At the end of April, I went with a friend to South Korea. It was my first time there, and the weather was really great, as were the food, the sights, and the people. Getting around Seoul was super easy and the city seems busy well into the night (although Korea seems to share's in Japan's inability to provide adequate sources of coffee and breakfast early in the morning).
There was some concern over safety when we went (especially from coworkers), but the most danger I felt was from the sausage I ate that had a really spicy sauce, which attacked my digestive system. The North Koreans were fine. So was the election. It was extremely safe.
Besides seeing some amazing palaces, a fortress, several shrines, and walking around Seoul, we also did a DMZ day trip and checked out a few of the neighbourhoods.
(part 2 of the trip to come)
Here are some of the photo highlights:
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| Grilled meat, plus all the side dishes. We consistently overordered because there were so many sides. Delicious, delicious sides. Although this place was super expensive, other places were generally not too expensive. Also, the server at this restaurant HATED us. It was super funny. |
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| Gyeongbokugung Palace, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Gyeongbokugung Palace, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Gyeongbokugung Palace, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Gyeongbokugung Palace, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Gyeongbokugung Palace, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Gyeongbokugung Palace, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Jongmyo Shrine, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Changdeokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Changdeokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Best coffee we had in Korea. Beautifully presented. Just across from Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul. |
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| Jewelry found in the royal tomb mounds in Gyeongju. National Museum, Seoul. |
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| Giant tapestry. National Museum, Seoul. |
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| Vase. National Museum, Seoul. |
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| You know what it is. |
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| DMZ train from the war times. |
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| North Korea. View from the DMZ. I definitely saw North Koreans though the binoculars. Sort of unreal. |
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| Train station in the DMZ. From more optimistic times about the relationship between North and South. Now, it's only used for DMZ tours with trains arriving from Seoul. |
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| Hwaseong Fortress |
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| Hwaseong Fortress |
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| Hwaseong Fortress |
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| Hwaseong Fortress |
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| Hwaseong Fortress |
