One my favorite places to go to in Korea is GyeongJu. There are so many places of interest in that city it’s hard to select just one. The city was the seat of the kingdom from the 600-700’s up until the 1400-1500s and historically significant spots are abundant. So, too, are the flowers. Typically in the spring GyeongJu is thick with tourists during “flower season” and this weekend was no exception. It wasn’t the best weekend for flowers as the cherry trees had peaked the week before and were dropping soft pink petals like a late winter snow storm. Still, many of the trees carried blooms and the azaleas were just beginning their colorful displays.

But it wasn’t just the flowers that attracted so many. With all the history and culture there, a number of reenactments and dances added to the natural beauty. Within just a few short hours, we toured ancient tombs, walked among magnificently manicured gardens, watched beautifully clad dancers and actors, took numerous pictures and, of course, did an awful lot of people watching. That works in reverse, too, as I often get stares from adults and exclamations from kids of “Ooo, look at the foreigner.”

I snapped tons of pictures and took the best and put them in a photo album.

I also took a few minutes of video of some of the dancers. This was in a forest just outside the walls of an ancient fortress. The forest itself is very old and some of the trees are ancient themselves, although merely a fraction of the fortress’ age. Behind the dancers you can clearly see some of the gnarled trees. The forest is also famous as the birthplace of the Kim clan, of which my wife is a member. The story behind that is a little strange, so I won’t bore you with it. Instead, I’ll let you watch the dancers.