Seoul's Garage Sale: Ttukseom Resort Flea Market

 

That is a picture of my lunch that I had at a Vietnamese restaurant near the Tteokssom Resort in Seoul. But before I take you into this weekend's adventure I first want to remind you of one of the best parts of modern culture, and that is the garage sale.

I have always enjoyed going to garage sales as a kid. It gave me great pleasure to look at other people's stuff and wonder why they were giving it away and if it could have a special place in my life. Along with garage sales I also was very fond of thrift stores. I lived off of clothing finds from thrift stores all the way through college until the trend caught on and things started to get more expensive. Even when I go back home to visit family, I find myself at a garage sale or thrift store taking in those musky smells and used items. 

After coming to Korea I wondered where people sell their used and unwanted items since no one seems to have "garages" or "yards" here. I have been to the Folk Flea Market but that seemed more like an antique's shop than an actual flea market. 

I have heard from others that apartment complexes usually hold little flea markets now and then, but never really found one. 

That is why to my pleasant surprise I found myself at a genuine market of used goods yesterday at the Ttukseom Resort Station. You will see later what I am talking about, but for now let's go back to lunch.

It was a nice spring day, except for a strong river wind blowing down the park. Families and couples were out with picnic gear and bicycles. 

 The cherry blossoms have already come and gone, but there remained full flower boxes among the path.

I always try to get a picture of JH but the guy is camera shy and often does the following gesture.

However, I don't mind my picture being taken.

That second one is me nagging JH to ride the paddle boats, but we both decided that with the wind it was a bad idea. 

 It might be hard to tell, but in the picture below the boat #47 was being bad since the folks (kids) inside were leaning to one side and making it nearly capsize.

 On our way, to the area under the bridge, the wind was pretty fierce but I managed to get some pics.

 Once up the stairs we made it to the flea market, where people were busy selling and buying. Mostly there was for sale clothing and shoes, but there was a good mix of random household items, electronics and jewelry. It seemed people were mostly trying to sell off things unwanted from their homes, but there were a few that looked like they had collected odd stuff from here and there.

 Not settling for the spoken price was common as people haggled down items that only cost 3,000 or 1,000 won to begin with. JH and I found a nice little tote bag, an English study book and a cat toy.

It was a lot of fun and after looking around we headed over to a sunny spot to soak in some rays.

Lastly, of course, a trip to the park wouldn't be complete without a stop at the public restroom.

I highly recommend you get out to the flea market one of these Saturdays and see if you can find a great treasure. I hope to someday sign up and sell a few unwanted things from my own home.

I leave you with this video I made of the market:

April School Field Trip

Every month the kiddos go on field trips around Seoul, and we foreign teachers don't get left behind. We get the pleasure of going with them on their adventures. Now I say "pleasure" with a light tone here, because spending a full six hours with a large group of first graders starts out well but later ends up differently.

Despite that omen I would say our trip to Children's Grand Park (near Konkuk University) yesterday went pretty well.

The day's events started with a few hours watching a play (in Korean) that was similar to The Sound of Music.

I liked the play and found some of the male actors to be quite good. After the play the kiddos were hungry. I recall this clearly because one girl insisted on reminding me quite often. We headed towards the fountain area of the park, took some pictures then headed to a picnic area.

I was quite impressed with the lunches these kids had packed away. Certainly a lot healthier and more diverse than the ones I recall as a kid. Also I know must of their food tasted good as a lot of the kids handed me pieces of kim bop and fruit.

 Every kid had their own little mat that they unfolded and laid out to sit on. When they saw that I didn't have one they pointed at me and asked, "Why?" I suppose I am going have to gear up for next time.

Lunch was relaxing and filling, which was good since our next activity consisted of going through the zoo at lightning speed. The poor kids had barely enough time to look at the animals. I don't know how they could have anyways, since the park was full of other packs of school kids. At one point I was worried the kids would get mixed up with another group since their uniforms looked the same.

Finally, after our jolt through the zoo we headed back to the buses via the garden scenic route.

Who knows where we are going next time, as they don't tell us till the week before. I am hoping it is some kind of museum where the kids can be more contained, or at least have more time to look at the displays.

Anyways, I definitely know now what it means to go on a field trip in Korea.