Finding Serenity in Seoul
- Jan 7, 2019
- 7 min read
We'd been on the go for four days solid, as we crammed as much as we could into Taiwan because we were there for such a short time. Then yesterday we had such a long day, having four hours sleep before we had to be up to get to the airport,traveling here and not getting a chance to even put our feet up before heading straight out to the iKON concert so we decided that we'd have a bit of a lazy day today (well I thought it was lazy in comparison to some of the other days we have planned.) We are also here for two weeks so there is going to be plenty of time to see and do as much as we possibly can.
For the first time in four days we slept in, and just chilled watching Korean morning television while we got ready and we didn't even leave the hotel room until 10am (there was an option for breakfast downstairs but we opted out and instead chose to have brunch in a bakery.)
Bakeries and coffee shops are a huge thing in South Korea, they have a huge coffee culture, with many different franchises and we've already decided we need to try as many as we possibly can. I'd decided I need to do a 'sweet potato latte' tour (how many lattes can I have in two weeks that's what I would like to know)as I have found the best hot drink that I have ever tasted and I think I am going to be addicted after two weeks here. Coffee is not cheap though and I had heard that you know how important your dates are if you get taken out for coffee and cake instead of dinner (coffees start from W5500/$7 Aus and with cake you are looking at least $12 but you can get dinner for less than that)
Stomachs full with baked goods we headed into Gwanghwamun
Square which is located in the center of the the historic area of Seoul and I have a feeling that it's not going to be the last time we are wandering through this area.
First impressions coming out of the subway station were WOW!!! It helped that the first thing you see are statues with Gyeongbokgung Palace (Historic Site No. 117) and a bright blue sky as a backdrop and you honestly wouldn't think you were in a city of 10 million people because it seems quite serene
The statues are of King SeJong and Admiral Yi Sun Sin both hugely important characters in Joseon history. SeJong the Great reigned from 1418-1450 and is most widely known for creating the Hangul alphabet as he wanted the populace to be more widely educated (previously the written form of the Korean language was in Chinese script which only the noble families and scholars knew) He also encouraged the advancement of scientific
technology and is even believed to have invented rain gauges, the sundial and celestial clocks to name just a few and did a lot to improve prosperity to all Koreans. Under his rule he managed to get rid of the Japanese pirates in the south and encouraged people to settle in the north.
Admiral Yi Sun Sin was a naval commander under King Sejong's rule, who was never defeated at sea, and in all his battles never lost a ship. Admiral Yi's most famous battle being that of Myeongnyang where his thirteen ships were outnumbered 10 to 1, however he managed to destroy 31 of the Japanese ships without losing any.) I was impressed with myself for actually knowing who both the King and Admiral were (amazing what you can find out watching K-Dramas and some of the other shows I watch who do the touristy/history things Of course there was a little extra research done as well but I think I did pretty well as a tour guide in Seoul today.)
From here we went to the largest palace in Seoul, Gyeonbokgung (Gyeonbok Palace which is also known as the Northern Palace) and is the largest of the five palaces in Seoul. The imposing Gwanghwamun Gate (pictured above) is the main entrance to the palace grounds. It was originally built in 1395 before being destroyed in the Imjin Wars (1592-1598) but was rebuilt under the reign of King Gojung in the 19th Century.
The palace buildings are stunning and the guide book says two hours is enough to view it, but....I'd give it more time and we didn't even have the pleasure of the seeing the amazing gardens in bloom or with their autumn colourings which would have been so amazing. There are also so many people wearing traditional hanbok
as they wander around the ground and every now and then you catch a glimpse of them and you can almost think you've been transported back to the Joseon dynasty and catching a glimpse of Joseon life. The grounds are beautiful and even though a lot of the buildings don't hold the 600+ years of history I do wonder about the stories of the many people who walked those grounds, who fought in battles, who romanced, who schemed and plotted, who loved, laughed and lived their lives here.
I honestly would like to find a spot in the palace grounds and just sit and soak it in, maybe with a journal in hand, feel the energy and just write (and I need to see the changing of the guards ceremony because we just missed it and never quite got back to the front of the palace grounds to see the next one)
(We bought an integrated palace ticket which cost W10,000/$12.50 Aus which covers four of the five palaces, plus a secret garden and shrine which would cost W14,000 if you paid for them separately.
In all honesty as far as entry fees go the cost of entry to these palaces are cheaper than most countries but if you can save some money then why not -and my plan for our time in Seoul is to cover all the palaces so hopefully the savings will pay off)
At the rear of the palace is the entrance to the Korean Folk Museum and we went in for two reasons, one to see the museum and to escape the cold as we were all beginning to feel it (yes even me).
Before you go into the main part of the museum there is a section of buildings depicting different eras, a cottage in the Joseon dynasty, stores and a school classroom from the 1950s and '70s which gave another slice of Korean life and you can see how things have changed in the preceding years.
While we wandered around the museum we got a lesson in Shamanism and how it is still used by most Korean people today (who even though they have different religious beliefs or none at all) and they think that it might not be a good idea to cross the Gods.
When big companies are launching new products or opening new buildings they will often have a Shamanistic ceremony to get rid of any evil spirits who may cause problems and the launch end in failure.
After the museum we wandered around the area as we had planned originally to see the Hanok village
which is near the palace but it was later than we thought and we decided we couldn't do it too much justice so we just wandered with no real destination in mind and found plenty of quirky things to keep us amused as we made our way towards a subway station.
Linda was freezing and the search was on for some clothes shops and both her and Sarah popped into a couple of clothes shops in search of a jacket realising that the one she was wearing just wasn't going to cut it (it was too short sitting just below her waist) in the cool weather we are having here.
Jenna and I stayed outside, window shopping and I knew that there
was one thing I missed from Japan (and I am hoping that it was only today that we couldn't find them) is the vending machines that have hot as well as cold drinks in as they were everywhere and so far in our travels we haven't been able to find them today, but thankfully we found a small milk-bar which sold coffee in a can which warmed us up as we headed back to the train. They are so good, taste wise-although still to find the hot chocolate in a can-but also good in keeping your hands warm. We were advised to get the pocket pouches to use to heat your hands, none of us brought them over with us, but if you get cold enough to need them they are readily available in a lot of places here (even the 7-11)
Because Linda was so cold, we decided that we would head back to Dongmyo and find somewhere closer to the hotel for dinner and then when the real cold set in we wouldn't have far to go to get back to the warmth of the hotel. Luckily for her when we came out of the station the market was in progress again and she managed to find a great 'doona' for $10Aus and had Jenna and I in stitches thinking of the movie "Smallfoot" (which we had all watched on the flight over)
While Linda and Sarah were shopping Jenna and I were talking to a couple of people who were curious as to where we were from and why we had chosen Seoul to visit. We found it really sweet as we communicated with the very little Korean I know and the very little English they knew but somehow we had a conversation and once again that feeling that I really feel at home here was reinforced.
After shopping we got to knock off more items from our to-eat list and
I am so glad that I get to experience more Korean food which was seolleongtang (ox bone soup) and sundubu jigae (soft tofu stew) with again an amazing array of side dishes/.
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