Craft demonstrations

Throughout the park there were traditional craft demonstrations such as silk weaving, paper making (pic. 1), wicker weaving etc. We also saw rooms with figures such as the one in pic. 2 showing the person in charge being addressed by people of lesser rank. The third pic is of a tree where people tie up something they are hoping for in the ribbons and tie them to the tree (pic. 3). In this case it is rice, hoping for a good rice harvest. It could be money, hoping for prosperity.

On the way back from the village we saw many green houses where Korea grows produce all year long as the weather is cold in winter. Our guide explained the history of Korea and how poor the country was, and how well they have done with the help of the United Nations to become a successful country. They are into nature conservation due to having had the country become so devastated through the wars.

For me the experience was too "canned". It's my own fault for booking this particular tour. The Seoul tours seemed to be getting mediocre reviews for being too hurried and the main palace being a miniature replica of the Forbidden City (designed by the same person) which many have seen before or are seeing in Beijing at our next stop. However the museum got good reviews. Those who went to Seoul on their own seemed marginally happy but due to the distance and the short time in port they felt hurried. The only really happy people were those who did Incheon on their own. Surprisingly the port lecturer for Korea said there was nothing in Incheon but everyone I talked to felt it was a really good experience with authentic markets and a fascinating mile long underground tunnel with shopping (the theory was floated that it is a bomb shelter). They also like the peace park (I think that is what it was called) and China town. I know what I will be doing if I come
back.