South Korea, Autumn 2005

Pretty in Seoul

I'm never been to a lot of places. And of these places in Asia, Seoul ranks pretty high up. Perhaps only lower than Japan. It'll be nice to visit a country where its dramas are all the rage in Asia and its celebrities occupying a large portion of the entertainment section in the newspapers (at least in Singapore).

Anyway, it just happened that a meeting was scheduled to be held in Seoul in late October. I jumped on the chance and was on my way to the land of kimchi in no time (in 6 hours really, from Singapore to Seoul).

I landed in a gloomy and raining Incheon and made my way to the bus stop where I was supposed to take the shuttle to my hotel in Seoul. For the first time, I know that the rest of the journey is going to be difficult. Seoul, for all its modernization and hosting of the 1988 Olympics, has almost no English signages. Perhaps its in the spirit of nationalism, or perhaps foreigners are not really welcome, but Koreans very much use only their language in all the signages, and Korean, with its crosses and circles, hold no clue as to what they are trying to say.

I managed to make it on to the correct bus and was soon on my way to my hotel. With the overcast sky, the Han River looks grey and darkness soon envelopes everything. The gleaming lights of Seoul lite up the night sky, but the skyline is not impressive, looking like any other city.

Soon after arriving at the hotel, the rain stopped and I popped out hoping to find a quick dinner. That, unfortunately, was not meant to be. The hotel was pretty conveniently located with shops and eateries littered around. As I passed by the shops, bemusement, followed by slight annoyance at the lack of understandable menus ! Attempts to talk to people, more often then not, ended with shaking of heads. In the end, I just walked into a shop with pictures in the menu and pointed to a noodle dish which looks more tempting than the rest.

Before the dish was served, the owner laid out before me four (!) different kimchi dishes. And I thought there's only one type of kimchi. Not a fan of kimchi, so I only took a tiny bit of each. The noodles was kind of disappointing, with only bits of meat. Sorry I didn't have pictures of it, but me, not a food nut, usually do not have much objections to food. Anyway, that was how the first day of my Korean trip went, not on the right foot.

Throughout the trip, the meals got better, as I explored other options, including sandwiches. But the breakthrough was getting a translator. Apparently, many Chinese study in Seoul and a good number of them work in restarants. If you insist on someone speaking Mandarin to take your order, there's a pretty high chance that they go to the back and get their dishwasher to speak to you !

Food aside, October was a great time to visit Korea. Most of the city's trees were decked out in yellow. The area which I was staying, Namsan (literary meaning southern mountain) was particularly beautiful. Seoul tower, which is pretty visible from my place stands out in the sea of yellow.

Shopping

A stone's throw away, is Myeong Dong (which in Chinese meant bright cave). Its a trendy shopping district with all your major labels, plus some. A popular hangout with the Korean youths, the place is bursting with energy. Its pretty crowded even during the weekdays, so be prepared.

I had also the opportunity to make a trip to the Namdaemun market during one of the nights. Close to the market, they also have a labyrith of underground shops which sells anything from old records (yes, those from our fathers' days) to ginseng. Apparently, you can find ginseng shops all over Seoul, most probably, some of those are selling those people plant in their back garden. :) I also managed to get a glimpse of the Namdaemun (literary meaning Great Southern Gate), which looks pretty much like an ordinary gate to me (I'm probably gonna get some flak from Koreans). Unfortunately, this revered artefact was burnt down in 2008 by some nut, but the government in the process of restoring it.

Changdeokgung

The Koreans are also very proud of their imperial palaces. I manage to squeeze in some time to visit one, Changdeokgung. Changdeokgung is one of the smaller palaces among the five grand palaces in Seoul. However, it is incredibly well preserved, probably through constant refurbishment. The entrance was not exactly impressive and is reminince of a Chinese palace or temple. The entrance leads to a courtyard with some ornamental bridges which brings you to another entrance leading to the inner courts of the palace.

The whole palace has an architecture which is heavily influenced by the Chinese. Considering that the Koreans and the Chinese had political and trade links dating back to the Tang dynasty, that is hardly surprising. One thing which seems to be distinctively Korean though, was their brightly painted beams, bringing a breadth of fresh air into the ancient palace.

Another thing which I noticed when I wandered through the palace grounds was that they Koreans seem to have the same kind of gradings of officials as ancient China. In China, the court officials were divided into nine grades, or ranks. Here, in the palace, you can see the stone markings which designates the area where the different ranking officials are supposed to stand or kneel. The courtyard is not very big, so the king must have had quite a small court, or they all must be pretty good in squeezing in tight spaces !

The feature of the palace is a place called Biwon (Secret Garden). Its accessible by a pave way from the side of the inner courts. Its a pleasant slightly uphill walk with trees lining the sides. The pave way leads to a pond with a pavilion perching on its side. In the days of the king, this is probably a very nice and quiet place to mediate or just enjoy the nature. With tourists swarming all over the place then, I could only imagine.

Further in, there is another pond with a smaller pavilion also perched by its side. This ones is nicer by the virtue of having less tourists around. That fact alone allows it to exude calmness and allows one to appreciate the quiet surroundings.

On that note, I left the bustling city of Seoul. Hoping to return one day with better appreciation of kimchi and ginseng.