Oppa Gangnam Style
Good morning from South Korea! Seoul to be exact. Seoul was always an idea for our big trip and we weren't sure if we would be able to make it this way. But, after we put Japan on the list as a must see for cherry blossom season, we figured, well, we've already flown up this far north. Let's pop over to South Korea for THREE NIGHTS. As one does. So, here we are.
With limited time on our hands, we were extremely lucky to have the jewel of South Korea at our disposal for the trip – my friend from Northwestern, Kim Varhola! She's lived here for over three years now with her husband, Michael (who has become quite the musical theatre star here and his career is the reason for their move), and their two beautiful children. They have quite the life here and she is quite the tour guide. So, she met us at our AirBnb and we were off and running!
We spent the first part of the morning walking the streets of Seoul in the heart of the city along Gwanghawmun Square. A few beautiful statues line the street - the first of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin and the second is of of King Sejong the Great. The sheer size of these pieces along with the majestic way they are presented in the middle of the square almost bring you back to a time when these rulers were running things – oh, back in the 1400–1500s.
Our next stop is the main sight to see in Seoul – Gyeongbokgung Palace. Set right down the end of Gwanghawmun Square, this palace is ginormous and sprawls out behind it's massive entry gate. We spent a solid hour exploring the grounds and the various buildings and areas that made up this ancient Korean palace. Extremely impressive.
All of this sight seeing had us peckish, so we opted for some of the finest Korean delicacy out there...KFC...Kentucky...oh wait...KOREAN Friend Chicken! We hunted for a few spots, but it was a national holiday (thus Kim was off work and able to show us around all day), but we finally found a spot and hit was perfection!
Along our travels somewhere, Tim's prescription sunglasses went missing. Who knows – we're lucky this is all we've lost at this point! Kim, knowing Seoul backwards and forwards, said we should head straight to the Avenue of Youth. Sounds appealing! She said she knew of some places that could get a pair in under an hour. Really?! Prescription sunglasses?! We popped in and out of a few spots there and in the traditional markets down the road a bit and, sure enough, Tim had a brand spanking new pair of prescription aviators, which they got the prescription from scanning his regular glasses, in 45 minutes. Thank you Seoul!
Kim needed to run home for a bit, so Tim and I continued our exploration of Seoul. Namdaemun, or the South Great Gate, wasn't too far from where we we got the sunglasses, so we wanted to check it out. Not only is it extremely beautiful, but it is also heavily guarded and there are video cameras everywhere. Back in 2008, an arsonist burned the roof of the pagoda which sits on top of the gate. It was a national and international scandal. This was one of Korea's oldest and most renowned landmarks after all! It was fully restored in 2013 and they clearly aren't taking any chances going forward...
With some time to explore before dinner with Kim and Michael, I came up with the brilliant idea of going to see Sebitseom – these three floating "islands" (buildings really) that are alongside the Han River on the other side of town. We saw them glowing in a guidebook and figured it would be something different to see in a different part of Seoul. Wellllllll, a subway ride to a massive station, which we got lost in for half an hour and then the other brilliant idea of mine to walk along the Han River to these buildings ended up being a bit of a long detour. It all worked out in the end, but it took a bit longer than expected. We decided to just enjoy the stroll amongst the 9-to-5ers who were out for their evening jogs and their bicycle commutes home and then we did indeed find those glowing islands. Magical!
We were a bit late, but all was good at Bornga, Kim's favorite spot in town which is owned by chef Baek Jong Won. DELICIOUS Korean BBQ. Yummmmmy stuff. Kim assumed the role of master chef and did most of the cooking and we all did all of the eating! Great to get to know Michael too. So happy for them and the wonderful life they've started in Seoul.
Michael had a photo shoot early in the morning, so that left the three of us to explore another neighborhood we HAD to fit while here...GANGNAM! Yes, we looked and looked for Psy, but we couldn't find him. But we did find a New Zealand frozen yogurt place – so naturally we had to get some. A little taste of home for our Kiwi!
The streets were lit up proudly; Seoul really does get going at night. It was a big day for all of us, so we took in some of the sights, wandered the streets and finished our day and night seeing Gangham (in) Style.
