Waiting for the tour bus to begin our Seoul sightseeing.
We busted out the Korea football shirts in preparation for the Nigeria game at 3:30 AM tomorrow. Today was quite busy with a lot of visits to touristy places and not nearly enough time to fully explore them. Our first stop was a traditional Korean village. The location is a popular film location for historical dramas.
Our tour guide explaining the totem poles.
Rabbits avoiding a confrontation with a tiger.
I don't even know what this is.
This guy was bouncing all across the tightrope.
We went to lunch at another salad buffet. It's interesting to taste the Korean idea of American food, but it's mostly just sweetened or vinegar-y versions of things like croquettes or salads. They always have coffee and good ice cream at these restaurants, so I can't complain too much.
Next was the Gwacheon National Science Museum. They had a Theo Jansen exhibit there, but we didn't get to see it. I might go back later to check it out.
The science museum was designed for children, but it was a whole lot of fun. Many of the exhibits were hands-on fun stuff, like a high speed camera that recorded 4 seconds of material and played it back over several minutes. I took one for the team and got a slap in the face to get the slow-mo cheek wobble, which was totally worth it. An infrared video camera proved once and for all that my core body temperature is significantly higher than normal people. I hear there was a tsunami and earthquake room, where they put you through a simulated natural disaster. That alone would be worth another trip back.
Joe races a solar-powered car by controlling a flashlight over it.
Ancient Korean science focused on weather prediction.
A real autocrossbow. Sweet.
Adorable. One kid saw us and yelled, "Whoa! Hello! Who are you?"
The National Museum of Korea was next. With only an hour to browse, I also want to revisit this museum. Art, pottery, weapons, and tools from Korea's history were on display, as well as a king's crown which I missed. Two of our group members were accosted by a trio of 14 or 16 year old high school girls who were very excited to meet Americans. Unfortunately the two guys were under the impression they were much older. Things got a little awkward when they were asked to "choose" a girl to hold hands and pose for pictures, then promptly told they were now married. I laughed at them, others took pictures of the whole debacle.
It wasn't that great. 
Nice painting.
Of course I would put up a picture of a sword.
A throne. I need one in my room.We ended with a walk down Insadong street, a street market similar to Namdaemun but with mostly art and furniture. I may return to get some bowls or tea cups, maybe even a painting or other home decoration. We had dinner there at a traditional Korean restaurant, sitting on the floor and served tons of side dishes. We also drank soju, a Korean liquor made from rice and sometimes sweet potatoes. It's about 20% alcohol, and I was somehow convinced to take more shots than I can remember. Of course I turned bright red, but now I have to stay awake long enough to watch the Korean football game. I predict tomorrow will be a rough day.
Will and our NRF host helped me polish off a bottle of soju.
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