South Korea

alright, lets squeeze in one more for today...I promise it will be short...started with a map card, lets end with a map card...

and this is probably like my only map from South Korea...and it is just soo adorable!! Though if this one should serve as my personal map around the country, I will surely get lost...cos besides the picture, I cannot possibly understand anything else...

the stamp on the right is from a set of 9 stamps issued in 2013, representing National Beauty and Historical Sites..couldn't figure out which site this one is showing.
The flower stamp is a definitive issued in 2006, showing a Crinum asiaticum var. japonicum Baker.

Well, that was the final card for today...enjoy the rest of the week and see you soon! :)

Naksan, South Korea

Dani gave me this card (one of many) before she left to China.

The card shows a sunrise reflecting off a Temple at Naksan.

It's a really lovely card...dont know why but this kind of cards with doors/windows seem to be very interesting...and also from what ive noticed, popular among postcard-collectors.
As for the Naksan Temple... it is a Korean Buddhist temple complex in the Jogye order of Korean Buddhism that stands on the slopes of Naksan Mountain and is one of the few temples in Korea to overlook the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

Naksansa was founded in 671, by the Buddhist monk, Uisang Daesa (Grand Master Uisang), an ambassador of the 30th King Munmu of the Silla Period (BC 57-AD 935) after he had returned from studying abroad during the Chinese Tang Dynasty, who, while meditating near the cave in which the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Gwaneumbosal) was believed to have lived, was told by the Bodhisattva to build the temple there.

thank you Dani! Hope you are enjoying your stay and study-time!

Gwangju, South Korea

Heeelooo.....and yes, im alive....in case you were wondering...but will get down to it later...or some other day...depends how spontaneous my posts end up...

this is called the Hwanbyeokdang Pavilion in Gwangju....is anyone willing to try the *Hwanbyeokdang* as a tongue twister?
It is said that this beautiful traditional Pavilion of Korea offers calm atmosphere at which scholars of the Choseon Dynasty taught their pupils.
It was built by Sachon (also known as Kim Yunje, 1501–1572) on the hill behind his house. A rough translation is 'a place surrounded by green trees and water.' It was also previously called "Byeokgandang".
The pavilion is known as a historical site related to Jeon Cheol, and has an anecdote regarding him. When Kim Yun-je took a nap in the pavilion, he dreamed that a dragon flew into the sky from a fishing spot. After awakening, he felt odd, so ran to the place and found a boy swimming there. Kim was so fascinated with the boy and his remarkable appearance, that arranged for his granddaughter to marry the boy. The boy was Jeong Cheol who later became a politician and famous literary figure.

 

this is one of those cases where im stuck with no info about the stamps...and on top of that, i feel too unwilling to actually get down to a into-depth search...

South Korea

Hey...hope you didnt get confused with the 'updated' layout...well it aint much of an update, but i think it was about time that got a bit refreshed and changed...it did feel somewhat empty at how it was....not that right now its something spectacular....but at least i started from somewhere...so i'll hopefully do some slight changes every now and then in the future...

Mmmmm....i really like this card...coz the event taking place is set in a snowy atmosphere....the bright colours of the clothes contrasted to the white snow give some special feeling

The people on the card are gathered around something which is called "A Good Fortune Mesh Dipper".
Well, its name may suggest what it actually is...but when i typed "good fortune mesh dipper" into google, it didnt give me any results...except a flickr gallery with the actual postcard....from the person from whom i had received this card in the first place :)
So we'll go with some word by word analysis...and come up with something
the "good fortune" of course, suggests that its something used in order to acquire good fortune to follow you, good health, happines, wealth, love etc etc....
Now, I encountered a problem with the 'mesh dipper' coz as a phrase it aint given in any thesaurus/dictionary
well, 'a mesh' is "any knit, woven, or knotted fabric of open texture"
a dipper, on the other hand may mean:

1. a person or thing that dips.

2.	a cuplike container with a long handle, used for dipping liquids.

so, if you combine it all, it maks sense...it some kind of a woven container, which has i guess, some kind of times (food or objects, i dont know) which are handed out to people, and thats supposed to bring you luck throughout the year...right? wrong?
if anyone can give me an EXACT explanation and definition of this, id be thankful...maybe someone who had actually seen one or witness a situation as the one on the postcard?

Seoul, South Korea

Today i received another new country...South Korea...so now we have a round number of 80 countries in the collection...100 seems so far away....

Ch'angdokkung was constructed in 1405 as an auxiliary palace to Kyongbokkung Palace. However, it became the main palace for the 15th king of the Choson Dynasty. In 1997, the Ch'angdokkung palace was added to UNESCO's prestigious World Heritage List. It is best known for the Secret Garden, or Piwon, which comprises of 78 acres of gardens superbly landscaped with pavilions, ponds, and wooded areas.