we ran a road trip through northeast America before we moved to Seoul, and it was pretty cool. There is an APP (of course) called roadtrippers that will help you map your different stopping points. Now, we’re on our 2nd road trip through South Korea, and we decided (or husband decided) to explore the Southeast portion of the country.
This portion includes the cities of Daegu, Gyeongju, and Pohang. Gyeongju is especially historical and it is the site of the ancient Silla capital. Silla kings and queens ruled the country before the Joseon era, which predated the Japanese colonial years. The tombs of the ancient Silla kings and queens are here, and they are perfectly Korean. When I say perfectly Korean, I mean everything is elegant, symmetrical, organized, and has plenty of rules. The royal tombs are perfect half-egg-shell shaped hills. The landscaping surrounding the tombs are perfect. One tomb is open for visitors, and the jewels and tomb artifacts are displayed perfectly in an A-grade museum.
Adjacent to the tombs is a perfect traditional hanok village, with the traditional Korean style homes with cafes, shops, and restaurants, we walked through there and snacked to our heart’s content.
The most interesting part of this trip were, surprise surprise, my children. They’re age 7, 10, and 14, respectively — and they’re at a fun age! wow! I never would have imagined myself saying that. During a hike, we had a loud raucus debate about who said the word “tired” first and in what context. During breakfast this morning, my two older kids had a conversation completely in musical lyrics (spontaneously made up). The other day, the youngest took us on a scavenger hunt for a pizza place using the Korean navigation system.
I’m absolutely delighted by their whimsy and sense of adventure and great sense of inquiry. it is making it easy to be their mom, shape their characters, and enjoy their personalities. Of course the good comes with the bad (eg teenage moods and sibling fights), but road tripping with them is like a big ole high school dorm trip.
We’re all huddled in our Airbnb with our respect devices right now, but my kids are kinda cool, and I’m looking forward to all our adventures together for the rest of our lives.