신년을 축하합니다! (shin nyeo eol chukhahamnida) – Happy New Year!
Koreans celebrate the Lunar New Year coming up on February 10th as well and say, 새해 복 많이 받으세요! (saehae bok manhi baduseyo) which literally translates to, “Hope you receive a lot of new year’s blessings.” The holiday is rich in tradition and of course food so I can’t wait to follow up on that topic.
For this New Year’s celebration, Durham, Carly and Joubertina and I took a predawn hike up Uamsan Mountain just behind Cheongju University. There are two colleges in town, this one, Cheongju Dae the more prestigious of the two and Chungbuk Dae, in University Village where everyone does their drinking. Want to study in Korea? I’ve thought about it since moving here. Most international students opt for art school at Seoul or Yeonsei University the “Harvard of Korea” in the capitol. Check out their sites, they come in English too.
Who needs sleep?
Catching our breath.
Losing the race against light to the summit.
Even though we couldn’t see much past the fog and snow at the top, we snapped a couple of hero pictures and hung around the mountain, feeling great about getting up and out to kickoff 2013 right. We knew the sun was still up there somewhere.
Making our way back down, taking the pictures it was too dark for earlier.
There’s always a temple nestled somewhere on a mountain in Korea.
Making our way out Path Five and back through the University.
A great morning and great start to the new year. Happy 2013 to all of you!
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