We’ve had another great day seeing and doing as much as possible. Up at 6.45am, we decided to head to Bukchon Hanok Village before the hoards of tourists arrived. The village is about 600 years old, and contains 900 traditional ‘hanok’ homes. These days, many of them have been converted into workshops, art galleries and cafes, but people do still live here. The village has a palace from the Joseon dynasty on its east and west side (more on them later).
Once we arrived, we saw signs saying people weren’t allowed to visit until after 10am due to people living there. This was not publicised anywhere I found online, or in my ‘Lonely Planet’ guide. So we decided to give it a go and see if anyone told us off. Thankfully, no one did. And we only had to share the village with two other tourists. We had some beautiful morning sun making the hanoks look as if they were glowing, and took some beautiful people free photos. After walking around for a while, we left and decided to come back later once the shops were open. On the way we saw some super cute lollipop people shepherding children across the street on their way to school.
Then we walked to the Jogyesa Buddhist temple. This was a smaller complex than Bongeunsa yesterday, but its grand hall was much bigger. They had some interesting decorated trees and sculptures here as well.
We then made our way to Changdeokgung Palace via Insadong (a neighbourhood) where we enjoyed a milk tea with bubbles (little jelly bits). It was very hot by this stage, but we still had fun exploring Changdeokgung Palace. It was built in 1405 by one of the kings of the Joseon dynasty. Like all of Seoul’s palaces, due to Japanese invasions over the years, the palace was destroyed in 1592 and then restored in 1610, after which time it was used as the royal family’s main residence. It was then partly destroyed in 1917 but has since been beautifully restored. The colours on the outside of the structures were beautiful.
We explored many areas including where the royal family lived, as well as shrines and an area that is now government buildings. We then sat and waited for our tour of the palace’s secret garden to begin.
It was then that we received some bad news. Our tour of the Demilitarised Zone and the Joint Security Area (the border of North and South Korea) for tomorrow has been cancelled, and so have all tours to that area at least until the end of the week. Due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever (which is fatal to pigs but apparently not to humans) the UN have closed the area to try and contain it. I’m so disappointed, as I said to Mum this is the equivalent of going to Egypt and the pyramids being closed. The DMZ was a major reason I booked this trip. However, stuff happens, it can’t be controlled and we just have to move on. Watch this space for what we do tomorrow instead.
Despite the horrible feeling of disappointment, we enjoyed the secret garden tour. The guide was good, and the gardens beautiful. Unfortunately because Seoul doesn’t appear to have got the memo that it’s autumn, not many leaves had changed colour. But never mind! Our guide explained to us that the palace has lots of Chinese writing because the Korean alphabet was not created until 1443, after it was built. We also saw some under floor heating systems from the time, which were very clever.
Afterwards, we headed back to Bukchon Hanok Village. After enjoying an ice cream during a lengthy conversation with Viator to confirm that yes, all tours to the DMZ are cancelled, we wandered around. The experience was entirely different this time, with people absolutely everywhere. It must be a nightmare to live there! They actually had people wandering around with yellow vests on that said “please be quiet”, and we even got told off once while we chatted to a nice Canadian couple. We weren’t even being loud!! There were lots of tourists wearing traditional hanbok dresses.
Because our DMZ tour was cancelled, we next decided to go to the tourist information centre nearby. Coincidentally, on the way we ran into a K Pop festival in front of the Gwanghwamun Gate. On the main stage, I am 90% sure from the distance we saw the very famous and popular K pop band BTS performing (even I had heard of them in Australia!). They were practicing for the concert on there tonight. We walked over to a smaller area and a security guard told us to go and sit down. Randomly, we ended up watching another small group performing. Their music was catchy and we had fun even though we had no idea what they were saying between and during songs! We followed them and their security guard afterwards and dad snapped a photo of me with them.
We enjoyed some gimbap (the Korean version of sushi) on our way to the next stop - the Seoul Museum of History. We spent a good hour or so here. Seoul came to be in around 1394, two years into the Joseon dynasty. Its location was chosen by King Taejo because of the river passing through it, as well as its proximity to the ocean. Near to the area we were staying, merchant boats used to sell goods as well.
The museum opened in 2002 before the FIFA World Cup here, and we found the comparison photos on the top level between 1929 and 2009 interesting. Seoul has changed a lot, and probably has even moreso since then!! We also loved the huge model of Seoul, with a glass walkway so you could walk all over it and look at where all the landmarks are.
We learned the basic history of Seoul. The Joseon dynasty lasted from 1392 to 1910. In 1897 the king declared the founding of the Korean empire, meaning they were completely separate from China. Then in 1910, the Japanese forcibly annexed the empire and had absolute authority here. Seoul went through a dark period during their occupation as Korean culture was suppressed and the local people were not treated well. Anyone caught in independence movements was tortured or worse. Many areas became slums or shanty towns.
Following would War II, the Republic of Korea was founded and so was the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the north. Then came the Korean War (which sadly we probably won’t learn too much about now) in 1950-1953.
We also learned that in the 1970s while Seoul was recovering, people were encouraged to move south of the river and that’s how Gangnam blossomed. Department stores were mainly then created in the south, and many schools moved to the area. As well, the 1988 Olympics were called the ‘largest ever’. They were the first game in 16 years that both sides from the east and west in terms of the Cold War attended. We also read about the Seongsu Bridge collapse in 1994 during which 32 people died.
Out the front of the museum was a streetcar which served the public in Seoul for 38 years which you could walk into. Then we headed off and went to Cheonggyecheon Stream, which is now a park stretching for kilometres below the city street level. During the Japanese occupation, this became a shanty town and the water was very contaminated. So in the 60s the stream was completely covered with concrete to hide it. However, in 2002 it began to be restored and opened to the public in 2005. Now it’s a lovely walkway and Dad and I walked along for about 45 minutes, taking in the strange feeling of being surrounded by nature while simultaneously being surrounded by huge buildings! Along the way we saw birds fishing in the stream, and flood gates for when it rains a lot.
Our final stop before heading home was Gwangjang Market, a huge market complex with delicious street food. We sat down with a lovely local man already eating and chatted to him and the stall vendor - turns out Gordan Ramsay ate there, she had photo proof! We tried tteokbokki, rice rolls in a spicy sauce. We also tried some more gimbap and then some octopus which was surprisingly nice. The lovely man next to us let dad and I try his liqueur. We shook his hand and thanked him, then headed to a different stall and tried hotteok which is like a fried pancake. We walked around after that feeling very full but enjoying the hustle and bustle of the market.
After a quick stop at our guesthouse to plan tomorrow, we set off again. This time we walked around our local area, Hongdae. We saw the ‘fashion street’ which was full of life including street performers and people everywhere (why are these people out on a Tuesday night - don’t they have jobs?!). Randomly, while watching a street act we saw Stacey and Mel filming for the new season of the Australian show ‘Travel Guides’. Rob and I watch every episode, so of course I asked them for a photo!! On the way home Dad and I had a beer.
We’ve had a huge but great day, I’m exhausted! Night all.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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