my very cutie guys

they did the monster mash, it was a graveyard smash!

halloween at dong gwang elementary school went off without a hitch! candy, dancing and masks galore!

(poor leo, not sure what his mask was supposed to be....)

(jin-ho totally color coordinated his mask to compliment his sweater.)

this is most definitely cooper's alter ego. not surprised at all.

(i couldn't resist. i asked him to smile and this is what i got)

dragon hill spa: KOREAN NUDIE SPA RITZ REMIX

 cnn review: Numerous options exist for that 'only in Korea' experience -- a half-day trip to the DMZ, a walk around the Bukchon district of traditional hanok housing -- but for a sample of how Koreans de-stress, the Four Season's Dragon Hill Spa is hard to beat. Basically a glorified jjimjilbang -- the large bathhouse-cum-saunas beloved by Koreans -- the Dragon Hill offers everything from facials to rooms aerated with crystal salts to the most punishing massage this side of Bangkok."

AKA: world famous!!!!!!!!

 based on the fact that i am beginning to consider myself a connoisseur of jimjibangs, i feel like it's reasonable to for me to say that dragon spa is one of the best spas in korea. it's 24 hours, feels fancy smancy, has placenta massages and so much more for only 12,000 won (about $12!).

slightly ghetto from the outside, but still exciting. 

romantic entrance. 

chandeliers, oh my!

lockers to keep your shoes.

AND: gem of the night. wearing around my favorite new korean accessory. princess leia/cinnamon roll bun/head wrap towel. the other koreans stare me down like a mofo, but i saw real korean people doing it on tv. it's gotta be legit then, right?

halloweenie

halloweens in the air. most easily noticed by children pretend bitting each other in the hallway after a mummy, ghost, frankenstein and vampire lesson. :) 

baby cakes.

i dyed my hair last night, and didn't think anyone would notice until i walked into my first grade classroom. the kids always scream and come and say hello, freak out and want head high fives, so i went through the line. su-khun was waiting patiently at the end. when i finally get to him, he points to my hair says epo and starts to massage my back. LADY KILLER!!!!! and the sweetest boy i know. 

animation musuem.

museums are definitely not korea's strong suit, but hale, they're trying. let me just say that the highlight was pushing hoards of korean kids outa the way to get a turn at the pushy-imprint thingy.

classiest park in korea: beautifully manicured walkways, tasteful views of the ocean, and oh yeah, some penis statues.

the anticipation was killing me. when researching korea, penis parks were springing up left and right. i'd be looking at cultural holidays and festivals and up would pop a review of a penis park. i would be researching cities around gangwon-do and towns would stand right up and use their penis parks as selling points for cultural tourism. it was too crazy to believe. i had to see one of these babies with my own eyes.

and i must say, korea didn't let me down. i was constantly thinking, "this is the most bizarre place EVER," "i cannot believe that old woman is touching that!" "what's wrong with this turtle, oh no please!!! not the turtles!!!"

of course i was participating in all the normal tourist photo-ops. 

and some ajumas were in on the action too. 

PROOF:old ajuma and her hubie.

overall, the koreans did good. not tacky or sleazy at all. if it were me, having creative control over development and design at a penis park in south korea, i would have added some pizazz. maybe 

some popsicle/hot dog stands, leopard printed employee uniforms, and maybe even some fireworks to top it off.

weekend update

went to chuncheon, SK and walked around the city. crazy marathon was going on. not surprisingly, it was almost entirely muscly old men. case in point. number 6476. halfway done with marathon and still hamming it up for a picture. :) also, lettuce and more cutie old men waving.

                                                             

Exploring..

...is a bit cooler at sunset. 

the GOONIES/hwanseongul cave (samcheok, SK)

at home i have kuna caves. in korea, i have hwanseongul cave. if they were people this is how i imagine them:

KUNA: she's hillbilly ghetto, but in a fun kind of way. she always wears overalls. even to weddings. you invite her over to dinner and you catch her outside making a fire pit on your lawn. despite all her oddities, you still invite her every time you go camping because she has the best stories and knows how to fish.

HWANSEONGUL: she's a korean country girl, but you swear you saw her once on the vegas strip. she's flashy, but has the personality to back it up. when go out on the town, you invite her so that you by association, are kind of a big deal.

JUST IN: PACKAGE!!!

holy moly. i haven't been this excited to open a package in all of my adult life. screw it, this even beats christmas!! so my package was delivered at school around 1PM. i had to wait an entire 4 hours until i was done with classes before i could open it. the anticipation was torture. i knew i was being crazy, but i ran the entire way home today chanting "package, package, package" under my breath. of course i calmed down enough to take some pictures, but the excitement still hasn't worn off.

THANK YOU MA AND POPS!!

korean buddhist temples

another hidden gem to my BFF seoraksan national park. she's got buddhist temples hidden in her forests!

the detail and craftsmanship are so beautiful!! and it's not too often that you get to see temples with these colors. :)

"Welcome to heaven."

so apparently seoraksan national park only has ridiculous/crazy/outacontrol hikes. i braved the hoards of koreans this weekend and went up to the mountain again. i picked a new hike and holy moly. it was the most terrifying hike of my life. but what great adventures aren't terrifying? all the good ones are if you ask me.

i know you're probably thinking: "terrifying you say? oh kylie, what a drama queen. it couldn't be that bad. did it have hula hoops of fire that you had to jump through? wild rabid wolves that were eating hikers left and right? did it have hidden patches of quicksand? well, if the answer is no, then it couldn't have been that TERRIFYING. get over yourself."

well now that i have explained your side of the story, here's mine:

a) the craziest wind of my life. literally my hair is a giant wad of knots as i type and i even found a leaf in it on the bus ride home.
b) the before mentioned wind threatened to push me off the mountain. at least 6 times.
c) significant parts of the trails were stairs so so so steep, i used my hands on the upcoming steps to pull myself up. sounds surprisingly like a ladder, and yes, it was essentially a ladder with handrails.
d) the left and right sides of this ladder/stair contraption were often accompanied by cliffs. cliffs that were lined with sharp, pointy rocks.

the only redeeming factors are as follows:
1) after two hours of nutty uphill climbing, i met this foreigner man with a mustache to kill for (giant, white, and with curls on each side) who welcomed me to heaven, arms spread wide, mustache wiggling in the wind. it was quite majestic.
2) mustache man wasn't lying. it was uhmazing. i would be 100% okay if i went to heaven and it looked like this. :)
3) the adrenaline pumping at the peak (a 6 foot square space surrounded by rails) made the view even more spectacular.

Below is documentation that i am not a liar:

staircase one. admit it. pretty damn steep.

staircase two: EVEN STEEPER!

crahzee wind. proof.

this was a money shot. both my arms and legs were wrapped around a railing as to not get blown off the mountain in 95 mph winds. 

majestic.

whoop whoop! i made it to the top! please note the hair and the flag. nice breeze going on. 

remember:

in the morning when the ocean and sky blend into one giant grey blue expanse.
the edge of the world is lined with rainbow colored roofs and jimjibangs. 

seoraksan national park.

(i can't stay away)

if there was one place that i would take you in korea, it would be this mountain. everything so fresh, and so breathtaking. it's easy to make this my favorite korean keepsake. 

omg.

just noticed that my elevator has a video camera.
was super embarrassed when i realized that every freaky dance sesh, every ridiculous face made into the mirror, every gilly fashion show has most likely been seen by that creepy old man that sits in the security box.

probably not going to stop.
reasons?
1. i will most likely forget about the camera. :)
2. my elevator sessions are too. much. fun.

this little lady went to the market.

went to the grocery store today and walked like this all the way home. i could just imagine what i looked like and could. not. stop. laughing. which I'm sure made me look like even more of a nut.