things I've done in Seoul

First, I'd like to tell you that the new semester has begun at school. My schedule's a bit heavier—especially Thursdays—but nothing I can't deal with.

Second, Heather and I have been having a lot of fun. Last weekend we went to the 63 Building in Seoul (on Yeouido Island), took in the view from 60 floors up, saw a show at the IMAX Theater, and totally skipped going to Sea World Aquarium (not the same SeaWorld as in the States) because the line was literally around the building.

I also sallied forth to the War Museum in Yongsan, and take in some of the finer points of Korea's military history, going back thousands of years. Korea ranks right up there with Israel on the List of Small Countries Who've Spent Their Entire Existence Surrounded By Much More Powerful And Unfriendly Nations Who Want To Brutally Conquer Them Or Wipe Them Off the Map But Haven't Been Able to Because This Particular Small Country Is Rather Defensible And Also Really Good at Busting People In The Nutsack With Superior Weapons And Tactics When They Come Invading Thank You Very Much And Have Therefore Managed To Survive For Thousands Of Years When The Odds All Said Their Chances Were Close To Nil.

(I really need to stop reading Badass of the Week so much.)

But in all seriousness, Korea has spent much of its existence in the company of larger and militarily powerful countries like Japan, Mongolia and China, and has been invaded countless times throughout its history. Through a combination of skill, fortitude, resolve, badass military commanders, and the occasional advantageous alliance with China, Korea has managed to preserve itself all this time.

 

Oh, and did I mention their weaponry?

That's right. This is a mortar which fires giant iron-tipped arrows.

The sword of a commanding general, given by the king, inscribed with constellations, sacred texts and symbols. Effin' badass.

The turtle ship, a tank-like vessel covered with spiked armored plates. Oh yeah, and the dragon's head up front? It spews poison gas.

The Goguryeo Kingdom favored the use of tridents in combat. And that spear in the back appears to be covered with razor-sharp leaves.

The crowning glory of medieval Korean battlefield might: the hwacha. Those are 30-40 rocket-propelled arrows attached to this thing. It mercilessly chewed up enemy formations. This thing was badass enough to be featured on an episode of R. Lee Ermey's TV show Lock 'n' Load.

There! All done. I just needed to bring you up-to-date on my more exciting doings...

Oh yeah: I finally got another travel article published. The last one was...jeez, I don't even want to think about that. This latest one's in GoNomad.com. It concerns the balloon launches. The editor-in-chief gave me some very lovely, if unspecific, feedback. Maybe I should write articles like this more often, hmm?

In the next post I'll tell you how the novel's going. First I need to go work on it, though. Postie out.