The first day in Seoul included a tour of the city and ancient capitals. In the evening, the tour made the third martial arts stop of the trip at a local university for a lecture on Taekwondo history, philosophy and development. After the lecture everyone spent time training with Korean students at the university who were conditioning for the Korean Nationals being held two weeks after our visit. The conditioning included warm-ups, kicking practice against stationary targets, kicking practice against moving targets, and sparring. Training at the National level is very intense, but the Korean students courteously kept the sparring very light against their foreign guests. After the training, the tour moved on to dinner.

Participants training at the university
 

Group photo

The second day in Seoul included a visit to more historical locations and shopping in the famous Itaewon shopping district. The afternoon included a visit to a Confucian college and a lecture on the development of Confucian thought and practices in Korea. The students of the Confucian college study in the tradition of the ancient Confucian scholars including living in the same buildings. The sign made for the main lecture hall was made and donated about 800 years ago by Xu Shi, a Confucian scholar of China often credited with founding the Neo-Confucian revival. His writings were used extensively in Korea and he was in contact with many Korean Confucian scholars. Xu Shi is the ancestor of Master Meng's Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun Sifu (teacher/father), Grand Master Garrett Gee.

Sign inside the main hall. The bottom sign was made by Xu Shi
 

Tour members training outside the main hall.
 

Master Meng outside the main hall.
 

Tour group photo