Seoul!

The Korean Folk Village in front and Seoul city skyscrapers behind

My 4 days in Seoul was an eclectic mesh of traditional Korean experiences and ultra-Western-urban fun. Each of the dozens of districts is unique with a very distinctive personality, a lot of which reminded me of New York. The first night we stayed in Itaewon, a very foreigner- friendly area. The US Army base is nearby so there were literally hundreds of foreigners here and lots of western-style restaurants and bars. It was overwhelming seeing so many foreigners (especially Africans and African-Americans)! We only stayed there 1 night in a little "love motel", tiny, cheap motels all over the city. Wednesday, the day I arrived, we ate "kebabs" for lunch. You have to understand what a novelty it is for me to eat foreign food! Everything on Jeju is either Korean or American (few and far between at that).

Wednesday we headed straight to a Traditional Korean Folk Village called Nam-san-gol. Then we went to one of the ancient palaces (there are 3 or 4 in Seoul) and wandered around the beautiful buildings and pagodas. The weather was in our favor for the first 2 days and it was pleasant to walk around the city. Thursday we took the subway to Nam-dae-mun and Jennis and I walked around the big market for a while. Then we met John in Yeo-i-do which is on the Han River. I didn't like Yeo-i-do too much because it's mostly skyscrapers and men in business suits. We went to In-sa-dong next and met up with a Korean friend of mine named So Jeong. In-sa-dong is also a touristy area and the streets are lined with shops selling traditional Korean goods and street vendors. I was feeling touristy and enjoyed patronizing these eclectic stores. We checked out Gang-nam next, a Times Square-esque district with expensive designer shops, bars, and restaurants. About 1am we headed back to Nam-dae-mun, found a motel, and then John, Jennis and I decided to climb up Nam-san to the Seoul tower. The views of the city were breathtaking, as was the weather which plummeted to about -10 degrees C that night. Brrr!

Friday we had breakfast in Nam-dae-mun market - delicious steamed dumplings filled with red bean paste, vegetables, or potatoes - and then took the subway out to Buk-an-san. There are many mountains ("san"s) surrounding Seoul city. This one was in a small town that was made up to be a "mountain town" like you'd see at home or in a little Alpine village. John and I hiked part of the way up Buk-an-san to beautiful vistas of Seoul and the surrounding mountains. It was too cold to go to the top (still about -12 degrees C) so we headed into a Buddhist Temple on the way back and then took a cab the rest of the way down. We met up with some Korean friends that night and hung out in a really chill American style dive bar in Hong-dae, a university district in the center of Seoul. Saturday the streets were covered in snow so I mostly hung out indoors, but I did manage to find Pho, Vietnamese noodle soup, which I've been craving for a few months. Yay for international food! The weather was really bad in Jeju, but my plane made it safely home and now I'm enjoying a few quiet days before I going back to school on Monday.

I took many random pictures in Seoul so here are some of the highlights:

Itaewon just off the subway...Quiznos and Cold Stone!! Am I still in Korea?

John & Jennis in a cave-deco subway tunnel

An ancient Pagoda at the Geongbokgung Palace

Traditionally dressed guards in front of the palace

Carved Totems

John, Young Su, and Jennis at Gecko's in Itaewon (pronounced ee-tay-wahn)

Nam-dae-mun Market

In front of the Han River in Yeoido (Yo-ee-do)

Starbucks (they're everywhere in Seoul) in Korean writing (Suh-ta-bok-suh koh-pee)

A designer shop in Gang-nam

On the street in Gang-nam, reminded me of Times Square

The city view from Nam-san

Seoul Tower

Jennis and I sharing fresh strawberry juice

The hike up Buk-an-san...it was COLD!!

Buk-an-san peak

Hong-dae (Hongik University District) in the snow

One of the fun sights in Hong-dae