10. Bus Tour
I did the Seoul City Bus Tour during my week of hardcore sightseeing. It was a hop on, hop off bus that came every thirty minutes to various stops around Seoul. It was a really easy and affordable way to see all the major sights. A ticket was about $10 and it takes two hours to complete the circuit. Here is a map of the course I took. Since I had been in Seoul for a while, I had been to some of the sights already and didn't need to go back. That was a good thing, since otherwise it would have been a really long day! I would recommend taking the tour early in your Seoul trip to get a good overview of the city, then you can go back to the places you like best and spend more time. Here are just some of the sites:
This is the Cheonggye Stream. It was covered as a roadway during the rapid expansion in Seoul following the war. It was uncovered as part of an urban renewal project and runs through the city. I didn't wander too far down it, but it was really neat. There is also a little waterfall, and I think it would be wonderful to walk down during the spring or summer.
This is a ten story pagoda located in the National Museum of Korea. The museum's current building was opened in 2005 and is just massive. It is very modern, and the exhibits are beautifully made. You could spend an entire day in here and still not see everything. It is one of the best museums I have been in.
Another highlight of the tour was the War Memorial of Korea. It was a combination of history, education and remembrance. There were many memorials of the Korean War, and this was one of my favorites, the Statue of Brothers. The figure shows an officer in the South Korean military hugging his brother, a solider for North Korea, when they met on the battlefield. The crack up the side represents the division of Korea. It was very powerful.
This was the main memorial, and by far the largest. It has two semi-circles of figures representing the people impacted by the war, including the elderly, women, children and soldiers. Below the ground level, there are columns representing each country that fought with South Korea. The figure in the middle is a tree and bronze sword, representing prosperity and the warrior spirit.
This is part of Memorial Hall. Along with this fountain, there was a beautifully it hallway, and an alter of sorts lit with candles that displayed books listing the Korean and UN Forces dead.
One other monument here I really liked was the Clock Tower of Peace. I wasn't able to get a photo since my camera died, so I borrowed the linked image from the internet. It has two clocks, one stopped at the time the Korean War began, and one continuing to move forward in hopes of future unification.
I found the Memorial as a whole incredibly interesting, and it gave me a sense of how deeply Korea was impacted by this war, and showed me that there is still a desire to be one country again. Also, my grandpa was an ally in the war, so it was neat to see the monuments honoring the allies as well as Koreans.
9. Palaces
I went to two palaces while in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung and Deoksugung. Both palaces were built during the Joseon Dynastly.
Gyeongbokgung was built in the 1300s and was one of the largest palaces of its time. It has a rough history, and has been burned, abandoned and then almost destroyed by the Empire of Japan. Restoration works are ongoing, but it was a really neat to see. You can't go in to the buildings, but you can walk all around the fairly vast compound. There is a Folk Village on the grounds of this palace, and the Korean President's house, the Blue House, is also very near.
This is Sejong the Great, a significant king of Joseon. The statue is outside of the palace.
Hanging out with a palace guard. These aren't as formal as the guards outside places like Buckingham Palace, as they are there only for tourism. No one actually lives in these palaces. He still didn't want to chat with me, though.
The front gates.
Inside one of the largest buildings.
The grounds of the palace were quite big!
Posing with the Rabbit, my zodiac sign, outside of the Folk Museum.
Deoksugung was also destroyed during the Japanese occupation, and to a more significant extent. Most of the buildings here had to be completely rebuilt. To be honest, I found the palaces quite neat, but very similar. I did not take a guided tour at either location however, so I am definitely missing some distinctions. I visited Deoksugung as a part of the bus tour, though it is very close to Gyeongbokgung.
There was an art museum on the grounds of this palace.
One of the many buildings that have been restored.
I liked this picture because it shows the old backing right into the new. Seoul is like this in many places. There will be something very traditional, and then something brand new right next to it. It was certainly a unique dynamic.
I was lucky and was able to see a changing of the guard ceremony on this visit. It took about thirty minutes, and was very elaborate.
This was the neat band that played traditional music during the ceremony. My favorite instrument was the chimes. There were so many bells!
Well, this took a little longer than I thought it would. Stay tuned for the rest!
1 comment:
I sure enjoy reading about your travels. You have seen some very interesting things. I look forward to the rest of the top 10!
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