Jinyang Lake Observatory and late night Music

On my last day in Jinju my friends Yoonseul and Sorim took me to Jinyang lake. Jinyang lake is the largest lake and located to the west of Jinju. The area was formed after a hydro electronic dam was build on the Nam river and they later created an observation tower. 

Jinyang Observatory

Danger!

There's a legend of a monster living in the lake O.O

Yoonseul and Sorim taking me down to the lake...so many stairs. 

Later that evening we went back to the main part of Jinju near the art/music center and just sat outside by the river. Jinju is so peaceful! The air is clean, crisp, and reminds me of Hawaii. 

Later that night we encountered an old Korean man playing the harmonica. He was just walking by and when he heard us playing the guitar he joined in...so random! 

Jinju's Night Music Fountain

The second attraction in Jinju which I visited was the famous night music fountain. This fountain has been in some K-dramas and is a hot spot for locals and couples. This fountain only lights up at night and has shows every hour (the time varies). The cool thing about this music fountain is that the fountain changes colors and shoots different water formations depending on the type of music which is played on the park's outdoor speakers. I was lucky to take a short video of the last song before my camera died out! I posted the video at the bottom. Enjoy!

A Weekend Away from Seoul: Jinju

This weekend I was invited to see my friend's hometown, I didn't know but it was outside of Seoul! My friend took me to Jinju, a small riverside city in the south, outside of Seoul. Jinju is known for it's breathtaking scenery and lantern festivals in the fall. Jinju is a small city of approximately 400,000 people but it's nice nonetheless. 

My friends house was amazing! It was my first time in an actual Korean furnished house. The furniture was...different. There was an old fashion heating device, Korean style cabinets, and lots of Korean artwork. 

The first attraction I saw was Jinjuseong Castle. This castle has spectacular views of the Namgang river and is the main historical place in Jinju. Around 1592, Jinjuseong Castle was apparently the location of an important battle in Korean history. At this castle the Korean army held off a massive attack by the Japanese (I think my friend said that it was 20 Japanese soldiers for every 1 Korean soldier). Now this castle pays tribute to the thousands of soldiers who gave up their life defending Jinju and is visited by tourists and Koreans alike. 

Some famous General of one of the battles of Jinju