The shingle-covered round building across from my window has always fascinated me.  I ran across the name of this type of building a long time ago, but lost the reference.  Anyway, I ran across it again this evening, so I thought I’d share!  (btw, I always try to remember to link images from other sites to their original url’s)

We often see and think about traditional Korean homes as having thatch roofs for the poor and tile for the rich, but maybe you haven’t seen these shingle roofed homes before. But it totally makes sense, as thatch would have more opportunity to rot under mountain tree drip-lines and there would be less sun to dry out thatch once wet.

For once I can get gushy about something anachronistic and know it’s not just overly romantic!  Living in the woods, under the pines, in a cedar cabin before I left for Korea, I can attest what a wonderful lifestyle it was.  No yards to mow, nothing to upkeep except for an annual cleaning of gutters, and even sweeping the deck was a joy, as it just released the smell of pine needles and added more depth to the soft padding of detritus off the path.  It was cozy and so connected to nature…I would do anything to be able to live there again, now that my mind is more peaceful.

I also ran across one slate roof!  Ran across this while looking for more broken pot roofed houses.  It would be fun to have a car and take photos of Korean road-side attractions.

All around where I live there are roadside attractions to rival those we have on American highways.  Palm trees, Giant Alice in Wonderland statues, The Little Prince, The Eiffel Tower, etc.  The enterprising roadside restaurants & especially the pensions (inns) have come up with all manner of gimmicks.

Korea’s a pretty interesting place if you can maneuver through Korean blogs.  And, it seems there are a lot of Koreans my age who also find the obscure to be pretty interesting.  Oh, to just be here on vacation with a little pocket money!