2006 got off to a great start. This was my first visit to South Korea and I must say it instantly became my favorite country to visit for it's beautiful nature, it's warm people and Blade Runneresque Seoul. I was part of a three person team with my good friends Wilfred Stijger and Edith Van de Wetering.
It was a long journey to get to Teabaek (You can see it's exact location which will be linked in the comments below by Steemitworldmap) We landed in Seoul but drove straight to this mountainous region in the east of the country. It was around six hours driving and after our flight we were wrecked on arrival at 2am.
As you can see the weather was unseasonably warm especially to make a snow sculpture but that is what we where there to do, so after a few hours sleep we got straight to work.
Our idea was pretty simple. To make a big loop de loop and have characters trying to run and get up speed to keep stuck on the track as they went around. No deep meaning to it but we thought it would be nice to do in the limited time we had. Only 4 days as far as I remember.
You can see that the snow was very dirty and had the consistence of popcorn. This coupled with the fact the snow was melting as we worked meant that we weren't expecting too much of ourselves.
The sculpture only lasted a day or two as the temperatures continued to climb but we were able to finish by working late into the evenings when the temperature was colder. It would have been nice to have one character completely upside down in the center but after trying to get him to stay in place many times we had to give up with that idea. Gravity can be a bitch.
Location location location.......Location
We were working on a very popular route for mountain walkers as they climbed Mount Taebaek to see the Manggyeongsa temple which enshrines the statue of the Bodhisattva of wisdom. There were many other international teams at work as well as other workers creating an ice bar etc. The snow was made with big snow cannons that are normally used on ski-slops and it was very odd that there was no other snow here so high in the mountains. I was even able to work in a tea-shirt at times.
After the project we returned to Seoul and spent a few days taking in the culture along with our Interpreter, who was from there. She showed us all the places off the beaten track. Unfortunately I don't have many photos of our experiences where she showed us the wonderful backstreets and electronic areas. I prefer to experience my travels and not ruin the moment by trying to capture it. I do however have these two pics of the changing of the guard at some place/temple we visited. It was like being transported back in time with no big tourist presence to ruin it, except us of course.
I have traveled in Asia before but what struck me most about South Korea was the way that as a visitor you were given space to enjoy your visit. People didn't keep on coming up to sell us shit. It seemed that because Seoul was not a big tourist destination at that time they didn't look on us as a way to earn a living and we really didn't see that many other travelers. I have been back two other times and love Seoul more and more.
Ps
Thanks for reading. I use Steem to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice, among other things. This will hopefully give it a new life on the Steem blockchain. Below you will find some of my recent posts.
Toy Nativity - sand sculpture
The Nightwatch - ice sculpture
The Annunciation - ice sculpture
I hope you'll join me again soon
@ammonite
!steemitworldmap 37.116866 lat 128.948862 long 2006 Loop de loop - snow sculpture 2006 d3scr