Visiting South Korea

We decided to visit South Korea during our October mid-term break and had a wonderful time exploring the sights, sounds, and flavors of this unique country.

We used Airbnb for the first time and found a great apartment in Seoul.

On our first day in South Korea, we saw a rather large panda walking through the streets.

We visited the Dongdaedum Design Center and were surprised to find that it was Fashion Week.  Lots of models, VIPs, and paparazzi were scattered about.

The architecture of the Dongdaemun Design Center is simultaneously modern and futuristic.  This portion looks like a giant mushroom or spaceship.

The next day we visited the Dorasan train station, the last station before entering North Korea, where South Korea is hoping to extend the railway through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Russia, and ultimately end at Paris.  Everything is ready to go except for the OK from North Korea.

This engine was used during the Korean war to deliver supplies.  It is now filled with bullet holes and shows the devastation of the war.

On one cold, overcast day we visited the DMZ (de-militarized zone).  The soldier in the front is American.  The three soldiers behind him are South Korean.  They always keep a watchful eye towards North Korea.

We were also carefully watched by a North Korean soldier. 

Behind me is a building on the North Korean side of the DMZ.  The blue buildings, known as the Joint Security Area, host high-level talks and tourists from both sides of the border, but usually they alternate tour days to prevent potential conflicts.

On the following day, we visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace and saw the changing of the royal guards.

It was a very colorful ceremony with lots of drum beating, horn blowing, and formation marching.

This is a picture in front of the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion.  There were many different buildings inside the palace grounds for different purposes: meetings, ceremonies, and royal residences.

Our tour guide mentioned that the figures on the temple roofs of the palace are different from intimidating Chinese dragons or ferocious French gargoyles.

These figures, known as Japsang, still repel evil spirits but are more whimsical.  They are from the Chinese tale, "Journey to the West" about the path to enlightenment.

We enjoyed a delicious, five-course meal at N. Grill which is a revolving French restaurant at the top of the Seoul Tower.  It was a clear night and the view was spectacular.

The observation deck reminded us how far away we were from the USA.

Our next adventure was a trip to a Buddhist temple to participate in a program called Templestay.

The temple grounds were beautiful and peaceful; hard to believe we were in the heart of the bustling district of Gangnam.

We were treated to tea by two Korean women who performed the tea ceremony together in perfect unison.

The Buddhist monk reminded us that we must first look at the tea, then smell the aroma of the tea, then drink the tea to taste the rich flavors.  It was an enjoyable experience.

Throughout the week, we enjoyed lots of Korean food.  This is an example of some of the yummy dishes Korea has to offer (minus one pork ball that I ate before snapping the picture).

We had never seen so many coffee places in one city before.  There were big chains such as this one (Dunkin Donuts) and dozens of local coffee shops, too.

You don't have to wait long to catch a bus in Seoul.  They are everywhere!

A visit to the The War Memorial of Korea taught us a lot about the Korean War through multimedia displays and historical footage.

This monument is at the entrance of the memorial.  It depicts two Korean brothers, one North and one South, who were reunited on the battlefield.

There were many powerful images to absorb as we walked through the memorial.

We were fortunate to have seen some military exercises taking place in the quad area.  They were in perfect formation and executed their drills with impressive precision.

These were just some of the names of the many thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in the Korean war.

Maybe these two Cabreras are some distant relatives of mine?

There are many, many names on the walls.

When our week ended, we had learned a lot about South Korea's past and present conflict with the North.  We also immersed ourselves in the rich culture of food, language, and entertainment that Seoul had to offer.  Kansahamnida!