Sajik-tong

Our last full day in Korea :( We dedicated it to visiting the old, traditional parts of Seoul city centre.

Stop 1
Gyeonbukgung palace
The residence of the Royal couple during the Jeoson dynasty. This is a massive, sprawling complex of a number of one storey wooden buildings. It took over an hour to leisurely stroll around the grounds and take in the intricate architecture of the era. Complete with ponds, cherry blossom trees and views of green mountains in the background the king sure got his hands on some prime real estate. We quite enjoyed this.

Stop 2
Bukcheon Hanok village
A 15 minute walk away from the palace lie the traditional living quarters of Jeoson era civil servants. The traditional building styles have been kept, making the area an ideal tourist destination for walking around and taking pictures. However, there are still people living there so strict visiting hours are observed and a ban on talking loudly is enforced by an old man in a yellow vest patrolling the streets saying "shhh". Legend.

Stop 3
Insadong
The old city centre's cultural area, Insadong, is just down the hill from Bukcheon Hanok. Its attractions are several traditional tea houses (we enjoyed black tea, ginger tea, cinnamon tea and shisandre berry tea), a 500 year old pagoda and souvenir shops. We had a traditional Korean dinner there; braised beef ribs. Rich, fatty, fall-off-the-bone tender and very delicious!

Stop 4
Hongdae street
We walked off our meal in Hongdae Street, a prime location for seeing buskers and performers. This could have been timed better considering it was a Monday evening and the buskers mainly perform on a Friday or Saturday night. Oh well. The street felt quite Japanese inspired fashion wise, but the entertainment also drew on anime and maid establishments.

Stop 5
Han River
As the sun was setting, we went down to the river bank to take in the 19:30 fountain show. It incorporated music, light and intricate water choreography. After the 20 minute show we had a cheeky quarter pint at a nearby riverside beer garden while enjoying the Seoul skyline. We were both impressed by the modern high rise architecture and the apparent care that had gone into making it look bright, beautiful and unified at night.

As we left the beer garden, we saw an elderly woman being wheeled around the river banks. The skyscrapers, Belgian beers and fountain shows certainly weren't there in her youth; perhaps the surroundings of her upbringing were more like those of a Jeoson dynasty commoner than the wealthy and modern metropolis she was now being pushed through on her wheelchair. What a journey she would have seen her country undertake!Read more