Seoul - The Soul of Asia

Today was a whirlwind tour of Seoul. The weather finally decided to cooperate. After a humid and cloudy start, the day turned sunny and mild. Today Tom, Christina and I put on our walking boots and managed to visit Gyeongbokgung, the Korean Folk Museum, Insadong, North Seoul Tower and Hongdae. All while managing three square meals.

After yet another breakfast at the Korean Bakery Paris Baguette (hotdogs cooked into a bread/bun with mayonnaise...when in Rome!) we headed to our first stop Gyeongbokgung!

Gwanghwamun Gate

Gyeongbokgung Guards

Christina's jumping photography skills leave something to be desired...

King'sThrone-room

Palace Grounds

Bridge on Palace Grounds

Year of the Tiger! ROAR!! At the Folk Museum. 

Hanbok Drummer at the Folk Museum

Korean Funerary Box (It has some real name, of course...but I forgot!)

After the museum it was way past lunch time. We decided to head to a restaurant in Insadong. We had kalguksu, mandu, pajeon and tonkatsu. No light eating this trip, that's for sure! After lunch, we wandered around Insadong for an hour and a half. Insadong is a great spot to look for Korean craft goods. Christina bought a lamp and some small souvenirs.

Afterwards, we went back to our hotel to head to North Seoul Tower on top of 남산 (Namsan - South Mountain). First off, to any Koreans reading this, I'd like to point out how ridiculous it is to have a "North" Seoul tower on top of "South" mountain.

Furthermore, Koreans, I'd also like to point out that when someone asks you where something is located, if it is closed, please point that out! On two separate occasions I got directions to something that was closed...once in a taxi and once from a bellhop, people who should know better! We were on our way up the hill to the cable car to the tower only to find out after 15 minutes of uphill walking that it was closed. Never fear! Taxi cab to the rescue followed by a bus ride to the top. 

North Seoul Tower is a really cool spot. I was skeptical about visiting due to the poor air quality in Seoul in summer, but today was pretty clear and Christina really wanted to go.

The Geographic Center of Seoul on Namsan

It's Haechi! Seoul's Mascot! I love this guy!

Seoul is Huge...and a bit dirty air quality-wise

Dear You, Tone it Down. 

This place was kind of like a giant Korean love motel...but still cool

The tower had a really strong love motif going on. There were benches that slant together to force you to sit on top of each other, a place to put locks that you write your lover's name on, and lots of stuffed animal bears with hearts. Blarg! Still worth the visit, but I'd only go again in the fall of winter when the air is cleaner, I doubt we could see more than 5-10km. 

After the tower we went back to the hotel for a short break. For dinner we hopped a cab out to Hongdae for some dakgalbi at a restaurant named 춘천집 (Chuncheon house). Dakgalbi is chicken with gochujang sauce, cabbage, rice tubes, and noodles. I had it the last time I was here with Paul and Megan. You can't find this dish in Atlanta. A bonus ingredient this time around was cheese, which believe it or not, made this dish awesome! At the end, we got bonus rice to fry in our leftover gochujang/chicken grease. Tom promised to send me an email with how many pounds he gained this trip. My mission here is done. ;)

Working hard for the chicken...

...and the rice!

Tomorrow, Christina and I are checking out and heading to Busan via KTX. We'll be in Busan until Saturday when we'll return to Seoul with a hotel in Hongdae. Today was Tom's last day in Korea. From here on out, it'll just be me and my sister. Hopefully, we don't drive each other insane... ;)

In other news, I've been craving patbingsu all day (see yesterday's post). It's gotten to the point that I created a song about it to the tune of Darkwing Duck. Luckily, there will be more opportunities for this frozen treat in Busan.

I got Seoul but I'm not a Soldier

After leaving Gyeongju we arrived in Seoul on Sunday evening. First thing's first, it's time for dinner! Enter Korean snack chain 김밥천국 (kimbap cheonguk)! Kimbap, ramyeon, teokkbokki, manduguk and some kimchi. Yum!

Doug has mastered the art of chopsticks!

Yum!

The next day, we attended the Seoul University Forum. I don't have pictures yet from the forum. When I get them, I'll make a special post just for it. But not to leave you on a cliffhanger, it went really well!

The day was completely different for Christina. She wandered around Namdaemun Market and found her way to the Godabang Cat Cafe! This place lets you sit and have a drink in a cafe filled with cats. You can feed and play with them. Yep, whatever you want to do, you can do it in Asia!

Cat Cafe

After the event ended, we returned to the hotel and me and my sister went for a walk in Myeongdong and up to Cheongyecheon Stream. Seoul is so lively! 

Myeongdong shopping/nightlife area

Cheongyecheon

Our night was cut short by rain. The rain stuck around all day Tuesday as well, but we didn't let that stop us. First thing Tuesday morning, Tom, Doug and I met with some transportation officials with the Seoul City Government in the new city hall building. The meeting was very interesting and the building itself was amazing. It generates 30% of its own electricity using solar and geothermal energy. It has a huge community center with a museum in the lower level. 

Seoul City Hall green wall

Seoul City Hall Community Center

Old and new City Hall

After the meeting, Doug, Tom, Christina and I visited some of the main sights of Seoul. Before that, we had some lunch of Korean BBQ and ribs! After lunch, first up was Changdeokgung. We toured the grounds and the secret gardens. We also stopped by the Buddhist temple Jogyesa and Insadong Street. 

Today's sightseeing brought to you by the adorable Jongno bell-monster thingy. Go home Asia, you're drunk!

Changdeokgung Throne Room

Secret Gardens

This group of Japanese tourists never got the timing right...but look at their faces! :)

Seoul is so lush!

Jogyesa

Happy Buddha

Insadong Shopping Area

After the whirlwind tour, we went back to the hotel for some R&R before dinner. I got to sample some 팥빙수 (patbingsu). It's shaved ice with condensed milk and toppings. It comes in many varieties. Mine had red beans and 떡 (tteok - rice cake/tubes). Delicious! I'm going to get fat here...I do like how different foods are in Korea based on the time of year. Many things I've seen this trip are different than in the fall. 

팥빙수 (patbingsu) - Don't judge...it's 90% water! I swear!

Fall Colors in Seoul

We arrived in Seoul just a bit after the peak of fall colors, but there were still a few areas with vibrant leaves. The bright yellow ginkgo trees and red maples were particularly beautiful. Enjoy the pictures!

Everland and Bon Voyage Seoul!

Today was our last day in Seoul.  We got up early and caught a bus to Everland Amusement Park so Paul could ride a few more roller coasters, including T-Express, which is considered one of the best wooden roller coasters in the world. The bus left from Gangnam, an upscale neighborhood south of the Han river. It looks a lot like Midtown Manhattan.

It was an interesting bus ride to the park, out in the far Seoul suburbs.  Unlike American suburbs, everyone here seems to live in high-rise buildings that parallel the major public transportation routes. No sea of single-family houses and asphalt-laden strip malls. 

There were a billion kids at Everland. Apparently, kids in Korea get field trips to Everland for fun. Lucky! David said hello to one girl in a line and she freaked out, shouted something in Korean about an English speaking man and ran back to her friends and hid. Boys were a bit more inquisitive, which gave David a chance to work on his Korean. While at Everland, we also sampled the local theme park cuisine. I wouldn't recommend octopus on a stick or bulgogi in a bun.  Maybe some peanut butter squid, though?

T-Express at Everland

Merry Christmas (or the Korean equivalent)

Hmm...

After the 45 minute bus ride back to Seoul, we packed up our stuff and took a taxi to the East Seoul Bus Station to start the next leg of our trip.  After buying our tickets for Sokcho, and looking like confused white people in a sea of Koreans, someone that worked for the station walked up and asked us where we were going.  We showed him our tickets and he bolted off with them waving for us to follow.  We obliged and made it to our bus, right as it was pulling out of the station.  Phew!

Delicious food options at the rest stop on the way to Sokcho

After arriving in Sokcho, in the northeast corner of South Korea, we met our hostel owner and he gave us a helpful rundown of the area.  There is far less English here than in Seoul, so David's rudimentary Korean will be put to the test, while Paul obliviously enjoys the Hanguel dancing circles and squares.  Tomorrow we're planning to head out to Seoraksan National Park for a day of hiking.  We're looking forward to a more relaxed pace for a few days.

P.S. - There are a lot of mosquitoes in Korea, even in autumn.  Who knew? *scratch* *scratch*