Sunday, October 25, 2009

Locking our Love at Namsan Tower

Sorry for the long lull in posts, good news is, there is a lot to post, bad news is, who knows how long it will take to do:) So a few weeks ago we made the trek up to Namsan Tower. It was kind of fun to take Amber and the kids through the alleyways and streets, asking for directions along the way. Living near the base, even though we are in Korea, it doesn't really feel like it. Anyhow, at Namsan Tower we took part in a modern rite of passage. Here in Korea, soap operas or "dramas" are what it is all about. So in some drama a few years back the main couple took a couple of pad locks up to Namsan, wrote a message of their undying love for each other on it and fastened it to the chain link fence. Last of all they threw the key over the fence to symbolize the finality of the ordinance (for lack of a better term). So naturally the next day, everyone who watched the drama rushed up to the tower and copied the deed. Now a couple of years later, there is hardly a spot to put a lock. How could we resist leaving a token of our love Korean style... note the cool benches that are angled in a way that forces you to sit close to whomever you are with... very romantic in a cheezy way...
Addysen is still in her taste everything phase.... In case you were wondering how swine flue gets spread, I am pretty sure this could be one of the ways:)
So you can see the thousands if not millions of locks and some of them have entire novels written in small script, expressing deep personal feelings, everything from the "100 day" dating anniversary to one that we found of a daughter who came from the US in search of her birth mother, and having found her came and put a lock on the fence to mark the occasion.
Yup there is Addy again. Everywhere we go people are taking her picture and touching her hair. I took this one trying to be stealthy as to not freak out the unsuspecting adorer... really though, should I feel bad about taking a picture of somebody taking a picture of my kid?
So there is our lock, I had a hard time writing small enough so ours is short and mathmatical: Spencer + Amber = Logan & Addy... makes sense right?
So if you are ever in Seoul, I highly recommend this activity. Also if you are a Male and want to kill two birds with one stone, (I mean doing two cool things at one location) don't miss using the men's urinal at the top of the tower.
So in order to seal the deal, Logan held the "key of a thousand truths" over his head like He-Man at the castle Grey Skull, and in spite of all of the "do not throw your key" signs lobbed our key over the fence.
Here is the view from the base of the tower.

6 comments:

Renee said...

That is actually pretty cool! Next time I am in Seoul...if I ever am...I will have to make a point to do this! :) I don't blame people for wanting to touch Addy's hair...she is freaking cute!

audreyspencer said...

That. Is. Awesome. I'm not kidding..that is about the neatest thing I have ever seen.

Katie Webb said...

how fun! i love what you wrote on your key.

Kim said...

That was a great story! And I loved the pics. Looks like a blast.

P.S. Thanks for the demo as to how the swine flu is spread. ;)

Cami said...

I think they had a challenge on the Amazing Race once when they had to find a lock that fit a key on this very fence. It seemed very frustrating. But fun to put one on!

Jann said...

That is pretty sweet.