Herbal Medicine Expo

After visiting SY's hometown, we drove to an Herbal Medicine Expo (한방약초 Expo) and met up with a friend of hers. Part of the reason was that they'd gotten free tickets; part was that it was equidistant from the both of us.

And why free tickets? From what I understand, members of the sponsoring doctor's association were required to buy a certain number, and they passed them on to whoever they knew. Our friend happened to be know one of those doctors, and so she got two tickets. Plus, C got in free because of her age -- can't beat that.

P and I were the only ones who had to pay, and even then we qualified for discounted tickets as part of a "multicultural family" (다문화 가정 ). I think the discount was originally intended for rural farmers with international spouses, but folks like us could also qualify by showing ID. We asked at the counter what kind of ID we had to present, but after getting some shoulder shrugs from her coworkers, the ticket agent asked, "그냥 할인 해드리면 안될까요?" (Is it OK if I just give you the discount?") Easy enough.

There's a certain kind of demographic that digs events like these, and I clued in on this right away.

The one on the right reads something like "Gate of No Ageing."
It was pretty apparent who the target market was. P asked what this sign was about, and I explained that it's in case someone has a heart attack. He got a little freaked out by that, and has been nervous about getting a heart attack ever since.
The location in a valley made for some really nice scenery, though, and the kids had plenty of places to run around and go crazy. It was a pleasant afternoon, and a fairly harmless way to spend a few more hours away from the house.