Last days in Seoul

The next day, since the sunny (if somewhat chilly) weather was holding up, we decided to do a bit of hiking. Seoul is one of the biggest cities in Asia (with no less than 10 million inhabitants), but it's also blessed with a large number of very nice parks. To me, it makes Seoul one of the most liveable cities I've been to in Asia.




So anyway, after considering the various options, we decided to walk up Namsan peak, up to Namsan tower. With an altitude of 262 meters, we're not exactly talking about Mount Everest here, but we figured it would still make a nice break from museums and other urban attractions. The walk up was pretty nice, the autumn colours and the sunny weather really making it a delightful outing. Part of the walk followed a remaining, restored section of the Seoul city walls, which was a nice added bonus.

The walk ends up at N Seoul Tower, a communication & observation tower. It is actually the highest point in Seoul. There was a nice display of traditional Korean drumming by the tower. In general, it's a massively touristy affair, the tower, with restaurants, Perikura-type photo booths (which we, I have to admit, make use of!). I naturally had to ride up to the top of the tower for some aerial photography (actually, the view from the top of the tower isn't that much better than from the foot of the tower...).

For dinner, Andi and Vijola took us out for Korean Barbeque (the 2nd time, actually). It made for a nice change after all the fermented & ultra-spicy stuff we've eaten so far. Korean cuisine is a bit of an acquired tasty, it has to be said. One that I did acquire by the end of the visit, I must say - I was starting to accept Kimichi (fermented cabbage) as a mandatory part of any meal by the end of our Korean sejour! Naturally, the meal was accompanied by Soju, Korean rice wine (considerably more potent than for example Sake, a fact that was obvious to me every morning in Seoul!)

The next day, we decided to continue our healthy outdoorsy streak, and try cycling for a bit - even if the weather wasn't quite as good as we'd gotten used to during the previous days. We started our tour in Yeuido park, a pleasant ocean of greenery in the middle of a business district, by the river. We rented bikes there, and embarked on an itinerary suggested by our Lonely Planet guide. The pleasant ride took us along the river up to the World Cup football stadium (a rather impressive piece of modern architecture).

We even came across a replica of the little mermaid from Copenhagen (hmm, the Koreans are kind of known for copying stuff, right...). After returning our bikes back where we started, we explored the park for a bit. There is a nice Korean garden there, and even a C47 airplane on display! All in all, a very nice place to stroll around.

For our last night out, after a few beers at Andi and Vijola's place (as usual, it's getting to be a bad habit!), we headed off to try Pa Jun - Korean pancakes. Delicious - possibly my favourite food in Korea (close tie with the Korean BBQ). That, sadly, brought an end to our stay in Seoul.

Time to bid farewell to our wonderful hosts, Andi and Vijola. I hope to see them again, in some part of the world! Even more sadly, it was time for me to also say temporarily say bye bye to Mathilde, since she was travelling back to France, while I was continuing on my own to China.

On the whole, Korea was quite a revelation. I definitely have to say I prefer Japan, but Korea does merit a visit, definitely. And Seoul is one of the top cities in Asia, no question about it!

Gangnam Style @ Seoul

Our train journey took us back to Seoul, after which we made our way back to Andy and Vijola's flat in Gangnam. Gangnam, apart from being part of the title of what must be the most internationally most famous piece of Korean music, is one of the 25 districts that Seoul is made up of. It is actually the richest part of Seoul (some people say it is to Seoul what Beverly Hills is to L.A. - based on what we saw I wouldn't say it's a very good comparison...), and a busy business district full of restaurants and bars. Similarly to Japan, come night-time, the streets get pretty busy with drunken office workers dressed in black suits.

We started our exploration of Seoul by taking the mandatory "Gangnam Style" photo (the sign is located just by the tube station exit, near Andy and Vijola's flat), and then headed off on foot to explore town. We made our way down to the Han River, which neatly cuts Seoul in two (Gangnam is south of the river, most of the touristy stuff is north of the river). We checked out the famous Banpo rainbow bridge, the longest fountain bridge in the world (hmm, I wonder how many of those there actually are in the world? ;-) ). The fountain wasn't turned on when we were there, unfortunately. We did check out the floating islands - artificial floating islands with interesting modern architectural structures connected by pedestrian bridges) - pretty cool.

We crossed the river, enjoying the splendid riverside views (the sun was out, which helped as well!), and headed off to check out Yongsan Park, a massive park, a bit of an oasis of peace amongst all the hustle and bustle. The National Museum of Korea is located in the park, which we took the opportunity to visit (since it was free). A pretty interesting place, with plenty of interesting artefacts highlighting Korea's history.

After a decent lunch at the museum restaurant, we decided to make our way to the War Memorial Museum (it looked to be pretty close on the map - but getting there on foot turned out to be a bit of an expedition, partly due to the fact that there was actually a US military base between the National Museum and the War Memorial museum!). We made it in the end...

It's a pretty interesting museum that charts all the military conflicts Korea's been involved in (and there are many - Korean history is a pretty turbulent with plenty of conflict with its superior neighbours Japan and China). Unsurprisingly, a lot of the museum covers the Korean war of 1950-1953. I was a little bit disturbed by the somewhat nationalist / glorifying overtones often present at the museum - not something I would expect in a democratic country. Outside the museum there was plenty of military hardware on display - including a B52!

Before heading back to the flat, we decided to check out Seoul's biggest night market (can't remember the name of it just now...). It's a pretty cool place, one of those places where they sell pretty much anything, for a reasonably price. Reminded me a bit of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

For dinner, Andi and Vijola had a real treat planned for us. They took us on a bus ride to Seoul's biggest fish market, where we got to eat some REALLY fresh seafood. The concept is pretty cool - you basically pick your fish at the market (including in our case a live octopus!), then you take it to a restaurant, where they cook it for you as you want it. We naturally had the octopus raw - which basically means they cut it up for you, but the tentacles still keep moving while you eat it. Yummie! :)

The next day, we decided to check out one of Seoul's five imperial palaces - Changdeokgung palace (a bit of tongue-twister, that, but one gets used to that in Korea!). Built during the Joseon dynasty, it was the favourite palace of many rulers of Korea. It's certainly an impressive and painstakingly restored place (it was heavily damaged during the Japanese occupation leading up to World War II). It's a pity that the palace interiors cannot be visited.

The highlight of the palace was definitely the Secret Garden, for which we had to pay an extra entrance fee (well worth it!). It was basically the King's private garden - even high officials were not allowed without special permission from the king. These days, thankfully, it's open to the public. The beautiful autumn colours added to the beauty of the place.

The mandatory palace visit out of the way, we continued our exploration at the nearby Bukchon, a historic area of Seoul, which houses plenty of historic Hanok houses.

What's great about this neck of the woods, compared to say Jeonju, is the relative lack of crazy Koreans dressed in traditional Korean dress and taking selfies... (am I obsessed with the Korean people's obsession for selfies?)

To check out something completely different, we decided to head to Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a show-piece of modern architecture that looks like something out of a science fiction movie. It's a multi-purpose convention centre that houses various exhibitions and information centres. A pretty impressive piece of architecture, to be sure!

Two days into our visit of Seoul, I'm rather impressed. Seoul definitely ranks up there with the top cities in Asia I've visited so far (Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong)...

Jeonju, selfie capital of Korea!

Our Korean adventure continues in another historic town called Jeonju. If Gyeongju was marked by the Silla dynasty, Jeonju is marked by Joseon dynasty, which originated here. Jeonju is famous for two things mainly: its gastronomy and its large concentration of traditional Hanok houses.

We had a taste of both right upon arrival. We stayed in a lovely Hanok house right in the middle of the old town. Again, our room was very sparsely decorated, but hey, we want the real thing, right!

We also got to try the local gastronomy, which was more of an "acquired taste", shall we say. As we arrived very late (like last night in Gyeongju), most restaurants were closed, so we followed the advice of our extremely friendly host and went to a restaurant specializing in soya bean sprout soup. Well, actually, they only serve that. Now, I don't have anyting against soya bean sprouts, they make a great addition to dishes, but a soup which is literally just soya bean sprouts, let me tell you, it gets pretty tedious quickly... Oh well...

The next day, we got up bright and early and headed off to explore town. We started off by climbing up a small hill, located just next to the old town. We were treated to some quite nice views over the old town with its Hanok houses (doted with beautiful wooden rooftops).

Across the road on another hilltop, we decided to check out Jaman Mural Village. It's a residential part of town, not particularly picturesque as such, that basically decided to paint murals all over the houses lining the roads. Think Mission District the Korean Way. Except, the murals in the Mission District (you know, in San Francisco) are quite a bit more impressive than here... I did get to pose next to Captain America though, so who am I to complain ? ;-)

Then for a bit of history again, and decided to check out yet another place with a completely unpronounceable name (actually, that goes for pretty much all Korean names!) Jeonjuhyanggyo - a Confucian School. Confucianism (a philosophy which puts great emphasis on education) is a big thing in Korea - or Neo-Confucianism, rather. It was possibly my favourite spot in Jeonju - a rather peaceful and refreshingly not touristy spot - what's cool was that there was some kind of ceremony taking place with lots of chaps dressed in traditional Korean dress.

We continued our exploration of Jeonju by heading off to the farmer's market - a pretty lively and busy place - the sort of place we like checking out. There was supposed to be a collection of quirky shops above the farmer's market - but it seems that the shops are closed on Sunday, unfortunately!

Our continued exploration of Jeonju confirmed two things to us. Firstly, Korean ladies LOVE dressing up in traditional Korean dress. Without exaggerating, every second lady we ran into in the street was wearing one, I kid you not. (it also appears that one shop in two rent these dresses). Secondly, Koreans are the kings/queens of selfies - in particular if they are dressed in traditional Korean dress. it was kind of funny to observe in the beginning, but the charm does wear off rather quickly...

We next headed off to Gyeonggijeon, which is one of the top sites in Joenju - due to the fact that the mortuary tablets and portraits of several monarchs are on display here. It's also THE place in Joenju to dress up in traditional Korean dress and take selfies, apparently (and that's saying a lot!).

Next up was a late-ish lunch - we decided to have Bibimbap, a local speciality of Joenju (which is, remember, the culinary capital of Korea). Basically it's a bowl of rice, mixed with a hot chilly paste, a raw egg, fermented soya bean paste (it's Korean, so it must contain something fermented), soya sauce, some meat and vegetables. It's a bit of an acquired taste - but I enjoyed it.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around in the picturesque old town, stopping for the odd cappuccino (one cool thing about Korea is that they have very cozy cafes - even if the coffee tends to be a bit pricey). It really is a very pretty town to wander around - it's rare to find a place with such a well preserved & architecturally harmonious historic old town, especially in Asia. It's just a pity the place is overrun by tourists and selfie-fanatics...

Come nightfall, it was time for us to jump on the train back to Seoul!

The Korean adventure starts in Gyeongju

The next destination on our Odyssey was South Korea. We arrived at Incheon airport, where we jumped on a bus, bound for Gangnam (yes, Gangnam as in Gangnam style), where where we were staying at Andi and Vijola's place. Andi is an ex-colleague of mine from my Nokia days in Ulm - great to see him again after all these years. After having dinner at their place, we jumped on a train, destination Gyeongju.

Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom for nearly 1000 years, until 935 AD. Actually, during its heyday, Gyeongju was actually the 4th biggest city in the world! We checked into our guesthouse, a traditional Hanok house (as you can see from the photo, traditional Korean houses are not dimensioned for me...). After getting settled, we headed off in search for dinner. It was getting a bit late, so it turned out to be a nearly insurmountable task, but we eventually found a place still serving food. And beer, thankfully.

The next day, we got up bright and early, and headed off to explore the town. We decided to start off with the most famous site in town, Bulguksa temple. Dating back to 528, this temple was the most important one in Korea back during the Silla period, and it's still considered one of the main touristy sites in Korea. The setting is certainly great, located as it is on the slopes of Mount Toham.

The temple is certainly a beautiful place, UNESCO world heritage site and all, but it still managed to leave me underwhelmed. I just think there are more beautiful temples in for example Kyoto. The atmosphere is also ruined by the hordes of tourists - most of them seemingly more interested in taking selfies than the temple itself (I didn't have to stay for a long time in Korea until I came to the conclusion that Koreans are the most selfie-obsessed people on planet earth, no question about it!). Having said that, it's an interesting place to visit.

After an average lunch not far from the temple (still haven't made up my mind about what I think about Korean food - it's very spicy, and kind of unusual, as most of the stuff they eat in Korea seems to be fermented - kind of an acquired taste), we jumped on the bus and headed back towards the town centre. We got off by Anapji pond, another major site in Gyeongju. This was the site of the Donggung Palace, of which not much remains today. It's a pretty nice place to walk around, with some pretty pavilions nicely located by the pond.

We were also treated to the sight of Korean ladies in traditional dress. Me and Andi immediately jumped at the occasion to pose with the ladies, thinking that it might be the one and only opportunity to immortalize ourselves with traditionally dressed Korean ladies (how wrong we turned out to be!).




Anyway, the tourist snaps done and dusted, we carried on to a park across the road from the pond, which houses several Silla-period burial tombs. The tombs take the form of small grass-covered hills. We also checked out the rather interesting Cheomseongdae observatory - actually the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia.

The climax of a wonderful day was no doubt the photo we posed for with a bunch of Koreans dressed in historic dress. All very Korean, I reckon!

And then, 'twas time for us to catch our bus to Jeonju, where we were continuing our Korean adventure. Andi and Vijola had to head back to Seoul, as Andi had to be back at the office bright 'n early Monday morning...