Posts tagged with Seoul

0 comments

January 2, 2010

South Korea Trip ’09: Dongdaemun & Itaewon markets, Seoul


November 09, 2009. Before we headed off to the airport for our flight that evening back to Manila, the family decided to go shopping in some of Seoul’s shopping districts. We went to two, Dongdaemun and Itaewon.

Dongdaemun Market is near its namesake ancient landmark, Dongdaemun, or the Great East Gate. It is apparently the largest shopping district in Seoul with over 26 shopping malls and tens of thousands of stores that sell everything you can think of. Unfortunately, the shopping malls were closed when we were there (not that we would be able to get around much, given that we only had an hour or so to stay). We ended up in Pyounghwa Clothing Market since we were looking for things we could conveniently bring home to the Philippines for ourselves, and for friends and relatives as pasalubong.

The place sold, obviously, things one can wear, from socks to undergarments to coats and ties to hats and caps. Since it was nearing the winter season, most of the clothes available at that time were coats and other clothes appropriate for cold weather, ergo, clothes not appropriate in the Philippines.

Read the rest of this entry »

1 comments

January 1, 2010

South Korea Trip ’09: Around Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul

November 09, 2009. It was our last day in our brief visit to South Korea. We only had half the day to see the city one last time before heading off to the airport for our flight back to Manila.

That morning, we decided to take a stroll at Gwanghwamun Square. The square used to be lanes of one of the major roads in the city which the government decided to turn into a park of sorts. The place was just opened to the public in August 2009. At the middle of the square is a big monument of Korea’s most revered king, King Sejong. Towards the southern end of the plaza is another statue of one of Korea’s most famous admirals. The plaza is located in front of the main gate of Geongbokgung, Seoul’s main ancient palace complex.

I also took the opportunity to take street photos around the square, of pedestrians and other citizens of Seoul going about their daily routines.

Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea
Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea

2 comments

December 12, 2009

South Korea Trip ’09: Chogyesa & Geongbokgung, Seoul

November 8, 2009. We were booked on a half-day city tour of Seoul. I used to say I’m not a fan of packaged group tour itineraries. I still do. I dislike the feeling of being limited by a schedule or a route prepared by some other person. To make things a little more unpleasant, it was raining the entire morning in Seoul.

Our first destination was a Buddhist temple in the center of Seoul called Chogyesa. The temple, although relatively new compared to other temples having been built only in 1910, plays a major role in Korean Buddhism. It was the headquarters of Korean Buddhism during the Japanese occupation. Because it is within the city center of Seoul, the temple is more accessible to tourists and devotees than other temples in Korea, although that would also mean it doesn’t offer as serene an atmosphere for genuine meditation perhaps.

Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul

Geongbokgung is like the Forbidden City of Beijing, only smaller, but large nonetheless. It’s the grandest among the “five palaces” complex built by Korea’s Joseon Dynasty. It used to house the royal family of Korea. One of Seoul’s most famous tourist destinations, hordes of tourists were still present despite the rain. Visitors are supposed to witness an hourly changing-of-the-guards ceremony but since it was drizzling, the show was canceled. Our trip to Geongbokgung was capped by a visit to the National Folk Museum within the same complex.

Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul
Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul Geongbokgung, Seoul
One of the things I really dislike about packaged tour itineraries is that they always include a trip to a commercial tourist trap. In places my family has visited like Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore and I’m sure in many other East Asian cities, these commercial tourist traps are either jewelry stores or herbal medicine shops (which includes tea stores). In Seoul, we were herded to a ginseng complex. And like all other tourist traps like it, the trip was complete with sales people talking you into buying expensive “exclusive” merchandise.

The group tour incuded lunch at a restaurant in Itaewon, still in Seoul. After having another Korean meal, we broke off from the group tour and went to another tour, this time to a Korean folk village theme park around an hour away from the city.

0 comments

November 24, 2009

South Korea Trip ’09: Onto Seoul

November 07, 2009. After just a day in Busan, we proceeded to Seoul via the Korea Train Express or KTX. The high-speed train, running as fast as 300 kph took us to Seoul, almost 550 kilometers away (more or less the distance between Manila and Cebu or Manila and Ilocos), in less than three hours. The train was apparently only inaugurated in 2004.

Speaking of trains, apparently, all Korean cities and many towns have well developed public transit systems. In fact, the Seoul-Incheon subway system is one of the largest in the world, with over 300 stations. It’s something that we weren’t able to try out, riding the subway. Nonetheless, such an extensive subway system must make commuting to any point of destination in the metropolis a convenience. It’s something I wish we could have in Manila, but with the billions of dollars that it might cost, it may just be wishful thinking. For now, we have to make do with streets congested with public and private vehicles.

Seoul Station, Seoul, South Korea Seoul Station, Seoul, South Korea Seoul Station, Seoul, South Korea Seoul Station, Seoul, South Korea Seoul Station, Seoul, South Korea Seoul Station, Seoul, South Korea
Around the vicinity of Seoul Station, Korea Around the vicinity of Seoul Station, South Korea Around the vicinity of Seoul Station, South Korea Around the vicinity of Seoul Station, Korea Around the vicinity of Seoul Station, South Korea Around the vicinity of Seoul Station, South Korea

Upon arriving in Seoul and while trying to figure out how we can get to our hotel, I took some pictures around the vicinity of the big train station. There was a small rally being held nearby, calling for the unification of North and South Korea, in favor of the dominance of South Korean democracy, of course. All the other people were going by their own ways, most of them in a rush.