Charpie's Travels

Fact #14 I won't be driving for one year . Yes, there are cars in Korea, but I won't have one.  Common transportation methods around Seoul include trains, buses, subways, trams, and walking. That's right. People over there actually walk places. Kinda novel, huh? Actually, I'm looking forward to it. I'll miss my truck, but I think I just might survive. 

Fact #13 South Koreans, on average, are shorter than Americans. The difference isn't much, though, if these stats are accurate. North Koreans are significantly shorter than South Koreans.  Average male height: US -  176.3 cm (5' 9.4") South Korea -  174.5 cm (5' 8.7") North Korea - 165.6 cm ( 5' 5.2") Average female height: US -  162.2 cm (5' 3.8") South Korea -  161.3 cm (5' 3.5") North Korea -  154.9 cm (5' 1") (...according to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height )

Fact #12 We tried Korean rice cakes recently. They are nothing like American cake. And also nothing like an American rice cakes (you know...those round, crunchy, cardboard-tasting things).  Actually, I'm not sure how to describe the taste of the rice cake I ate. The sweetest part was the soybean flour coating, which was not sweet at all. Maybe...try removing the salt from a lump of green playdough. Then make it softer and more gummy. That's similar to how this tasted.  I need to try one in a year and see if it still tastes like saltless, gummy playdough. (borrowed from  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Korean_rice_cake-Tteok-Gyeongdan-02.jpg )

Fact #11

Fact #10 Kimchi is served with every meal. What is it?

Fact #9 South Korea's flag was officially adopted in 1950, about a year and a half after the Republic of Korea was formed. The  white background represents (according to different sources) a traditional clothing color of the Korean people, purity, and/or peace. The  yin-yang symbol represents harmony/unity.  Four Kwae symbols : heaven (top left), water (top right), earth (bottom right), fire (bottom left). The placement of the symbols is intended to create balance (between the actual broken/unbroken bars as well as the elements they represent). (borrowed from www.worldatlas.com)

Fact #8 Korea is old. One thing this means is that there are plenty of cool old buildings. Pictured here is Gyeongbokgung Palace, one of the Five Grand Palaces. Gyeongbokgung (in English meaning "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven") originally was built in 1394. It's been rebuilt since then. (borrowed from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea )