November 2012 - Vikingess Voyages

Monday, November 26, 2012

Muju Taekwondowon Promotion Tour!

6:49:00 PM
In July 2013 the new Taekwondo head quarters is going to open in Muju, and in order to promote this project the TPF (Taekwondo Promotion Foundation) have been arranging trips for foreign students in Korea to come and see the building site.
I was one of the lucky foreigners who got the chance to participate in a two-day trip, which in addition to Muju also took us to the city of Jeonju. Two of my friends, Tanya and Maya, also had the chance to join the trip, and on Sunday we all met up in Seoul. TPF had arranged two busses for the trip, with a total of about 40 foreign students joining in.
This is how the Taekwondowon is going to look like when it is finished.
After an couple of hours in the bus we arrived in Muju, where we got a guided tour of the Taekwondowon area. The architect had made a design that focused on harmony with the surrounding nature, and at the same time the placment of the buildings are meant to symbolize the different stages in the Taekwondo graduation process: The first area you come to when you arrive stands for the white belt, then comes the area symbolizing the yellow belt, and it continues like this to an observatory on the top of the mountain symbolizing the black belt. The different areas also have different purposes, as they focus on spirit, mind and body. The area has buildings for training, games and exhibition, but also a center for research on Taekwondo and buildings for accommodation. Here are some pictures from the construction site:
At the beginning of the trip we got some information about the project

In front of the main Taekwondo building
The bridge symbolizing the black belt stage
However, as the construction is to be finished next year there is still a lot of construction left to be done. I think it will would have been more interesting to see the construction at a later state, but then again I suppose it is a good reason to come back later to see how the project ends up. 
Still a lot of construction to get done
In addition to seeing the construction site of the Taekwondowon, we also visited a place called Bandiland (bandi, 반디, means firefly in Korean) where you can mainly see a large collection of butterflies from all over the world. In addition to the butterflies, they also have other insects and some fossils, and in addition to this there is also a cinema where they show a 3D video which I'm sure must be popular among the kids. After a guided tour of the center we were escorted to our hotel, where we were assigned rooms for the night, and spent the evening partying with the other participants.
Posing by a Bandiland statue

Some of the poor butterflies..


















Group picture taken in Bandiland
Our second day started with a luxurious buffet at a nearby ski resort called Tirol. Here we could choose from a wide range of food, including exotic fruit (fruit is relatively expensive in Korea so I really appreciated this^^), and both Western and Korean food. The hotel itself was in really pretty European style, and there is a ski track right behind the hotel too. As you can see from the group picture below, the view from the resort is also quite nice.









Muju has some great facilities for skiing
After breakfast we continued our trip to Jeonju, where we visited the traditional Korean village (which I actually visited just a month ago:p). We got a guided trip of the village, and after a lunch which included Jeonju's famous bibimbap it was time for one of the main evens of the trip: a visit to a Taekwondo training center to learn more about Taekwondo.
Ready to practice some taekwondo
When we arrived at the Taekwondo center we all got distributed a set of the traditional taekwondo wear called Dobok (도복 / 道服), and in the taekwondo center we got to see a taekwondo-show prepared exclusively for us. I have added a video from the show here:

Kick!
From the Taekwondo-show
After the show we got the chance to practice some taekwondo too, with the taekwondo-blackbelts teaching us some of the moves. To be honest we already had learned the moves from the taekwondo-class at school, but it was cool to get the chance to break some bricks.. Haha.. Representatives from the media was also present, so it'll be cool to see their video when it is published in January! ^^

After a great weekend it was time to go back to school in the GIP, and with only a couple of weeks left of the semester it means that I should also get back to my studies now. Ciao!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Weekend trip to Jeongju

3:16:00 PM
A couple of weeks ago my dad came to visit me in Korea, and this was the first time for me to meet him since last year, when he and my anya Haini came to visit me in Kyoto.
We had decided to spend the weekend outside Seoul, as we only had the weekend, and since he would have some days to explore Seoul by himself as I had school to attend during the week. Anyway, it was great meeting my dad again, and to spend time walking around in Jeonju's beautiful traditional Korean village with him.
Here you can see my pictures from the village (한억마을), including a video from a drumming performance there.

I used the ipad-application 'Instaframe' to make this one^^

 

Another performer
Man skal tidlig krøkes.! So cute~
Some more highlights of the traditional Korean village

A couple getting their wedding pictures taken




Friday, November 2, 2012

Prezi: Tool to make Interesting Powerpoint-Presentations

11:12:00 AM
I just discovered a really interesting online program called Prezi that can be used to make creative and professional presentations. I think it is nice to have an alternative to the ordinary powerpoint, and I also though that it would be a nice thing to share with all of my readers out there. Recently I haven't had much time or energy to update my blog, so here you have the chance to see one of many projects I have been working on for school lately. Quite a small project though, but I think it shows the possibilities this program has to create more interesting presentations;) So to all of you hard-working students out there, this one is for you. 화이팅! (頑張って〜)



About Me

Adventures ofAnette


A modern day shield-maiden who loves to explore the unbeaten paths of the world. From her base in Tokyo, Anette takes on both rural and urban challenges, and goes by the motto "No challenge too big, no adventure too small"!
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