUGE and the joy of the children was tangible as they screamed with great enthusiasm and blew giant bubbles. If the Harrington's could impart only one truth to their readers, it would be that Korean children are absolutely adorable!

The primary reason however for attending the Mask Dance Festival is of course to enjoy some of South Korea's cultural heritage in the form of traditional dances. Conviniently, the Festival Organizers provide descriptions of the dances on a large screen at the beginning of each dance, however the trio didn't notice this until near the end of the performances. Regardless, they enjoyed many shows, dances and stories of the Korean nation.

Having soaked up all the festivities they could handle, the trio meandered into the city of Andong to get a feel for this 'new' Korean community. Krystyna and Melissa wandered about while Mike sat and enjoyed some reading. While wandering, the girls were approached by a Korean man who offered them food from his dirt encrusted hand and gave each of them a kind of head caress -- a strange experience for the two which lead to them walking on and making their way into the Andong Market to take in the sights of fresh produce, pastries and a wide myriad of household items.

Getting There: The Harrington's went to Dongbu Bus Terminal via Bus 105 then purchased a ticket for Andong. A time table was available at the site: WorknPlay

When to Go: The Mask Dance Festival generally takes place at the end of September through the beginning of October. More information is available at: VisitKorea