Deoksugung

Enroute to Deoksugung, there appeared to be a Sunday market of sorts on the grounds of City Hall so I stopped to check things out when I heard some clanging and fanfare accompanied by the sight of these marchers wearing traditional Korean garments. Apparently, they troop around between the palaces probably as a tourist attraction/curiosity to give a 'live demonstration' of their culture and history.

Gyeongbokgung Pavilions

In spite of the grand front gate of Gwanghwamun and the majestic throne room, the most splendid parts of the palace remained yet to be seen. Here, a cauldron stands on the platform near the throne room looking back at the throne room gate.

Gyeongbokgung Courtyard & Throne Room

Gyeongbokgung, the largest of the Five Palaces in Seoul built in the Joseon Dynasty, followed my ventures into Changdeokgung, Changyeonggung and Jongmyo. Having already seen two palaces, I was expecting something more along the same lines but was rather surprised by the augustness and grandeur given off by Gyeongbokgung in comparison to the former palaces. The outer courtyard of the palace was really quite huge and the majestic Gwanghwamun Gate was enough to give a good foretaste of the wonder to be seen inside.

Gwanghwamun Gate

Sitting at the start of Gwanghwamun Square is Gwanghwamun Gate, the main gates opening up to the splendour of Gyeongbokgung Palace.  To the gate's east is a watchtower that still stands next to the arterial road that's been built beside it.

As you approach from the east towards the gate, there stands a large statue of a haechi, the legendary creature that was used to project law and order and offer protection to the city.

Seoul Metro

As one of the largest and busiest metro systems in the world, I was bracing myself for Hong Kong MRT style crowds or something along the lines of the throngs in the Tokyo Subway when I got to the Seoul metro.  Oddly, the crowds never materialized and there were never too many people.

Jongmyo

After exiting from Changdeokgung's main entrace, I headed in a generally southeasterly direction (more south than east) according to some directions given by a local as to the location of Jongmyo, the royal shrine. You probably won't go wrong once you hit a giant wall that keeps going on and on - that's the wall that surrounds Jongmyo. As it was a sunny Sunday afternoon, most of the shops were closed enroute to the shrine.

There was an interesting building along the way with the tiled roof usually seen at palaces or temples.

Changgyeonggung

Sitting adjacent to the Changdeokgung compound is Changgyeonggung palace, where most of the supposed historical Korean palace intrigue upon which historical dramas are often based supposedly took place.

Some buildings in the palace compound.

Hwaseong Fortress

One of my favorite parts of Suwon City was Hwaseong Fortress.  Suwon is located about 30 km south of Seoul and is most well known for the fortress, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The easiest way to get there is probably to take the Suwon City bus tour which is located just outside the Suwon metro station. If you look around and see these two 'generals', you've found the right place. This 2-hour city tour also includes a visit to the outdoor KBS studio set and the Hwaseong Haenggung palace.

Insadong

Insadong was the one area in Seoul I wish I had more time to explore.  The entire street is well known for its traditional and historical flavor, with many stores selling antiques and artworks. In fact, Queen Elizabeth II has visited this area.  Definitely going to spend some more time here next time I visit!

KBS Studio

Aside from the outdoor KBS studio in Suwon City, KBS has another studio/museum open to the public in Seoul in Yeongdeungpo. I had taken the metro to Yeouido station and little did I know how far a walk it was to get here, it certainly looked a lot closer on google maps! After exiting the subway, you can head towards the huge park in the northwest direction (you can't miss it, huge patch of green), then take the underground walkway (this was a bit scary since there was no one walking in it...). When you exit, don't walk to the nearest building because that's not KBS (I made this mistake =P). Head southwest for a little bit and then you should probably see this building below.

Animals of the Chinese Zodiac

It's a little bit late but Happy Year of the Dragon!  Do you recognize these statues?

Seeing as how its still within the Lunar New Year Festivities, I figured it might be somewhat relevant to post the twelve animals of the chinese zodiac as depicted in statue form in the Gyeongbokgung Palace compound in Seoul, South Korea.

Myeongdong

Myeongdong, essentially the equivalent of the Causeway Bay district in Hong Kong or the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, is one of the major shopping and tourist areas of Seoul. Here, you can find many department stores, shops, restaurants, noraebang (aka karaoke), roadside street-food vendors and even Samsung Fashion!

Hwaseong Haenggung

Much like the splendid Château Chambord in France's Loire Valley was constructed as a hunting lodge for the king, Hwaseong Haenggung was similarly a resting shelter palace for the king. As you can see here, there are cut-outs of characters from Dae Jang Geum (which I, strangely enough, have not watched despite it being one of the most popular kdramas out there); parts of that historical drama were indeed filmed here.

Gwanghwamun Square

After stopping by Changgyecheon, I continued up the main road to head towards Gwanghwamun and the central plaza in front of it. Caught a nice, big ad for Samsung's Smart TV here.

Incheon Airport Review

Having travelled for a little bit, I've been at numerous airports around the world and it is truly refreshing when you come across an airport like Incheon, one of the most pleasant airports I've had the pleasure of visiting. Most airports are quite functional, serving as an area where you need to go through security and customs before milling around in the gate seating area before getting herded onto the plane. To be fair, some airports have gone the extra mile to make the wait a bit more pleasant but I'll leave those for another time.

Incheon's approach is multi-pronged (I should point out this review was based on my trip back at Christmas 2010 although not too much has changed since I visited a few months ago in the fall of 2011). Upon arrival at the gate, a number of interesting pieces of furniture including some medicine chests and cupboards line the corridor welcoming visitors and people in transit alike with some cultural artefacts.

KBS Outdoor Studio @ Suwon

One of the stops on the Suwon City tour was the KBS outdoor TV studio.  This was really cool set of Seoul as it supposedly looked in the 1930s and 1940s for the filming of dramas.  Parts of the set could even be used as a backdrop for the 1960s and 70s.  In fact, after visiting this place, I am fairly certain that some of the early scenes in Baker King Kim Tak Goo were filmed exactly in this studio lot.

Changdeokgung

One of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty kings, Changdeokgung alternated with Gyeongbokgung as the main palace compound for the royal court throughout korean history.  As seen in the picture below, it is now a UNESCO world heritage site, added in 1997, as an example of far eastern palace architecture.

Cheonggyecheon @ night

If you thought Cheonggyecheon during the day was nice, Cheonggyecheon at night is perhaps even more alluring and romantic. Here, amidst the glow of the seashell sculpture and waterfall, the trickling sounds of water and the nice cool breeze, the atmosphere is just right for hanging out and taking a leisurely stroll along the banks.

Cheonggyecheon

One of my favourite parts of my Seoul trip was wandering around the downtown business area. You can feel the bustle and energy of the city as you walk up from the City Hall plaza on a street adjacent to the main  Sejong artery. Here, I ran into the amusing discovery that McDonald's even does deliveries!

Noryangjin Fish Market

When I go travelling, I'm a sucker for markets of all sorts, clothing markets, traditional markets, night markets, even fish markets. You tend to see another aspect of the culture and the way in which people do business in other countries in a variety of industries.  This fascination of mine was what brought me to Noryangjin (for future comparison with Tsukiji in Japan =P). The market is located at the Noryangjin subway stop and is a really rather non-descript building from the outside. In fact, if it weren't for the signs with the fish plastered on the poster, it would be unlikely that I would have taken this industrial-looking warehouse to be the market. Despite that however, the building is right at the subway station and not too difficult to find. Just exit the subway station and follow the signs with the fish to cross the bridge over the subway tracks and voila!