Asia Travel Information Blog

Some thoughts about living in Korea and visiting some cultural sites. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Our first day in one of the most historic places in Asia, where Korean Silla Dynasty civilization flourished in the 7th century.

One of the great things about living in Dongtan, is that there are so many things close to where I live. On Saturday, I hopped on a few buses and found myself at Yongjusa Temple (???). It serves as the head of Jogye Order in Korea, and unlike many other Buddhist temples in Korea, Yongjusa isnt situated on a mountain or in a city, but rather on the outskirts of Suwon on a main road. The temple was originally built in 854 during the 16th year of King Munseong of the Silla Dynasty. It was destroyed during the second Manchurian invasion (Byungjahoran). During the Josen Dynasty, King Jeongjo had this temple commissioned out of respect for his father. This is significant, since during most of the Josen Dynasty, Buddhism was repressed. However, King Jeongjo was so moved by a sutra that he heard regarding parents sacrifices for their children he had the temple re-built. Its this rebuilt temple that garners the name Yongjusa. The name is derived from a dream that King Jeongjo had the night before a celebration commemorating its completion. He dreamt of a dragon flying in the sky with a magic ball in its mouth. Thus, Yongjusa translates to Temple of the dragon with a magic ball. In the main courtyard is the Beomjong, one of two sacred bells that date back to the Unified Silla period. This one is designated National Treasure 120. Visitors can also find the Bumeounjunggyeong (?????) books that discuss the topic of filial affection. Yongjusa is just a few minutes outside of …

This is a picture video vocab lesson from www.koreanclass101.com Did you know that Korea is one of the most internet savy nations in the world? Learn about that while you learn Korean with KoreanClass101.com! In today’s lesson we’re taking a cyber flyby to Korea. More than two thirds of the population is connected to the internet, and wireless internet can be found almost anywhere. So that means that the Internet is booming in Korea. So why not get in on the fun! Watch out lesson today to find out some key words when surfing the web in Korea, as well as get familiar with some of the essential sites! And if you have any questions about how to sign up, register for a site, or how to find something on the internet in Korean, stop by KoreanClass101.com and leave us a comment! We’re always here to help! www.koreanclass101.com

Nexus at the Ansan Korea Street Arts Festival ’08. This video-journal of the trip is the first to introduce you to our performers as they travel to participate in various events around the world. COMING SOON: our trips to Pennabilly, Italy and to Glastonbury Festival ’08 with many other talented performers.

Yonggungsa Temple: one of Korea’s most beautiful temples. For more, go to www.eatyourkimchi.com –The Gear– Shot on a Canon 550d, Tokina 11-16mm lens. Edited in Final Cut Pro. Music Made in Garageband

This is footage I shot from my tour of military bases in Japan & Korea as part of “Comics On Duty”.

This is Part 1 of 2 about my flight to Korea and first night there.

TV Broadcast of the entire “Ever-victorious Workers’ Party of Korea” held at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on September 4, 2001. Certainly the TV broadcast wouldn’t do justice to actually being there and witnessing over 100000 performers. This was pretty hard to find on the internet and very few people will ever see this outside of the DPRK, let alone travel to north korea to see their mass games.