Seoul, Day 4

My last full day in Seoul! This trip has gone by so quickly. I have really enjoyed my time here, and I really like this city! It's such a good mix of the old and new, with a great public transportation system, and tons to see and eat. If not for the language barrier, I think this would definitely be a city I could live in!

In the morning, I headed to the Bukchon Hanok Village, which is a residential neighborhood comprised of traditional Korean homes. The architecture of this historical neighborhood is quite unique, and it's the last of its kind in Seoul that houses real tenants. Of course, it wasn't possible to see inside the homes, but it was nice to walk around the hilly streets.

Traditonal Korean homes

This house has a nice view!

Ah, the popularity of Korean dramas! This is a tourist destination!

The inside courtyard of one of the traditional homes

Afterwards, I strolled back to the Insadong area for lunch. It was seriously a problem of having too many options! I finally decided to have some tofu stew, and found a place offering very reasonable prices.

Yummy (and large!) lunch

The meal came with a whopping 5 banchans, and a small bowl of pumpkin soup to start. The tofu stew was savory, with silky tofu and egg mixed into a spicy seafood broth. All this for about $6!

I was tempted to take a nap after eating all that food. But I retraced my steps and went back to Namdaemun market to walk around some more. This place was massive, with dozens of winding streets full of shops, as well as lots of indoor spaces housing even more vendors. I passed by rows of people selling children's clothing, then adult clothing. There were dozens of shops selling socks and underwear, and even household goods. There was a street of just eyeglass shops, and a street with just shoes.

I literally walked around for an hour and a half, and thoroughly got lost. The only place I have been to that resembles this is the Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok. I didn't even bother taking my camera out total pictures... I just immersed myself in the experience!

I feel like I've walked around many different kinds of commerce situations in this city. And I have comparatively bought so little! But with cash still left in my wallet, I finally descended into the madness of a supermarket (conveniently located and teeming with Chinese tourists).

Did I go overboard with the seaweed? No??

And with that, my trip has come to an end. I'll have enough time to grab lunch at the airport, and then I will be flying back to Japan. I hope this isn't the last time I visit this country though, as I feel like I've barely even scratched the surface of this one city. Seoul ended up bigger than I expected, and so I didn't even visit the area south of the river (where the infamous Gangnam is located).

I recently read a small quote written by Kim Gu, one of the leaders of the Korean independence movement. Although written back in the 1940's, it is extremely relevant in today's world.

...I want our nation to be the most beautiful in the world. By this I do not mean the most powerful nation. Because I have felt the pain of being invaded by another nation, I do not want my nation to invade others. It is sufficient that our wealth makes our lives abundant; it is sufficient that our strength is able to prevent foreign invasions. The only thing that I desire in infinite quantity is the power of a noble culture. This is because the power of culture both makes ourselves happy and gives happiness to others.

What an amazing sentiment. I would definitely say that South Korea is pretty darn beautiful then. :)

Seoul - Day 3, Part 2

Walking around the palace grounds made me hungry! So I ducked into a random spot for a big bowl of bibimbop. I had to regain energy, after all, to walk around some more!

Bibimbop with four banchans (side dishes)

After eating, I headed towards an outdoor market, one that was geared for locals. There were people everywhere, buying groceries on this sunny Sunday. Everything from seafood and vegetables to the very famous fresh Korean ginseng was on sale.

I couldn't identify most of these items!

Dried fish is a huge part of the Korean diet. Look at the options!

Local fresh ginseng. Koreans regularly cook with these.

Look at the selection of dried red dates!

Although I did not buy anything, it was really fun to be surrounded by the unique sights and smells of a wet market. There really isn't anything else like it in the world!

It was a complete contrast then, to leave the market and take a 10 minute train to one of the busiest shopping neighborhoods in Seoul: Myeongdong. They are like two completely different worlds! The amount of shops were amazing; South Korea is a true bastion of commercialism. This is a shopping mecca, with a huge selection and fairly low prices. No wonder tourism has been steadily increasing to this country!

Busy Myeongdong side street (because honestly, the
main street was too crazy to take a picture in!)

Some of the street food available in Myeongdong

Alas, I am mostly a window shopper, and only bought a cheap $5 ring and some lip balm. All the walking got me hungry again, so when I spied my absolute favorite Korean snack on sale, I snagged one to munch on.

Hotteok is a kind of pancake or doughnut made with glutinous rice flour, and filled with a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. The dough is then either fried or griddled, until the insides melt into a tasty goo. There are a few places with savory versions, but I've always just enjoyed the sweet ones.

Griddled to perfection; the outer layer is slightly crispy, but very chewy
when you bite into it.

My preference is for the griddled version, which is WAY less greasy. The hotteok only costs about a dollar, and is placed into a cup for easy transport. You have to be careful when taking that first bite; the innards are sometimes molten hot! But wow, it is so yummy. The dough is chewier than a regular doughnut, and how can anything with cinnamon sugar be bad?!

Insides of a hotteok. This one also had some pumpkin seeds in the
filling, which added a great nuttiness.

I've had this snack before in New York, but because it is so fresh here, there really is no comparison. I kind of wish I could eat like a dozen of these before leaving!

Seoul - Day 3, Part 1

I have come to realize that I will not get to do everything I've planned on this trip. This city has so much to see and do, it's very impressive! My legs ache from walking around so much!

To start today off, I visited another palace, Changdeokgung. It is another one of the great palaces built by the kings of the Joseon dynasty. Like many other great buildings, much of it was destroyed or burned throughout the years, mostly due to Japanese invasion. This place was massive; the rebuilding of it must have taken years!

Main palace building

I'm finding Korean structures to be much more colorful than the
Japanese counterparts

The inside of the main palace building

I have been enjoying seeing palaces in Korea; they are a nice change after all the shrines and temples in Japan. You can really tell that this used to be a place of residence, with clearly defined living quarters, and lots of chimneys where fires would be placed. There were so many buildings that they formed a maze within the grounds, although there was also a massive center building that must have been the throne room. Once again, it was a lot of fun to imagine the people who used to live here, serving the royalty.

See? Huge palace grounds!

See the two critters (raccoons, I think?) hanging out? They're totally
like, 'hey, this is MY palace''!

Seoul - Day 2, Part 2

After the emotionally heavy morning at the DMZ, I was ready to while away the afternoon. To that effect, I wandered around the neighborhood of Hondae, home of Hongik University. The young crowd and boisterous attitude made for a lively walk.

College students everywhere!

Beautiful murals in the neighborhood

Later, I headed up to another location much-favored by Korean TV dramas (or so I hear): the N Seoul Tower. Reached via a long-ish walk or a short cable car ride, it sits atop Namsan mountain at almost 800 feet elevation. The tower itself has an observatory, but since I was reluctant to pay the fee, I enjoyed the still-gorgeous views of the city from the tower base. The slowly setting sun was the perfect backdrop.

The city of Seoul, looking north

All those addictive TV dramas get broadcast from up here

Forget about love locks on bridges... they're now on trees!

N Seoul Tower, all lit up for the evening

one last picture as it gets dark and the city lights up

Seoul is a beautiful city!

Seoul - Day 2, Part 1

For my second full day in South Korea, I headed towards one of the most tense places in the world: the DMZ. This is where North and South Korea collide, separated by so little distance but so much rhetoric. I unfortunately did not join the more extensive tour, which gains entrance into the actual Joint Security Area (JSA), but instead just toured the area.

Embarking on this tour, I was surprised to learn that the theme was 'reunification'. As a foreigner, it's easy to forget that there are still some South Koreans with family up north. It was also easy to see and feel the pride that South Koreans had towards their country, the democracy that has been established, and the immense economic growth they have enjoyed.

Before entering the area, each tour bus was checked by special members of the South Korean army, called the Military Police. We had to show our passports and do a head count before the bus was allowed to cross the bridge.

For our first stop, we walked down a tunnel that was found in the late 70s, supposedly dug by the North Koreans to infiltrate South Korea. At the very end of the tunnel, behind three concrete walls, lay official North Korean land. While there wasn't much to see (and cameras weren't allowed), it was eerie to imagine North Korea so close. Afterwards, we were taken to an observatory point where you can see into North Korea land, where a fake propaganda village with a giant flagpole has been erected. It was unfortunately a foggy day so pictures didn't come out clearly.

I was here

Heavy on the symbolism, reuniting two pieces of a whole

Super hazy, but in the distance is North Korea! The black
line in the middle is the North Korean flag pole with its
flag flying on top!

The final stop within the area was the Dorasan train station. This station is heartbreaking in its hope, for its rails run up north all the way to Pyongyang (the capital of North Korea). This was once a working train route, until the borders closed. South Korea has renovated and maintained the station and tracks, in preparation for the day when trains can leave northward. For now, only 4 trains a day run to this station from Seoul.

We were able to buy a ticket and go view the train platform itself, and see the train tracks run northward. The slogan on the ticket read "Dorasan. Not the last station from the South, but the first one toward the North".

One day this will be true!

Beautiful modern station. So spacious, but only serves
four trains a day.

Train tracks, northward. 

I wonder if I will see reunification in my lifetime.

Seoul, Day 1

I'm in South Korea! I really like Seoul so far; it's a gleaming metropolis, with a lovely extensive subway system. A smattering of ancient palaces sit side by side with shiny modern buildings, and it all somehow works.

I walked around two popular neighborhoods today, Namdaemun and Insadong. Namdaemun was a maze of outdoor stalls and shops, buzzing with activity. I went to get new glasses there on the advice of some friends, and it was so much cheaper than in the states! Insadong was artsy, with galleries and ceramic shops along it's winding side streets. Both had its own personality, and was a lot of fun to walk through.

In addition, I went to Geongbokgun Palace, located near Gwanghwamun Square. It's arguably one of the most recognized areas of the city, and I had to laugh as I recognized it from Asian TV shows!

King Sejong the Great

Admiral Yi Sun Sin. At this angle, it looks like he's keeping
a watchful eye over the city

Gwanghwamun itself was large and impressive, and even better, I arrived just in time for the ceremonial changing of the guard!

The palace itself was huge, spanning multiple buildings and courtyards, giving a glimpse of what life was like back in ancient days. Of course, much of the palace has been reconstructed, but it seems like meticulous care was taken for authenticity. Today's perfect Spring weather with its blue skies and blooming flowers made the palace picture perfect!

There was also a free museum located on the Palace grounds, which explained a lot about the day to day life of the people who lived there, and featured various items used by royals. It was a fascinating complement to the palace buildings.

I didn't eat anything fancy today, this was beef bulgolgi with rice for dinner... at under 5 dollars! South Korea is yummy!