Lost in Seoul

I hesitate to do Seoul in this series of blog posts. This is because I lived in Seoul, well Suwon, outside of Seoul but because it was so close and a lot of shopping and 90% of my weekends were spent there. Seoul was my second home away from home. Its always harder for me to write about something that was so mundane to my day to day routine. Granted there were many things to do in Seoul, so I will do my very best to help build a picture of my life there, or at least of some of the things I got to do whenever i was in Seoul.

First the historic core of the city, around Jongro or Jongno depending on how your tongue its the Korean ‘r’ sound.The historical core includes all of the old Joseon palaces, each worthy of a future post. The Gyeongbok paalce served as the main palace compound of the early and late Joseon period. The other major palace is Changdeok palace, both of which are a must see for viewing Korean palace architecture and royal culture. The other minor palaces are Gyeonghui palace, Changgyeong palace, and Deoksu palace. Each is worth a visit if you have the time, and after ten years I had plenty of time. There are other sites though worthy of a visit in the Jongro area of Seoul. Insadong is one such place, where there can be found many trinkets and other Korean themed souvenirs and eateries. I found that when I first moved to Korea that Insadong was one of my favorite neighborhoods, but close to the end of my stay there was an attempt to begin sterilizing the neighborhood. Man of the street vendors disappeared and some of the buildings received a face-lift. All in all I felt that the old charm of the neighborhood was lost, and in my last year I only managed one visit. The street completely redone, and a friendlier facsimile of what it was remained.

Another place to visit is the newly restored Cheongyecheon, the once proud stream that served the ancient capital. It’s restoration was a major campaign promise by the then mayor and future president Mr. Lee Myung-bak. When it first opened it was always swarmed with visitors. Over time the newly formed park and stream took on its own charm that I hope will continue. from street level it is easier to navigate the town, but the stream can be followed at some length.

Another neighborhood of the old city is Myeongdong. When I first came to Korea I was told it was like the Ginza of Tokyo. It isn’t. It is however a nice place and is posh and hip. It is another neighborhood that was undergoing a transformation when I first arrived. I did end up visiting the area in nearly every visit I made to Seoul, so it can’t be that bad. A lot of good Chinese food, hint not along the main stretch along the main street, but along some of the inner areas of the ward. Mostly these specialized in noodles. There were also shops I was mostly content with window shopping. The Namdaemun (South Gate) market was where i did a lot of my bargain shopping. I used to visit the Dongdaemun market area before it was decided to transform the area into a duty free mecca to deprive Chinese tourist of their yuan. used to have a lot of charm but that was lost when the old market areas were ripped out and the new trendy clothing and cosmetic stores moved in and mall complexes built.

Writing this has taken its toll on me. I have a lot of fond memories of the old that is lost. But there is a lot that is new that I also enjoyed. On that note I should introduce Gangnam. It is a generic term for the area south of the river but specifically to the east around Gangnam station. A lot of book stores, restaurants and trendy coffee places. My favorite were the cat cafes, of which there were many. In Korea I needed my kitty therapy and the cat cafe delivered. There were several, visited many, and was happy to have the company of the kitties. Will end on this happy note, yes there is so much more to see in Seoul. In future I will avoid doing a post on a whole city, especially with one as much to see as in Seoul.