seoul

Seoul is my favorite place in Korea. It is the capital and the largest city. Camp Humphreys, where I am stationed, is one hour south of Seoul near Pyongtaek. There is not to much of interest there so I go to Seoul every chance I get. I like to go to Shin'chon (near Yonsei University). My favorite place for Tak kal bi (HOT chicken dish) is right behind the Hyundai Dept Store...if they pay me to advertise maybe I will put the name here...

Gwanghwamun is the old gate to Kyongbuk Palace. Namdaemun (near Seoul Station) and Tongdaemun used to be gates to the city of Seoul. In case you were wondering..."Mun" is Korean (& Chinese) for "Gate". Namdaemun is one of the most famous markets in Korea & Tongdaemun is a good place to go clothes shopping...

Kyongbukkung ("kung"=palace) is one of the old palaces of Seoul. This picture is in the fall...maybe I will go there and take some winter pics. The first time I went you could see pigeons walking out on the ice. Near Kyongbukkung is the National Museum of Korea. They have a big model of Seoul before & after the Japanese Occupation. If you go on saturday don't be surprised if some school children want to interview you!!! inside Kyongbukkung itself is the National Folk Museum which is one of the best places to learn about Korean culture...you can get English speaking guides there for free. (Helpful since a lot of the explanations are in Hangul...).

If you go here in the spring or summer you will see many couples getting their wedding pictures taken in traditional Korean clothes (Hangbok) at Kyongbukkung. The scenery is especially nice in the spring & fall. This picture is from the fall...when I went in the summer with my sister it was pouring rain that day. One of these days (before all the snow melts) I will go there and get some winter pics...last winter there wasn't much snow...just COLD & very windy..especially in Seoul.

Toksukkung was the last residence of the Korean royal family before the Japanese occupation. In the Museum there (I forget the name...) you can see all the royal robes etc. of the King and his family.
There is also a small art museum inside the palace grounds with special exhibitions that cost extra to get in. You can probably find out about the exhibitions on KNTO's website (see my Links page).