Seoul Searching

James and Cherita were going out of town this weekend (they took a guided tour in North Korea), so I thought I would do a little bit of exploring on my own. I took the bus near my place to the subway, and then rode the metro for about an hour until I got to Seoul. I knew that the first English guided tour started at 11:30. I got there about 10:30, so I bought a ticket, and grabbed a bagel and coffee a few blocks away at a Dunkin Donuts (it was the only place with a menu I recognized). On my way back to the palace, I saw this sign:

I didn't go, but I will. How can you not visit a museum with a sign like that??

Then I went to the Changdeokgung, or Changdeok Palace (official site here). It was absolutely beautiful. The tour guide spoke English, but with a very think accent so it was very difficult to understand her. You can't enter the palace unless you take a guided tour Friday through Wednesday, which costs 3,000 won. The self guided tour is available on Thursdays, for 15,000 won. 

This is the entrance gate to the palace, called Donhwamun Gate. It was first built in 1412 and was restored in 1609. It's the oldest remaining palace gate in Korea. Donhwa means to "teach and influence the people". 

Injeongjeon Hall was used for official ceremones and was built in 1405. You can tell it's the most important building because it has the most clay figures pearcher on the edges of its roof of any building in the complex; there are 9 figures total.

This is the gate to the Secret Garden:

It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I'd love to go back on a Thursday and just sit in the garden and enjoy the tranquility.

This is the Buyongji area. It's a pond created on the traditional perception of the universe (that heaven is round and earth is rectangular). the recangular pond refers to the earth, and the round island in the middle symbolizes heaven. 

And this is the Aeryeonji Area. Aeryeon means "loving the lotus" which symbolizes the virtue of a gentleman. There are lotus flowers in the pond, but most of them aren't blooming right now. 

After I left the palace, I wandered down Insadong, which is a giant shopping street. There were some very interesting characters there. I don't know who the top one is, the bottom one is Dalki, similar to Strawberry Shortcake.

After Insadong, I stopped at Yongsan. You know how in department stores there's the little sections for all the different brands of makeup? Imagine the same thing on a scale about 10 times larger, and with electronics instead of health and beauty. And on 7 floors. This was about 1/10th of Yongsan. It took me forever to find somewhere to eat, because it had to have a menu outside with pictures that I could point to when  I ordered, since I can't read hangul yet. I managed to find a place, finally, and got some sort of dumplings that I couldn't finish because there was so much of it. And then I headed home.