Sightseeing in Seoul, Korea
My parents visited me for two weeks in Korea. During that time, we did a lot of sightseeing together, mostly in the downtown Seoul area. Here are some pictures and descriptions of our visits.
First Saturday
Wearing Traditional Korean Hanbok at Myeongdong
-Myeongdong is a shopping area in Seoul. It also houses Myeongdong Cathedral, which is the first gothic church in Korea, and the Seoul Visitor's Center, where this picture was taken.
My mom seemed to like the clothes, but my father thought the hat was "gay looking" *rolls eyes*
Changgyeong Palace
-Changgyeong Palace is the most western style palace in Korea. It's one of the nicest ones, imop. The picture above is the crown prince's quarters, which is very close to the garden. About 60% of the palace grounds is the garden. It's supposed to be lovely, though we didn't go through it because it was a little expensive and we didn't have the time anyway.
Namsangol Hanok Village
-This is a small village set up near Namsangol Tower that shows what a Korean village used to look like. This is a higher up village, as even a princess resided there at one time! It was a really pretty place to look around, and free to boot!
The view from Namsan Tower
-This is a view from the Tower area. We took a bus up to the tower, but we still had to hike nearly straight uphill. Our poor knees. The day we went up it was storming on and off. There are some pictures that are clearer, but I thought this one was really cool with all the dark clouds and everything.
First Sunday
-Everland Resort
Everland Resort is a mix between a Sea World/Amazon World and Disney World. There are roller coasters and other rides, but there is also a zoo section. One of the "rides" was a Jungle Cruise, where you take a bus into the "jungle" and see all kinds of rare animals, like tigers, bears, and even a liger. And they're all real. The bear will even do tricks for pieces of bread. It was cute, though I do wish the cages were a little better...
There were other animal shows, like a seal show, a cat show, and a bird show as well. It was pretty neat, and the tickets were uber cheap (37 dollars). Recommended if you travel to Korea.
Next Wednesday
Noryanjin Fish Market
This is the best place to buy fish in Seoul. It's the biggest market in the area, and it's right on the Hangang River. We didn't buy though, just looked around.
Deoksu Palace
-Deoksu is one of the smallest palaces, though it didn't used to be so small. Deoksugung is now only 1/3 of its original size. It was the final resting place for Emperor Gojong, and it features western buildings on its palace ground. The changing of the guards is performed there, for free.
Yongsan
-Yongsan is a big subway transfer station in Seoul. It also features a huge mall area, which contains a KTX service, an E-Mart, wedding hall, Shinsegae Department store (I think), movie theater, and the I-Mall. The I-Mall is my favorite part, as it's an electronics district. I stopped here momentarily to show my folks around as well as get a new power cord for my Wii.
Saturday
Seoul Grand Park Zoo
-We went to Seoul Grand Park Zoo. Grand Park is bigger than that, but we were mostly interested in the zoo. It was pouring rain when we got there and we had no umbrellas, so we bought two dollar raincoats. About an hour after that the rain let up (figures).
The zoo was pretty neat. My favorite part was the peacock emporium and the bird sanctuary. You went inside the building and they just had birds flying all over the place and walking around right in front of you. It was really cool, and we got some nice close up shots.
Seoul Zoo also had a dolphin show, which I taped almost completely, though about 60% of it was actually a sealion show (false advertising!)
Next Sunday
Gyeongbok Palace
Gyeongbokgung was the main palace for a super long time, and it gets the most attention. The day we went was Independence from Japan day in Korea, so the palace was free to the public. This meant it was even more crowded than usual. The palace was gorgeous, though a little odd since some of the buildings had been updated less than ten years ago, so they stuck out like a sore thumb... But it was a great trip, nevertheless.
The Olympic Swimming Pool at Olympic Park
-Sunday we also visited Olympic Park, where the 1988 (don't quote me on this) Olympics were held. The park was filled to the brim with people, as they were having an Independence Day celebration. There was also a Super Junior concert at the Gynasium, so there were teens and young women everywhere.
Only the tennis courts and pool were really open to see, but it was still cool in general to see where they played the Olympics. I'm really glad I got the chance.
And that's it for now...
First Saturday
Wearing Traditional Korean Hanbok at Myeongdong
-Myeongdong is a shopping area in Seoul. It also houses Myeongdong Cathedral, which is the first gothic church in Korea, and the Seoul Visitor's Center, where this picture was taken.
My mom seemed to like the clothes, but my father thought the hat was "gay looking" *rolls eyes*
Changgyeong Palace
-Changgyeong Palace is the most western style palace in Korea. It's one of the nicest ones, imop. The picture above is the crown prince's quarters, which is very close to the garden. About 60% of the palace grounds is the garden. It's supposed to be lovely, though we didn't go through it because it was a little expensive and we didn't have the time anyway.
Namsangol Hanok Village
-This is a small village set up near Namsangol Tower that shows what a Korean village used to look like. This is a higher up village, as even a princess resided there at one time! It was a really pretty place to look around, and free to boot!
The view from Namsan Tower
-This is a view from the Tower area. We took a bus up to the tower, but we still had to hike nearly straight uphill. Our poor knees. The day we went up it was storming on and off. There are some pictures that are clearer, but I thought this one was really cool with all the dark clouds and everything.
First Sunday
-Everland Resort
Everland Resort is a mix between a Sea World/Amazon World and Disney World. There are roller coasters and other rides, but there is also a zoo section. One of the "rides" was a Jungle Cruise, where you take a bus into the "jungle" and see all kinds of rare animals, like tigers, bears, and even a liger. And they're all real. The bear will even do tricks for pieces of bread. It was cute, though I do wish the cages were a little better...
There were other animal shows, like a seal show, a cat show, and a bird show as well. It was pretty neat, and the tickets were uber cheap (37 dollars). Recommended if you travel to Korea.
Next Wednesday
Noryanjin Fish Market
This is the best place to buy fish in Seoul. It's the biggest market in the area, and it's right on the Hangang River. We didn't buy though, just looked around.
Deoksu Palace
-Deoksu is one of the smallest palaces, though it didn't used to be so small. Deoksugung is now only 1/3 of its original size. It was the final resting place for Emperor Gojong, and it features western buildings on its palace ground. The changing of the guards is performed there, for free.
Yongsan
-Yongsan is a big subway transfer station in Seoul. It also features a huge mall area, which contains a KTX service, an E-Mart, wedding hall, Shinsegae Department store (I think), movie theater, and the I-Mall. The I-Mall is my favorite part, as it's an electronics district. I stopped here momentarily to show my folks around as well as get a new power cord for my Wii.
Saturday
Seoul Grand Park Zoo
-We went to Seoul Grand Park Zoo. Grand Park is bigger than that, but we were mostly interested in the zoo. It was pouring rain when we got there and we had no umbrellas, so we bought two dollar raincoats. About an hour after that the rain let up (figures).
The zoo was pretty neat. My favorite part was the peacock emporium and the bird sanctuary. You went inside the building and they just had birds flying all over the place and walking around right in front of you. It was really cool, and we got some nice close up shots.
Seoul Zoo also had a dolphin show, which I taped almost completely, though about 60% of it was actually a sealion show (false advertising!)
Next Sunday
Gyeongbok Palace
Gyeongbokgung was the main palace for a super long time, and it gets the most attention. The day we went was Independence from Japan day in Korea, so the palace was free to the public. This meant it was even more crowded than usual. The palace was gorgeous, though a little odd since some of the buildings had been updated less than ten years ago, so they stuck out like a sore thumb... But it was a great trip, nevertheless.
The Olympic Swimming Pool at Olympic Park
-Sunday we also visited Olympic Park, where the 1988 (don't quote me on this) Olympics were held. The park was filled to the brim with people, as they were having an Independence Day celebration. There was also a Super Junior concert at the Gynasium, so there were teens and young women everywhere.
Only the tennis courts and pool were really open to see, but it was still cool in general to see where they played the Olympics. I'm really glad I got the chance.
And that's it for now...