Seoul Searching

Insadong street scene

With mixed feelings of relief and that wdisappointment that we had not seen all we came to see, we left Bangkok bound for Los Angeles via Seoul, Korea where we had a six day layover.

Seoul was almost totally destroyed during the Korean War to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. It is a modern city which could easily pass for parts of Los Angeles. Deb thinks it looks like Hawthorne. It is full of very urbane young professionals all stylishly dressed and conspicuous consumption seems to be the new order. There is great public transit and despite the sprawl it is easy to get across the city rapidly. Seoul is one of the largest cities in population in the world with over 23 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area and encompasses the second largest urban area in the world.

Rush hour on the subway

Seoulites are the friendliest people we have encountered anywhere in the world. If I stopped to look at a map or looked confused about a subway stop someone would always offer to help.

The city is full of palaces and temples that were destroyed during the war but have since been restored to their original glory.

Deb at Chandeokgung Palace


Korea National Museum

Food was challenging in Korea. We were not fond of much of the local cuisine and found it difficult to stomach. The national dish is kim chee which is fermented cabbage in hot chili sauce. With apologies to our Korean friends we often walked down the street wondering if the odor was sewer gas or kim chee.

Korean meal with ?,?, fried fish, snails, ?,? and ,?

There are many tourist attractions to keep one occupied such as the aforementioned temples and palaces. We visited the Korean equivalent of Knott's Berry Farm which was called the Korean Folk Village which featured recreations of villages from the Joseon dynasty which last from the late 14th century to the turn of the 19th century. It was interesting as well as entertaining.

Traditional dance at Korean Folk Village

Korean Folk Village resident

Our favorite site was the Inwangsan mountain. This is a mountain that is sacred to the Shamanists and Buddhists alike. It rises in the northwestern part of the city and is accessible by subway. Our initial impression was not too favorable as the approach is walking between high rise apartments that didn't feel all that holy. Once we reached the mountain proper we were amazed by huge eroded boulders, shrines and the overall ambience of the place.

There were numerous shamanistic rituals going on at various sites on the mountain. This involved incense, chanting, and offerings to the gods. It was a powerful place and was our best day in Seoul.

Shaminist ritual

Deb at the top of Inwangsan Mountain