Parenting on Purpose

Jagalchi Market Korea's largest seafood market was one of our top priority stops in Busan. We were planning to get there early the next day, but the kids were very tired and we decided to sleep in, heading for the market only in the afternoon. Due to heavy traffic and the long travel timing, we only reached there just as the sun was making its way towards the horizon. "Jagalchi" is actually a combination of two Korean words meaning "small rocks" and "villages". Due to modernisation and the construction of a wharf, no traces of either remain. View from the city in the late afternoon. The boys enjoying a rare pensive moment. Wandering in the live seafood section. The practice is for you to choose your dinner at one of the numerous seafood stalls and allow the chef to cook up the meal of your dreams. Our sons were quite interested by all the fascinating sea creatures. We didn't expect both boys to enjoy looking at t...

There are many things that you encounter when you become a parent. There are the less-than-mundane experiences such as waking up in the wee hours of the morning to feed your child, getting vomit and other odourous substances on your clothes while travelling on the plane or in church, and then there are the unique parent-child experiences such as going with your children to the indoor playground. Last month we went with our two boys to no less than six indoor playgrounds during our trip to Korea. In a season when the sky turns dark at 5.30 pm accompanied by a sudden dip in the temperature, we decided that our evenings would be safest spent in indoor locations such as shopping malls. And most large indoor malls in Korea are equipped with a sizeable indoor playground. The lovely safari-themed rooftop playground at Shinsegae Centrum City, the largest department store in the world. I have explored various aspects of play in my previous posts . This entry will however focus o...