Seoul, South Korea - Day 20



From Jeju, we sailed the Yellow Sea and Kyonggi Bay docking in Incheon, South Korea.  Incheon is approximately 37 degrees north, 127 degrees east.  This port is entered through a lock, so we got a good show watching our ship navigate the narrow passage and seeing the lock system operate.

2.76 million people live in Incheon making it Korea’s third largest city.  We took a bus from the port to Korea’s largest city of 10.5 million, Seoul.  It was an hour and half drive through incredibly dense traffic.  Seoul.  Our first stop was at an interesting pedestrian passage.  Originally, the city had paved over the river that ran through this section of the town in order to create another avenue for vehicles.  Recently, the city decided that quality of life for its citizens was more important, so the road was removed and this pedestrian area was created.  It was quite nice and must be a pleasant respite for the local workers from the hubbub above.

 

We then visited Gyeongbok-Gung Palace. In its original form back in 1394, it consisted of 500 buildings and was the seat of government and royal residence of Joseon Dynasty kings. In the late 1500’s, the palace was burned by disgruntled palace slaves. It was left abandoned until 1865, when Daewong-gun, the former regent and father of Gojong (26^th king: reigned 1865-1907), initiated its reconstruction, building 200 structures on the original foundation stones. During the Japanese occupation when the Korean kingdom was outlawed, the Japanese took down most of the structures leaving only about a dozen. Since 1990, many of the structures have been renovated and refurbished. It is quite a large site and heavily visited by tourists. Incredible color decorations embellish the eaves of each building. Entrance gate after gate eventually takes you to the king’s sleeping pavilion and behind his wives and concubines facilities. It is a truly remarkable palace.

Jeff talking on his cell to Stacy.

Next to the palace, was the National Folk Museum of Korea which focuses on traditional items typical of pre-20^th century Korea.The highlight of our visit was Jeff scored two horses from the museum gift shop. Atop the museum was an incredible pagoda.Lots of children visit the area and we ran into a large group of them who loved having their pictures taken.

It was then time for a bit of lunch at a traditional Korean restaurant located in the Insa-Dong neighborhood.Sitting on mats on the floor, I ate out of lava rock bowl that had been heated super hot. Inside the bowl was rice topped with different vegetables and a raw egg.You mix it all together and the rock cooks the egg.Side salad dishes consisted of creamed radish, marinated bok choy, seaweed salad and other stuff I don’t recall.Everything was excellent.

Jeff missed out on lunch as he found another horse to purchase.Here he is regaling our tour participants with his tale.

Next up was a visit to Jogye-Sa temple, the only major temple in the heart of the city.It is headquarters of the Jogye sect of Korean Buddhism.We were able to see participants praying to the large gilt image of the Seokgamoni Buddha which sits next to two other statues.I also got some photos of the monks.

Our last stop was at the Namdae-Mun Market.The interconnecting buildings and alleys make up a typical traditional market.On our three stops in Korea,all the markets seem to have a preponderance of socks. Is it because they don’t wear shoes at home going through socks quicker?It is a mystery.We are now officially done with visiting a traditional market in any country ever again.

Good night!