Seoul, Korea Trip Highlights

I know some don't like going through other people holiday snaps so this is only for those who might be interested in a country that doesn't otherwise get much tourism publicity like Thailand or Japan.

Seoul was and is too busy trying to become an economic powerhouse to have tried to become a tourist destination although that is starting to change as well.  Korea has a recorded history of about 5000 years and is full of historical monuments that have managed to survive wars and invasions.

This is one of my favorite landmarks which was the king's pagoda for rest and leisure on a man made island in the middle of a natural spring lake in the main royal palace.

This is the gate to the main royal pavilion.

I happened to be going in at the changing of the guard.

Except these guards don't get botox subsidies like 

at Buckingham Palace.

This main palace is where the king would conduct state affairs four times a month and all goverment officials would father and fill the courtyard according to rank.

The architecture is very influenced from China has many similar architectural characteristics.

Cornices are also very much a feature and colors and designs all have significance and is ultimately used to protect the kingdom and is a form of feng shui.

The dragon and phoenix is a very popular safety totem.

All the designs would have been handpainted.

Korea is quite a religious nation and has a population that is split between Buddhism and Christianity.  When Christmas was made a public holiday, the Buddhists also received a public holiday for their religion in the form of Buddha's birthday.

There were lanterns hung in public parks to commemorate the holiday.

Even if one isn't Buddhist, it is very common to have parents or cousins who practice a different religion.

Plus the country was Buddhist on and off for over a thousand years so Buddhism has had a huge influence on Korea's culture.

I hadn't been in Korea for Buddha's birthday in over twenty years so I forgot how colorful the decorations were in small temples.

And then the decorations in the bigger temples were spectacular.
Don't let the Buddhist version of the nativity scene fool you.



There were lanterns everywhere.

The lanterns were like a giant parasol.




I also went to Myongdong Cathedral that was built in 1898 is the oldest one in Korea and has the relics of native born Korean saints.  Early converts were heavily persecuted but the religion still thrived despite a turbulent introduction.




The church also managed to be a safe haven during the 1970's 
and 80's when there were student revolts and 
they needed shelter from the police.
I have rarely seen a queue to get into a church anywhere apart from Notre Dame in Paris where it is mainly tourists entering.



While most of Seoul is full of high rise buildings and a metropolis of more than 10 million people, it is a city with pockets of green and surrounded by mountains.

There are little mountains dotted within the city and 

this one was right by my family's home.

Expats are always surprised by the amount of parks in Seoul that aren't as apparent as a tourist.

Koreans are obsessed about health and the government invests in its own way while it doesn't have a proper social welfare system.  A lot of public parks are equipped with proper machines.

I would love something similar in London although the "health and safety" people would find ways of injury claims so that doesn't seem a feasible idea.

I grew up in modern style homes and yet I felt so at home in these houses that I had never even spent one night in.
Most homes have these internal courtyards.

My uncle told me that these types of houses were freezing and it is only now that Seoul has become a prosperous city that they yearn for something that never actually was...

Although it seems there were a few who thought like me and purchased these old houses and then modernized them as I would have like if I ever moved back to Seoul.

The fact is that many houses back in "those days" were more like this.  Cinder blocks with roofs that were held together with industrial strength rubber bands and weights to keep it down.

This odd ditch was the historical area where women would wash clothes from the spring that originated from one of the many palaces downtown.  
The gates are now reinforced as while it is no longer occupied by the royal family it is a popular tourist destination.


This area which was long forgotten by the population has now been revived and a protected preservation area.

These houses are still hard to shift due to lack of parking so many have become commercial properties.

I love the traditional cobalt tiled roofs.

We were lucky enough to come across a traditional Korean wedding.

Many couples in Korea have both a traditional and a white dress ceremony.  

Certain things were much better than they were even during my childhood.  This fish in such clear water wasn't taken in the countryside but right in the center. Downtown!

Those are tadpoles.

The previous mayor undertook a regeneration project where it channeled a few natural springs into a walk way to give respite to traffic and congestion.

It serves as an oasis and is now a blueprint for other cities to emulate.

It was an odd trip for me in so many ways but revisiting Seoul is a bit like going back to my childhood.  Some things seems more romanticized and other more severe even. 

Certain landmarks now don't look so overbearing and certain places no longer exist.

But I will share with you a highlight of the trip.

 This lady in the beige uniform is what Koreans know as the "Yakult ajumma" which means the middle aged woman who sells those yogurt drinks.

 She is a rare sight these days and I hadn't seen one in more than a decade. But she was like my version of the ice cream van growing up as I loved Yakult like most children.

I always wanted more than just the one 
I was allowed so I took advantage of the money in my wallet which was considerably more than my 7 year old pocket money and bought 5 and drank it on the spot.
The lady thought I was a bit odd but I had to smile because it was the moment I used to fantasize about as a kid
There is nothing like fulfilling a dream no matter how small!