Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Sealed in Seoul!



Yet another reason to be a foreigner in Korea:

You get to do some really cool things for free! You just need to know where to look, register with all the details and show up on time.It really is that simple! Global centers in Seoul really take the cake in providing some awesome activities. I had signed up for the Seal Making activity held by the Seoul Global Culture and Tourism center along with my sons aged 16 and 10 as they are in vacation right now. It was a morning I would never forget. Nor would my sons!

Seal making with the good people from Seoul global center
The art of Seal making
Perfectly timed with the return of the Royal Seals of Korea by President Obama, the activity was conducted at the National Museum of Korea, which made the setting so perfect to dive into the realms of the art of engraving Seals. (한국을 새기다) The activity was conducted by a well renowned professor who went on to give us an introduction about the history of seals in Korea and around the world.
It was quite interesting to know that the seals and amulets in ancient Korea was made from the wood of the Jujube tree which was struck by lightening in the olden days. It was believed to provide protection for the holder. And the seals later on were made by different materials, with exquisite and sophisticated designs depending on the social class of the person making it so that it couldn't be imitated.
The royal seals
The top part of the Royal seals

The top part of the seal, called the Nyu (뉴) was decorated with elaborate designs for the royalty like the dragon (to denote the seal of the emperor), the tiger, turtle. The body or the Insin (인신) of the seal is the part which is used to hold the seal. To expel the possibility of an upside down impression, the date when the seal is made is engraved on the place where the thumb is held (Whew! that is a handy trick :)

Harry Potter's Seal, maybe?
D's Insi(g)n  

 The face of the seal or the InMyeon (인면) is where the name engraving is done. The Inmun (이문) is the letters or the patterns or design that is used to represent the person for whom the seal is being made. Apparently seals were made carrying the name of the person or a favorite phrase or a cherished design or even the zodiac symbol.

All professionally set for the engraving! 
Choosing what goes on the seal :)
My name in Korean, which i wanted to engrave. But later decided to add in a flower
Getting the design on the seal
Getting the design on to the seal ~ The easy part
Engraving the design on to the stone
Engraving the design on to the stone ~ The fun part
Carving more personality!
Adding more personality to the seal! ~ Dh style
The Seal tried and tested
Dh's seal all done and tested.
D was brave enough to try both the back ground carving and letter carving techniques!
Finishing touches by the Professor
Dh was all enthusiasm :)


Sealed on the Board of Fame!

lilies and lotuses at the museum
The huge pond in the museum was sporting lilles and lotuses

Lotuses at the museum
I could sit here all day, looking at the lotuses
lotus bud at museum

Koi pond

A serene spot in the heart of bustling Seoul
A serene spot in the heart of bustling Seoul


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Fantasy world in Dongdaemun Seoul

An alien habitat in the middle of Seoul?

That's the thing about buildings in Seoul! The structures here are so peculiar. Seoulites go in for creative and clearly individualistic structures. I find the building structures here unique. They are not always pretty in my opinion but they are so distinctively different that it makes heads turn for sure!

Bird's eye view of the  Dongdaemun Design plaza
Pic by  http://investseoul.com/seoul-unveils-dongdaemun-design-plaza/
Dongdaemun Design plaza, located just opposite the Doota! and Migliore shopping malls in Dongdaemun is a one colossal, out-of-the-world building!

Dongdaemun Digital plaza
Dongdaemun Design plaza is a smooth, curvy, alienistic structure in Dongdaemun.  
Linked to Skywatch Friday.

Curves of the Design plaza in Dongdaemun
Such unnerving curves in a building!
Smooth white curves of the Dongdaemun Design  Plaza
Can you see clone troopers around the corners? Aren't reminded of Princess Leia's ship?

unique windows of the Design plaza in Dongdaemun
Cleverly camouflaged windows
 This DDP houses many exhibition halls and convention halls. The WETA workshop's Fantasy was housed in B1 floor of the DDP. Entering into an alienistic environment, we were transported to another fantastic world.

Fantasy workshop in Dongdaemun Design Plaza ~ Gollum
We were looking forward to see some of the hands involved in the creation of some of the big names in Hollywood movies. LOTR, Hobbit series, KingKong etc.


Azorg  the defiler in life size
Azorg the defiler in life size was a crowd favorite. 

Friendly dragon
Inspiration for the Luck dragon from the Never Ending story?
 This place was not only for the movies, as I quickly understood. It was a showcase of imaginations running wild, condensed in a solid form. Art works ranged from sculptures of human faces, animals, fantastic beings, aliens, habitats of interesting folk captured in pencil art, sculptured in bronze, wood and stone, along with paintings and photography.

circular art
Simple but interesting!

Jar jar binks at Dongdaemun DP
Do I detect a bit of Jar Jar Binks?

Pencil art plant dragaon?
Pencil Art. Plant Dragon?

Sweet snowy in DDP
Expensive but sweet snowy
Brick wall? brick mask? at the Fantasy exhibition
Brick house? Brick mask? you decide!

Fantastic beast at the DDP Seoul
Fantastic beast

King Kong at Fantasy exhibition at DDP
King Kong 

Human face at the DDP , Fantasy exhibition, Seoul

Tamil movie at the Fantasy exhibition in DDP Seoul
It was a sweet surprise to see a Tamil movie on the list of movies churned out by the WETA team.

Commenting at the Fantasy exhibition

The exhibition was a good thing as it inspired my kids a lot, that they decided to draw their hearts out in the comments section of the exhibition. Fantasy turned out to be a fantastic experience :)

The Fantasy Exhibition runs from June 6th to August 17th 2014. 

Must go. In my opinion :)
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