Sunday, April 15

We were up early to run, walk or saunter through the 5K run at the 8th Annual Yesan Cherry Blossom Marathon.  Roughly 7,500 runners participated in the 5K, 10K, half marathon or marathon events.  All our team members participated, though not everyone went the distance.  It was a tremendous event, quite likely the only Korean running event any of us will participate in.

The weather has gotten much better, warm (hi 60s-low 70s) and sunny.  We had lunch outside at a restaurant owned by one of the local Rotarians, then a few of us ventured to a nearby spa for a mineral hot tub, sauna and Korean massage - more of a scrub, really.  Most of our members were not interested in the naked (single sex) spa environment, so they opted for a quiet day in town.  The "massage" consisted of a masseur (only our male membes partook of this) scrubbing our bodies HARD with a towel that felt more like the scrubber side of an American sponge.  I'm quite sure I shed at least one layer of skin.  A day later, I'm still feeling the tingle!

Later in the afternoon, the two groups met at a museum honoring a Korean Patriot who acted to begin Korean independence from Japan in the 1920s and 30s.  He was executed in Japan after carrying out a bombing at a military ceremony, killing several Japanese officials.  We didn't realize that Korea has only been independent since 1946, being occupied at various times by Japan and China for centuries before that.

Next stop was the Sudeoksa Temple.  This is a 700-year-old temple that is the only one in Korea that has survived in its original state (structure, materials, etc.) through the years.  It's quite impressive to see those old wood pillars surviving all this time.

The day ended with a traditional Korean dinner at another restaurant owned by a local restaurant.