Solo in Seoul

After visiting my dad in Wonju, I took a bus back into Seoul to spend a few days. Getting off the bus I did not have a reservation at a hostel but I had one in mind, so I took the subway to the right area. Seoul is an ENORMOUS city, and this became apparent as soon as I entered the metro station. The map seemed to go on forever, and to confuse things even more the stop I wanted was on a circular line with no end. I managed to find the right train and made my way to what turned out to be a great hostel (Namu Guesthouse if you are ever in Seoul I recommend it!). It's more like a converted apartement with just a few rooms, and the woman even made me a fried egg for breakfast.

Once I settled in, I got a map of the city and set out to explore. I am a very social creature, and although I am ok being by myself I prefer to surround myself with as many people as possible. So luckily as soon as I climbed back on the subway I made two new friends, two Americans who are teaching Enlgish in Wonju for a year. We ended up spending the whole day together visitng an old palace, Seoul tower, and Itaewon (the army base area) for some much appreciated Taco Bell.

This is Gyeongbukgung Palace from the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897). This is the time when the Korean writing system Hangul was developed by King Sejong the Great. It's a super scientific language that seems very well thought out and logical. It's all phonetic and is supposed to be very easy to learn.

Me in front of the main entrance to the palace
There was a procession going on with guards dressed up in traditional robes playing instruments and marching in line.
The palace grounds were really pretty. Here is a pagoda in the middle.
My new friends Tim and Shirley
King Sejon
This is where the president of South Korea lives

Here are some views from the top of Namsan Park, the hill that houses Seoul Tower. It is actually a pretty ugly tower and the day was hazy so we stop after taking the cable car to the top of the hill. It had a great view of Seoul, and I was amazed by how the city never seemed to end.

At the top there were sculptures in the shape of trees. You could buy locks and charms to write on and hang on the trees. I obviously had to take part.

The cable car to get to the top of the hill

On my second day I decide to roam freely throughout the city and see what I discovered. At times I had a little direction, but most of the time I just picked whatever street looked most interesting and turned that way. It was a great way to see the many sides of Seoul. I started in the Bukchon Hanok Village that housed traditional Korean homes and a million museums including one devoted only to chicken art. Unfortunately it was closed but peaking through the door I was able to see my share of chicken statues and drawings. Walking from there I saw it all - the huge skyscrapers in the business district, the shopping district, college campuses (where I became part of a student film), and even a nice stream running through the city.

Houses in the traditional village
There was a nice walking path along the stream in the city. A lot of people were sitting along the water resting and dipping their feet in the water.
This waterfall was supposed to block the smell of sewage from entering the stream. It did not work.

At night I made another friend and we ventured out into HongDae, which is an area full of a million and one restaurants and bars. We had Korean bbq for dinner, where you cook the meat on a grill at your table, and then ventured to a bar to sample my very first soju, a Korea rice liquor. I thought I was ordering a shot and ended up with a beer sized bottle of 20% alcohol. It tasted like watered down vodka, so unfortuantely I didn't make it through my whole bottle.

SOJU!

My new friend Bradley being a chef at dinner