Namsan Hanok Village, Dongdameun and Mrs Park

Today we went to Namsan Hanok Village - which has lots of traditional buildings and beautiful gardens with ponds, waterfalls and forested areas. It also has the time capsule that was buried in 1994 to commemorate the 600th birthday of Seoul (and is scheduled to be opened in 2394 on the 1000th birthday!

I had visited the village on our last trip with all the grandparents but it was the first time that Ian and the boys had seen it. I remembered it as a very tranquil place but this time it was filled with lots and lots of school groups - so it was less tranquil but much more colourful. The buildings are very beautiful - very ornate. Trying to take pictures without lots of little children in them was a little challenging.

After the village we headed to Dongdaemun market - where we got lost in the many floors and intricate mazes of stalls selling haberdashery, bedding and kitchen wares. Not a place that you would buy lots of things but amazing to see. We ate a scrummy lunch of street food before heading back to the agency.

Late this afternoon we had the pleasure of meeting Kim's foster mother, Mrs Park, again. We had seen her on our last visit and she was amazed at how much both of the boys had grown. She became very emotional as she talked to us, via our lovely post adoption social worker - Sun Hei. She kept telling Kim to be a good boy and to honor his parents, and that she thought we were a happy and loving family. Han gave her great joy by talking to her in Korean and by explaining to her that his Korean heritage was important and that he wanted to connect with his roots. There was lots of hugging and tears.

After the visit the boys got to see their files which in the end was not very stressful (I have been stressing about this for months). The files were thick and bulky but the majority of the paperwork was related to the adoption process from our end - papers we had filled in many many years ago, reports written by our social worker back in Australia and copies of their Australian citizenship (which means they will not be called up to serve in the Korean army when they turn 18!). We did find out that the boys seem to get their looks from their birth mothers - Han's long angular face and Kim's round face. I am glad we looked in the files and relieved that we have finally done it.

Another great day in beautiful Seoul.

Oh - and I have 2 new blisters!!

Namsan Hanok Village