장미꽃 가든

Roses start to bloom in early summer or in June. The Rose Garden in Seoul Grand Park has so many varieties of roses that I am not too sure if I have covered 50% of them in the pictures below. Though I am no fan of roses, I do like their names. Names like blue moon, summer wind and peace.

Rose Garden in Seoul Grand Park

Bridal Pink (United States)

Blue Moon (Germany)

Burgund' 81 (Germany)

Charleston (France)

For Shin' 82 (Germany)

Freute (France)

Gallivallda (France)

Gold Buny (France)

Gold Monica (Germany)

Golden Touch (Germany)

Harmonie (Germany)

Hiogi (Japan)

Ingrid Weibul (Germany)

Inka (Germany)

Landora (France)

Lavaglut (Germany)

Maria Callas (France)

Makayuki (Germany)

Minuet (France)

Niccolo Paganini (France)

Nicole (Germany)

Noblesse (Germany)

Oklahoma (United States)

Peace (France)

Pink Peace (France)

Princess de Monaco (France)

Queen Elegabeth (United States)

Saiun (Japan)

Summer Wind (Germany)

Tchin-Tchin (France)

Tineke (Netherlands)

Tokimeki (Japan)

한마당

Going to school in spring was a wonderful experience. The cool weather was refreshing, blooming flowers were everywhere, school was abound with activities and I felt like I was charged everyday.

Below is a group of pictures which I didn't manage to upload last spring. Spring was a busy season, you know.

School's main gate was blocked off to traffic for one full day for Street Cultural Festival.

This is a 'lioness' that is supposed to 'fight' a lion (See the next picture to get what I mean). It is 'heavyweight' for sure.

'Lion' and 'lioness' pushing against each other. The winner is the one that forces the other party to move backward. If I am not wrong, this activity originates from Japan.

Cheering supporters

Festival crowd

Banners showing the events on each day during the festival week

Gaint inflatable slide. You will find this sort of slide in many festivals.

Weee~~~

Water bomb game with 'live' targets

You are supposed to kick a ball and the board which the ball hits is your prize. Prizes include sweet, sausage, bun, cookies, 1,000won note, mini fan, drink, soju and free hug. Not very attractive though.

A show of esprit de corps

Mass dancing to the tune of Korean folk song

Sparkle Sparkle 샤방샤방

Cheerleaders performance

Open concert for families and students

아이리스

Iris (Iris sanguinea) in Rose Garden at Seoul Grand Park

My first impression of iris is that it is part of the eye. I remember always getting full marks when it came to drawing the eye and naming its parts. It didn't occur to me that iris is also a flower until much later. Now, iris is also a Korean drama which is best known for its 'sweet kiss' (사탕키스) scene between Lee Byung-hyun and Kim Tae-hee.

휘경동

Hwi-kyung dong's evening as seen from my dormitory

Hwi-kyung dong, where I used to stay, is a suburb east of Seoul. I like the slower pace of life there. It is Seoul but not quite like Seoul.

대박

Woo~~ Cajun chicken omurice, 대박!

Waa~~ Ice crean waffle, 대박! 대박!

What do Koreans mean when they say "대박" (pronounced "tae-bak")? Dictionary gives you meaning like "big win", "great success" and "big hit". Suppose you are well-versed with all these textbook meanings, it is quite likely you will still scratch your head the next time a Korean says "대박". Many a time, "대박" is uttered with hardly any relation to win or success. Ostensibly, there are some other meanings to the word.

To help me memorise, I used to imagine "대박" as a big melon ("대" can mean big and "박" can mean melon like "수박" is watermelon) and an excited farmer shouting "대박 대박" when he discovered one. A big melon, to a farmer, can deliver the same joy as hitting jackpot. Of course, "대박" is not big melon but rather an expression of joy which is much like striking a lottery.

"대박" is similar to the Singlish's expression - "win liao lor". When you see a nice dessert or food in front of you, Koreans says "대박" and we say "win liao lor" (expressing a sense of being overwhelmed). Or when you want to express your shock and excitement when someone throws a surprise party for you, Koreans say "대박" but we say "win liao lor".

"대박" is also similar to another Singlish's expression - "huat ah". In this context, there is no win, loss or joy in the meaning of "대박" but a wish for good luck. Be it "대박" or "huat ah", they are the same to me - different language but same feeling. 대박~ Huat ah~