I am failing in the tourist department when it comes to my home base: South Korea.
I’ve lived in Seoul now for five months and have seen very little of the city itself. But to be fair, I arrived just as winter was blowing in, and just like the black bears back home, I hibernate.
I hate being cold, so walking around Seoul and getting lost in never-ending markets just didn’t sound appealing. I hunkered down for the winter, venturing out for a movie every now and then.
It was on a less-than-horrible day that my friend Kristin asked me if I wanted to go ice skating. I am horrible at all things that require coordination, but despite this fact, I love ice skating.
Unfortunately, so does all of Seoul. The wait time was four hours. We consoled our broken hearts with warm, stuffed waffles.
We figured since we were already downtown, we’d do something worthwhile and Gyeongbokgung Palace was just a few blocks down. It was a lovely walk too!
For a mere 3,000 won (just under 3 bucks), you can walk the entire grounds.
Pictured below is what you see when you walk through the front gate.
The colors are amazing. Click here to see it.
Originally constructed in the late 14th century, the throne room housed the Joseon Dynasty – aka – The Korean Empire.
This place was a maze, I loved it. I can’t imagine how creepy it would be in a horror movie. I kept imagining epic lazer tag wars too. I am such an American.
Case in point.
This is the Hyangwonjeong Pavilion. I don’t know what this place was for, but the name roughly translates to “Pavilion of Far-Reaching Fragrance.”
Was it for poop?
I would have fit in great here.
This is Gyeonghoeru, the banquet hall. I can’t imagine how beautiful they would have been with the pond lit up at night.
Below: Exterior of Geunjeongjeon (throne room)
I loved the juxtaposition in this shot. We closed out the place because we couldn’t get enough! I definitely want to see this place in Springtime.
Although it has been an interesting five months, my Korean journey is soon coming to an end. I’ve been traveling and moving around for the past six years, trying to figure out what I want to do with my life and where I want to be when I do it. I haven’t got it all figured out yet, but I do know that I’m ready to be back in the U.S. (and be within driving distance of a Target).
With three months to go, I’ve got a lot of ground to cover on this side of the world.