The National Museum of Korea is enormous. I have been there three times now, and I still haven’t seen everything. It reminds me of the British Museum in London, except I don’t feel like everything housed here should be in other countries. It is located just a minute walk from Ichon station a little out of downtown. It is really a nice location. You can see the N. Seoul Tower sitting atop Namsan just through the open space of the Museum and the whole area is very open compared to the rest of the city, so it is relaxing to be there.
Read Moresouth
Jjimjilbang (찜질방) /
The jjimjilbang is the Korean version of Turkish baths. I have never been to a Turkish bath, but I understood the idea. I was about to walk into a room full of naked Korean men and attempt to walk while staring at the ceiling. I was expecting to get into the place, get undressed and get in the showers and then put on the outfits they give us and go into the baths in the coed place. That is what I was expecting.
Read MoreGyeongbokgung Palace Complex /
The palace complex is pretty big once you enter. It’s not as big as the Forbidden City or anything, but you could easily spend a few hours here wandering. I decided to take the less crowded side to start and see what I could catch. I went to the right. The back corridors are pretty neat and you can get the feel of really being there at the height of the Josean era. Behind the main attraction (I’ll get to that later) was the concubines quarters. It is just a complex of small rooms and bridges. I was alone, except one girl on her cell phone, while I was back there so that was pretty neat. I wandered all behind the main areas and saw the Princes quarters and the newer buildings, but I had to stop when I got to the middle of the complex.
Read More63 building and Yeouido /
The 63 Building is on an island that used to be unused land but recently was the center of some of the major revitalization Seoul has been doing. It was a planned city called Yeouido (can you fit anymore vowels in that word?) The area is new and expensive, but it’s also right on the Han River and freshly designed with the emerging trend in Seoul of planning a lot of public space and park land. When I exited the Yeouinaru subway station (in case you want to visit), I wasn’t sure what to expect. You come out on a street, like many streets in Seoul, until you turn towards the river.
Read More