Wanted to get out of the ‘Gu for the week so we went to Seoul for some sightseeing adventures.
On Chuseok, the palaces waived the admission fee so we went to 3 of them in one afternoon. I have now officially been to all five of the grand palaces in Seoul!
First on our list was Deoksugung. Although Deoksugung is quite small compared to the other palaces, it’s worth a visit because it has an art museum and a large Western-style building where the king used to hang out. It’s difficult to take a picture without modern buildings in the background because it’s surrounded by tall buildings. Interesting juxtaposition!
Next, we went to Changdeokgung, “the palace of prospering virtue.” This palace is fairly large, but like the other palaces, only a fractions of the original structures survived after the Japanese invasion. Changdeokgung has also has a large garden, but it was closed the day we went.
We walked over next door to Changgyeonggung, which, I’m sorry, looked the same to me.
To end our lovely Chuseok holiday, we went up to Namsan Tower. We took a yellow bus (2 or 5) from Chungmuro Station up to Namsan Tower. You can also take a taxi up there, though it’s much harder to find one coming back down.
I think the end of the day is a good time to go up to the tower to see the city all lit up. Unfortunately, it’s also quite crowded so be prepared to wait in line. Tickets to go up to the observatory cost 7,000won.
You can spend as much time as you want in the observatory, I think. But it only takes a few minutes to walk around, take photos, and enjoy the view. It’s a little hard to get the pictures just right.
It was a great way to end our day and see the city that we spent the entire day wandering.
Here are some helpful sites to check out if you’re interested in traveling in Seoul:
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Soul Eats – restaurants in Seoul
- Jin Guesthouse – a cheap and clean hostel near Chungmuro Station. Better to call over the phone.
- Banana Backpackers – another hostel near the central area
- Download the ‘Jihachul‘ app for iPod/iPhone/iPad
- Seoul bus routes – While the subway system is pretty extensive, there are some places the subway just doesn’t go.
I just randomly stumbled upon your blog :] I am from San Diego too and I would LOVE to live and work in Korea. I am actually learning Korean right now and someday I will make a blog about my time living there hopefully sometime in the future! Keep up the great work!
Thanks Brian! I miss San Diego! But Korea is a great place to live and travel. Hopefully you can come to Korea soon! Good luck!