Purplelake: Day 1,2 - May 9-11, 2019

The 3 ATMs greeting us in the arrival hall of Gimpo Airport were such a welcoming sight! All the information on the web suggested that no ATM would be open at our arrival time of 10p unlike Incheon Airport (which opens 24h). We became instant Korean millionaire after withdrawing 1MM KRW!!! Buying a T-Money card and getting to the city from the airport is a breeze on the relatively new Airport Rail Line and is super affordable (1600 KRW or $1.90 CAD).

Our hotel is located just opposite the Gwangjang Market. We hit the bed not long after arrival which synced well with the local time. In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel before heading out to explore Seoul. Interesting to see veggie rice porridge and seaweed soup are standard local breakfast dishes in many hotels.

We explored Seoul on our first day all on foot! This is by choice so we can see more of the local scenes, plus most of the sights in downtown area are packed quite close together. We walked west from our hotel and first passed Tapgol Park which is the first official park in Seoul. Next to it is the Insadong District which was quite empty in the morning. Only some shops were starting to open. Insadong is dominated by art supply stores and galleries. Even in the midst of all the highrise buildings, Seoul still has pockets of old traditional houses scattered around the city called traditional Hanok villages. At the end of the Insadong District is the biggest palace complex in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung. We just arrived in time to witness the changing of guards ceremony at the front gate, Gwanghwamun. I found it fascinating to see all the guards in period costume has a nicely trimmed beard (of course all faked glued on type) and all look very tough, but somehow along the way, Korean males have evolved into a form that is more feminine that women!! Nowadays, the most fashionable men in Korea have to be boyish looking, have very pale skin tone, wear heavy makeup, perfume, and jewelry! In a typical North American department store, I am guessing the ratio of women vs men items would be likely 70% : 30% (may be even higher). But the opposite is true in Korea. Department stores devotes more space here to men’s fashion, to my wife’s dismay! Another interesting thing we notice is that they tend to put men and women fashions together! Quite confusing to say the least! Maybe another sign of the coming merging of the Korean sexes??

Gwanghwamun - Front Gate of Gyeongbokgun

Changing of Guards ceremony at the Front Gate

The palace complex is bigger than I had expected but it’s sad to note that other than about 250 years from 1300-1550-ish, plus about 50 years from 1880-1930-ish, this palace did not exist! It was totally destroyed by the Japanese invaders around 1550 and was rebuilt in 1880-ish only to be destroyed again by the Japanese occupation. The whole palace was only recently rebuilt in the 1980s. Sad tale to the Korean people and shows how they lived in tension between two main powers of the time, China and Japan. Just like in Japan, there were many people dressed up in hanbok (period costumes) but it’s mainly the tourists rather than the locals. In hot weather like this, hmm, it’s a tough way to gain free admission into all the palaces!!

Tourists dressed up in traditional Korean costume called Hanbok. Free admission if you wear these Hanbok rentals!

Inside Palace. The stone tablets mark where all the important officials would stand greeting the Emperor

After the palace, we walked to National Folklore Museum next door and then onto the nearby Bukchon Hanok Village to see some heavily restored traditional houses. Since people actually live here, we have to be extra vigilant not to be loud and be respectful of their private space.

Traditional houses in Buchon Hanok Village. Thronged with tourists everyday

Buchon Hanok Village - Actual Seoul citizens live in these houses!

Some of the traditional houses have been turned into business

Everywhere you can see tourists dressed up in Hanbok. Great way to promote Korean culture!

Our first taste of Korean street food - skewer of fish paste boiled in broth

Deep fried flat pastry stuffed with honey

Cheonggyecheon - a river park in the middle of Seoul. The creek was once covered over by roads.

Next we walked south to the restored Cheonggyecheon river park, a creek that runs through Seoul. It is a very popular hangout place for family and couples. South of the creek lies the very commercialized Myeongdong District. Here we found the famous street to try lots of delicious street food.

Keep going south from Myeongdong brings us to the Namsan. Our original plan was to take the cable car up to the tower but after learning the wait time would be over 45 mins, we decided to walk up the trail instead. We did not regret this decision since first, it was a very pleasant hike, and second, the way they packed the tram, I doubt how people can still breathe after! We saw lots of local families and couples doing the hike. The Namsan Tower offered a great panoramic view of Seoul in all directions. Coming down, we walked through Myeongdong and found a dumpling and noodle place for dinner. This place is apparently very popular since we saw at least two branches on the same street, just at different ends! This brings to the end of a very busy first full day in Seoul!