I went to Jogyesa, a Buddhist temple in the heart of Seoul. It was very crowded and for whatever reason all the worshipers were women. The service was in full swing when I arrived, and I felt a little self-conscious about being an interloper, but I mustered the confidence and situated myself on the floor in what turned out to be an aisle. I hadn't been able to find a spare prayer cushion and I was trying to get comfortable on the hard temple floor, when a sweet lady sitting behind me offered me one of hers. The two women directly in front of me noticed that I was being stepped over by everyone coming in to the temple, and they graciously shuffled their neighbors around to make room for me. The prostrating started, and the lady to my right took it upon herself to show me how to bow properly, although I couldn't keep it up for nearly as long as she did. I felt so unexpectedly welcomed, it was really wonderful!
There is a smaller adjacent temple that was dramatically less crowded.
Afterward I went to the neighborhood of Insa-dong, a quaint area with lots of shops and restaurants.
These teenagers interviewed me for a school project.
Before I left New York I read a book about Korean culture that was for the most part really insightful, but in the section about clothing it said that Koreans usually dressed very formally, wearing suits even when not at work, except for an artist, who might have a beard and wear a beret. Hilarious! I assumed it was just a stereotype the author had about artists, solidified probably from never having met any actual artists. But then I saw one! A real life artist donning a beret...fabulous!
I went to the Mokin Museum, a diminutive yet marvelous museum devoted to totemic art. Very inspiring.
It also boasts an amazing roof garden.
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