Namdaemun 남대문 Great Southern Gate

Namdaemun 남대문 or Great Southern Gate - Seoul, South Korea

This was taken in 2007 before the gate was burned by a mentally unstable man. The Southern Gate is considered the first cultural treasure of South Korea. I'm glad to have visited it before it was damaged. Restoration work is underway. It is scheduled to be completed in 2012.

Jeotgal 젓갈 Part 2

Seeing and eating the jeotgal reminded me of a great experience when I was in Seoul last November. Professor C and I went to Noryangjin Seafood Market노량진수산시장 to see the sights and eat some fish. The professor escorted me around while I took tons of pictures and then we got down to the business of seafood. We stopped at a live fish monger and picked out a couple of strange looking fish. They were sent to a restaurant in another part of the market to be cooked for us later. We also stopped and bought several varieties of jeotgal. I was overwhelmed by the display and the quantity. Some of the small shrimp vats were as big as barrels. My favorite from that day was the oyster jeotgal. My mouth waters just thinking about it. I was planning on bringing some back to Mount Vernon but decided that customs might have a problem with raw seafood. We ate the jeotgal little by little over the rest of my stay.