Old School

One of the goals of this trip was for my parents to show me their old high schools and universities, as a way of giving me a glimpse of their history. I had an idea that this was going to be significant, but reality tends to be a lot more colorful than even the imagination's capacities. I had rarely seen my mom be as excited as when she saw her high school building still intact after nearly 50 years. Here's my mom standing next to her favorite tree on campus:

Words, exclamations, and laughter spilled from her mouth as she speedwalked and pointed in all directions. I captured it all on video as I did my best to follow her. The school had long since moved to a different site as attendance grew 10x over since the 50's, but the school building is 100+ years old, and thus preserved well because it is now an official historical site.


My dad's high school was founded by the same person who founded Korea University, which my dad also attended. Turns out that the high school got a nice makeover when former Korean president Park Jung Hee's son enrolled, haha. Another fun fact about this school is that it was featured in a popular korean drama, Winter Sonata. This is why loads of Japanese tourists (Japan hearts Korean dramas) come to take pictures in front of the school front gate:

We visited both my parents' universities. One of my parents (I forget who), said that one would expect the female students to be a bit (ehem) nerdy looking at Korea University, since it's known for its academics. Verily, verily, there was a common nerd theme that I witnessed, bless their hearts. Then we visited my mom's college. I told my mom, "The girls are much prettier here." My mom beamed. "They must not be very smart," I added. My mom whacked me.


Father and son at the former's alma mater:

Dad and mom sitting at their same favorite bench on Korea University's campus:

Enough of my parents for today. Time to close with some miscellaneous goodies.
Check out this neat bench!

Apartment buildings here all have names, like Silver Horse Apartments, or Lotte Castle. This particular apartment complex is called "We've." I really wish they would finish their thought:

Grilled duck with king-size dumpling soup:

Sesame sujebi: