First Venture into Seoul

Finally feeling like I'm normal again, I chose to spend the day in Seoul today. I was super-excited to get out and explore the area away from Hwajeong. I sat down with a fellow teacher, Ben, last night. He's been here for 3 years and has some wonderful advice! I borrowed his Lonely Planet Korea book, and, with some guidance, planned out an adventure.

My journey began in the subway station here in Hwajeong. There are 2 ways to travel by subway - purchasing individual tickets per trip or using a T-money card. The card is less expensive per trip, but you must purchase the card first. Well.... I wanted a T-money card. So, I went to the ticket counter with confidence and asked for one. He pointed me off in some other direction, and I was completely confused! Taking a moment to gather myself, I decided just to buy a ticket to my destination and figure out the T-money card somewhere in Seoul (where a greater number of people speak English!).

Gyeongbokgung- my first stop. The subway station is lined with large stone lanterns as you walk down long corridors underground.
Upon surfacing, the palace is laid out before you. Getting closer, you can see the spectacular detail and use of color.


Guards dressed in traditional clothing stand at the entrance.


Gyeongbokgung was the palace of the Joseon Dynasy, built in 1395. It was destroyed in 1592, during the Japanese invasion but restored in 1868 after 273 years in ruins.




The grounds are quite extensive, housing many buildings and the National Folk Museum of Korea.


Sot-dae: heads carved upon wooden poles, placed in towns to ward off evil spirits.

Oh yeah - I forgot to mention that it rained ALL day long! I was a trooper and didn't let the rain get me down, though!









After leaving the grounds of Gyeongbokgung, I decided to walk through the surrounding neighborhood. This area of town is known for its art galleries and traditional houses.


It was fabulous! I am definitely going to return to this area on a drier day to poke around in the shops, galleries, and try the restaurants. It's a neat sensation to be in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world yet feel like you're in a small Korean village. Atop the hill, there were spectacular views of the tiled rooftops of this section of town.








Wanting to see more of the city, I decided to walk a bit. I found a spot to have lunch. I don't know how much you know about Korean food, but everyone says it's spicy. I love spicy food, and I really didn't think much of the buckwheat noodles in spicy sauce. HA! My lips were burning, my tongue was burning, my throat was burning, my eyes were watering, and my nose was running! Definitely take heed that "spicy" here is HOT! I must be crazy, though, because I bought a bottle of the sauce at the grocery store tonight!

Feeling a bit like a wet dog, I made my way to my first Korean class. On Saturday afternoons, a group of volunteers hold free Korean classes in Seoul. I have been wanting to try them since I first discovered them back in New York. You can check out the website for the class here. I have missed 3 of the classes since the new session began, but they accept students at any time. I am glad to have made this class, as we learned the number systems here in Korea. There are 2 sets of numbers, one used for counting, age, and telling time, and one used for everything else. I also learned to ask for someone's phone number (so I can pick people up! lol), ask how much something is and barter them down, and tell/ask the time. I'm going to try to put this into practice this week! I purchased a book with cds to help me learn at home, too.

What to do tomorrow? :)