A lot of Seoul

To sum it up in a few words, we had a brilliant time in Seoul. It was the longest stop on our trip, which meant that we could spend some time relaxing, as well as seeing Andy's old next door neighbour, Alan. Seoul is full of things to look at and do, from traditional to modern buildings, as well as plenty of galleries and shops. There is a massive range of restaurants and cafés to choose from.

Shiny Seoul.

Our hostel was in an area called Hongdae, which is near to an arts university, and so it was full of cafés, bars and clubs, vintage shops and gift shops for all of the students to peruse. It was brilliant having so many things on our doorstep.

On our first night (Friday), we went to see David Thomas Broughton perform, along with a couple of Korean acts, which were really good. Alan then took us to a request bar called Suzie Q. Andy and I have never seen anything like this before and we loved it! The back wall of the bar was full of LPs and they would play anything you wanted as long as they had it. We went to some more request bars through the week but Suzie Q was definitely our favourite and the most ascetically pleasing!

Suzie Q

The following day, as well as visiting the National Museum of Korea (full of pottery from across Asia as well as millions of school children!), we went to see Alan's band, Dead Men on Leave, perform and hung out with some of his friends.

Dead Men on Leave.

On the Sunday we spent some time wandering round the area of Bukchong, which is full of traditional Korean houses, before we walked to Insadong to see lots of craft shops and galleries. One of the buildings was an indoor market place that went up in a spiral and had a cafe on top where we had a coffee. Like the Japanese (and me!), Koreans love cute stuff so I enjoyed seeing the different wares on offer.

Arts & Crafts Market in Insadong

On Monday, we really enjoyed walking up to the North Seoul tower at the top of Namsan. It wasn't a long walk, but there were lots of steps. The views of the city were incredible - Seoul seems to go on forever! Over half of the citizens of South Korea live in the Seoul metropolitan area so it needs to be big!

North Seoul Tower

Just the north east area of Seoul.

We then got the metro to Gangnam to see what it was like and to visit a craft beer bar called Craftworks. It was a good opportunity to see some of the city at night and to see what it was actually like in this renowned part of town.

 

On the Tuesday we went on a tour to the DMZ (De-militarised Zone) between the North and South. It was quite surreal to visit such a quiet area after the hustle and bustle of Seoul. It was interesting to learn more about the area and how business is conducted there. There are a couple of villages in the DMZ where the laws are really strict about how many nights you can be away and what time you have to be in your house by. The North Korean village is called Propaganda Village as not many people actually live there and it has one of the biggest flags in the world. Part of our tour was conducted by some US soldiers who were very strict about what we could and couldn't do - we weren't allowed to make eye contact with the the North Korean soldiers or take photos of certain buildings in case they ended up in the wrong hands. We went inside the Conference Room where negotiations are often carried out and you could hop from one country to another! We also visited an observatory where you can see across the border. However, you were only allowed to take photos if you were standing behind a yellow line but you could look through with binoculars to the villages.

Looking towards North Korea (complete with soldier).

ROC Soldier in the Conference Room.

Looking out across the DMZ.

And because it's Korea, of course there were some cute mascots to represent the DMZ.

ROC Soldier in the Conference Room.

Representing the DMZ.

The next day we went to the National War Memorial of Korea which is a massive war museum, split between the history of Korea and the Korean War. I really enjoyed learning more about the war but it's sad to think of all of the people who lived in the country when it was occupied by Japan and then those who have been split up from the rest of their family since 1950.

ROC Soldier in the Conference Room.

In the evening we went to see some jazz with Alan and then went to another request bar.

ROC Soldier in the Conference Room.

Jazz Lady.

On our last full day in Seoul, we we put for a really nice lunch in the 63 Building where you cooked your food in your own pan of hot water. With meals like this you get so many different flavoursome parts that it's hard to know what to eat when!

ROC Soldier in the Conference Room.

A meal with many parts.

We the went up 60 floors to the observation deck. Randomly there was an exhibition in the art gallery about the Beatles, which kept us entertained as the view wasn't up to much - it was the worst day weather wise that we had the whole time in Seoul!

ROC Soldier in the Conference Room.

View from the top.

A very long bridge over the Han River.

Selfie.

Korea has been absolutely freezing, so we have been glad for some warmth in Australia. However, I will miss the quirky cafés and bars, the craftiness and the heated toilet seats!

Brollies!

Polar Bear.

Seoul street art.

Rooftop Giraffes.