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I was almost a star ... |
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I visited Seoul twice on a work assignment. Once during the spring and another time during winter. Springtime (March to May) is the best time to visit Korea where the temperatures are mild and the maginificent cherry blossoms are blooming at their peak.
The quaint Gyeongbokgung Palace is a magnificent site. The palaces still remaining in Seoul were built during the 14th century when the emperors built a string of palaces to their own greatness. They are all square with high walls.
Itaewon is the home for Seoul's colorful nightlife and a great place for shopping. This is where you can see good quality Korean bags and clothes - and as usual couldn't resist, buying some. |
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The Seoul Tower, the 3rd highest communication tower in the world reaches 483 meters, houses two restaurants and an observation deck where you can see a good view of the city from different angles.The Olympic Stadium, the site of the 1998 world olympics is also a nice place to take photo shots.
Separating North and South Korea is the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) tunnels. One tunnel, the 4th infiltration tunnelis buried at a depth of 145 meters below groundand measures two meters high and two meters wide. From the observation platform located in south korea, you can see a view of North Korea but sorry, we definitely cannot cross the border. |
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We also visited Naju, Korea (about 4 hours by bus from Seoul). This is a small town where eucharistic miracles happened when the Holy Host descended on the chapel in Naju seven times as witnessed by several people. At one time, the Holy Host turned into the flesh and blood of Jesus on the visionary, Julia Kim's tongue when she received holy communion. A lot of pilgrims all over the world come to this place. |
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Now back to Seoul. One of my more interesting experiences in this city is meeting my brother-in-law's friend. Yvette's husband, Bob, asked me to meet his close friend, a Korean musician who grew up in New York, and his bestman during Yvette and Bob's wedding. So when I was in Seoul, i told my officemates that I am supposed to meet someone, a violinist and his name is Eugene Park. And guess what - all of them wanted to meet him, especially the ladies ! It seems that Eugene is really quite famous. And so i called up his mother and met them (together with an officemate of mine who really insisted on coming !). I went to their club called the Bird Land. When i arrived at the place, they gave me flowers as a welcome to Korea :) . Well i wasn't really surprised why the ladies wanted to see him. Eugene is really good looking and plays the violin very well from jazz, rock, funk and classical genre.. He had a string of concerts in Korea and some in new york too :) I was actually looking if there are some press people inside the club who took my pictures when i was given the flowers so that i can see my face on the local newspaper the following day (hehehe). But no, there are no paparazzis in sight :) Blasted, i was almost a star! |
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