The last major stop of my winter 2014 visit to Seoul was an important monument raised to commemorate Korean independence – not from Japan, but from the nation’s centuries-old status as a tributary state of Imperial China.
Category Archives: Korea 2014
Field Report: Seodaemun Prison, Seoul, South Korea (13 December 2014)
Seoul’s grandiose palaces and gleaming museums are a vital part of its urban fabric, and all have a key part to play in preserving the rich cultural endowment left to us by previous generations. However, the historical record would not be complete if we ignored those other relics that remind us of darker times …Continue reading “Field Report: Seodaemun Prison, Seoul, South Korea (13 December 2014)”
Field Report: Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, South Korea (13 December 2014)
Stick a spade into the ground in central Seoul and you might strike a few stones from the city’s distant past. In the case of one massive contemporary landmark, those involved in its construction ran into more than just a few stones.
Field Report: Gyeonghuigung and Seoul Museum of History, Seoul, South Korea (12 December 2014)
Whilst sharing many architectural features and elements of design, Seoul’s palaces aren’t just cookie-cutter replicas of each other. Every royal residence has its own unique charm, its own particular beauty … and its own long – often painful – history.
Field Report: Sungnyemun (Namdaemun), Old Seoul Station and Donuimun, Seoul, South Korea (12 December 2014)
After my morning visit to City Hall and Deoksugung, I headed south towards one of the Korean capital’s ancient gates – a prominent relic of the long centuries that Seoul spent nestled behind the protection of its formidable walls.
Field Report: Seoul City Hall and Deoksugung, Seoul, South Korea (12 December 2014)
On a cold but lovely Friday morning in Seoul, blessed with clear skies and bright winter sunshine, Diego sets off on a long stroll through the historic centre of the Korean capital.
Field Report: Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Paju, South Korea (11 December 2014) – Part 2/2
In a cold, lonely outpost between two warring halves of the same country, there is plenty of silence – but very little peace.
Field Report: Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Paju, South Korea (11 December 2014) – Part 1/2
On a freezing winter’s day late in 2014, I briefly traded the dazzling wealth and modernity of Seoul for a no-man’s land of guns, mines, and hundreds of kilometres of barbed wire … a place where the Korean War drags on even now in a strange, almost surreal state of suspended animation. Welcome to theContinue reading “Field Report: Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Paju, South Korea (11 December 2014) – Part 1/2”
Field Report: Unhyeongung, Seoul, South Korea (10 December 2014)
On a dim, chilly, overcast winter’s day in Seoul, Diego pokes around one of the Korean capital’s smallest royal residences.
Flight Report: MNL-ICN-MNL on Z2 884 and Z2 85
I’ve still got a massive backlog of unblogged trips to go through, but no worries: we’ll get back on track with those over the next few weeks. For now, let’s have another flight report – this one covering a round-trip journey on AirAsia Zest (Z2) between Manila (MNL) and Seoul-Incheon (ICN).
Within striking distance 