Gyeongbokgung 景福宮
Built in 1394, reconstructed in 1867 and still undergoing renovation now, Gyeongbokgung is Korea's royal palace.
The name, translate in English, means 'Palace of The Shining Happiness.'
It was destroyed by the Japanese in the early 20th century and it's now being restored slowly back to its original form prior to the destruction. You can read up on Gyeongbokgung in wikipedia. I shall not go into details.
The opening hours:
March - October - 9am - 6pm (Sat/Sun/Holidays - closing time extended 1 hour)
Nov - Feb - 9am - 5pm
Admission:
Adults (19 to 64 yrs old): 3000 won
Children (7 to 18 yrs old): 1500 won
*children 6 and under, seniors 65 and over: Free
How to go:
Subway line 3, Gyeongbokgung Station, exit 5
Gate Guard Change Ceremony
The commander of the Gate Guard was the chief military officer who led the guards of the main gates. His main duty was to devote himself to the peace and security of the dynasty by guarding the safety of the monarch and his family residing in the palace. This ceremony of opening and closing the palace gates and changing the guards at Gwanghwamun (main gate of the palace), was a symbolic act of such devotion and it had to be held according to a carefully arranged ceremonious procedure.
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| @ Gyeongbokgong train station |
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| gate guard change ceremony |
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| Jeollugun - Time Messenger Announcement of time for the palace |
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| Sumunjang - Commander Head of the Gate Guard The most important person in the whole ceremony |
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| the regular guard |
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| The big drum is beaten to herald the entrance of the royal guards who are taking over the duty |
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| The main entrance of the Palace - Gwanghwamun |
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| Gwanghuamun |
Honestly, Gyeongbokgung sort of disappoint me. My friend described the attraction as 'rustic' while I prefer to call it 'run down.'
Having seen Beijing's Forbidden City and some castles in the europe countries, I have high expectations of the 'place where the King and Queen once lived' and Gyeongbokgung is nothing of that sort. I didn't see the 'bed' that the rulers once slept in, didn't see the utensils or study desk they once used. Nothing of that sort.
The only thing I saw was the Chair the king sat in during his important meetings. The whole palace is just very 'empty' to me. I should have known from the low entrance fees they collected. I was really expecting more from this grand palace.
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| the net casting over the roof shows the under-going renovation |
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| ancient clock |
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| I'm a bit shocked that these aren't crafted...they are painted |
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| the only 'furnitures' we saw in the Palace |
After the disappointment in Gyeongbokgung, we decided to head to Insadong-gil.
Insadong is one of the most memorable attractions in Seoul. It is a good place to shop for traditional crafts as gifts.
The street offers rich opportunities for visitors to experience Korean culture and arts.
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| nice restaurants lining at the back lane of Insadong main street |
O'Sulloc Teahouse
This is a tea house which serves high quality of teas using only leaves from four green tea garden in Korea to make not only traditional tea but many different variations.
They have desserts like ice cream, juices, smoothies, tiramisu and cakes with green tea flavours. You'll also find loose tea leaves, tea bags and traditional mugs. The branch in Insadong is more like an Institution and the premium tea salon is on the 3rd level.
A very nice place to relax before you start shopping. It is at the beginning of the main street if you were to come from Anguk station exit 6.
In Insadong, vehicles are not allowed on the street during weekends, hence making it more amenable for visitors to look around.
Ssamsemgil
One of my favourite places in Insadong is Ssamzie-gil. It is a shopping complex with multi-level of art and culture in the heart of Insadong. Built in 2004, it is dedicated to support young and talented local artists, hence you'll find many unique shops there.
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| Ssamsengil |
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| i like this shop because it has a very nice love story |
Sun-Min & David are the creators of Uglydolls. Read their love story here:
http://wootini.com/artist.php?id=46
Direction:
Line 3 - Anguk Station, exit 6
LOTTE MART
As we wanted to buy snacks for friends back home, we reckon one of the best places to go is their biggest mart, Lotte Mart.
It is located at Seoul Station and it stocks everything you want. I am just surprised with the size. I thought it would be bigger!
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| Seoul Station |
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| another view of Seoul station |
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| rice in convenience pack |
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| black rice? |
Frankly, we went there because we wanted to buy seaweeds and thought buying in the mart will be cheaper. But after I came back to Singapore, I realized that many of the brands are selling in Singapore as well!
Towards the end of the trip, because of our shopping stuffs, we really have problems 'squeezing' the seaweeds into our luggages!! I reckon that in future trips, I shall not stock up seaweeds anymore!
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| the sort of stuffs we bought from Lotte Mart |
After Lotte Mart, we decided to head 'home' to put down all the shopping buys before we head out for dinner. We had wanted to search for a particular restaurant in that area but we lost our way and ended up in this particular restaurant in Gangnam area.
The restaurant is so local that we can't find anyone who can speak mandarin or even Japanese! And so we have to resort to the simplest way of conversing - sign language.
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| This is meant for two pax!!! Way too much! This meal cost us about $40. |
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| According to the waitress and if we didn't get her sign language wrong, this is a complimentary dish for us. |
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| In every cashier in all restaurants, there's always sweets served before you 'checked-out' |
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| This is the restaurant we patronized |
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| The restaurant is located in Gangnam Area |
GANGNAM
The best area to hang out in Gangnam is near Gangnam Subway Station as the location is geographically ideal for social and business gatherings. During weekends (actually the best time to head to Gangnam is Friday/Sat nights) you'll spot the most stylish people at Gangnam Subway station exit no. 6 and 7, as well as New York Bakery Shop, City Theatre and Giordano.
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| The Giordano @ Gangnam |
Dongdaemon
Everyone loves Dongdaemon!! Shopping there is a lot of fun if you didn't irritate any shopowners by telling them you only want to buy one piece!! However, we also met very nice shop owners and we absolutely love the bargaining! Well, if you are a group of girls, try visiting the men's floor, I'm sure you'll get a lot of fun attention :)
We head to Nuzzon in Dongdaemon area first because some magazine told us it has the best price among all others there but I won't encourage you to head there as most of the owners only deal with wholesalers. They are not keen to sell that one piece to you, even though you want to pay more. So, don't waste your time in Nuzzon.
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| Nuzzon |
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| The Famous Doota |
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| oyur favourite wholesale centre! |
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| waiting to be shipped to other parts of the world - very organized! |
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| we didn't manage to comb this.. |
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| scooping for good buys |
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| all these on the floor are the purchases of wholesalers |
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| outside Dongdaemon area - food is everywhere even at 2am |
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| make your own sushi |
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| shopping is not restricted to 'inside' the buildings only |
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| Another whole centre in Dundaemon area which we didn't comb |
Dundaemon is opened everyday except Monday. It is most bustling at night as most of the shops opened from 8pm to 5am. To tourists with limited time, it is awesome as you can still go to all tourist sites during the day and start shopping here at night. The clothes here are really a lot cheaper than back home so I say it's a must-come! For the guys, their department takes up only about 2 levels in each building compared with women's 6 so I'll say ladies, be prepared!
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