I like travelling alone. That way, I've only got one idiot to worry about.
The clear blue skies and bright sunny weather lasted all throughout this fine Chuseok Sunday – perfect conditions for exploring even more of Seoul’s many outdoor and indoor attractions.
Next on our itinerary: a traditional Korean village right in the heart of this modern city.
Continue reading “Field Report: Namsangol Hanok Village, Seoul, South Korea (27 September 2015)”
As the largest of Seoul’s five royal palaces, it’s no wonder that Gyeongbokgung was once equipped with kitchens that could feed an army. Newly restored a century after its destruction, this former nerve centre of Joseon court cuisine invites visitors to imagine what it must have been like – and how difficult it must have been – to prepare and serve the lavish banquets that the king and his retinue demanded.
Continue reading “Field Report: Gyeongbokgung, Seoul, South Korea (27 September 2015)”
The grand old palace of Changdeokgung, like the city of Seoul itself, might be likened to an old friend. Having conversed with them a couple of times, and having eased into a comfortable familiarity, one begins to think that there are no more secrets between the two of you … until they spring a massive surprise and reveal a side of themselves that is as breathtaking as it is unexpected.
Let’s take things in order, gentle readers.
First: I’ve just returned from a quick 4-day holiday in lovely Seoul, Korea. All too short, as the usual post-trip complaint goes, but this ties in neatly with the third point (which we’ll get to later).
Second: I shall put the current series of posts about my December 2014 holiday in Korea on pause, and along with it, the accounts of my March 2015 and June-July 2015 trips to Japan. We will have a look at those journeys in due course, so no worries – I’d just like to get this latest brief jaunt blogged and out of the way in short order.
Third: All too short it might have been, but this long weekend in Seoul has earned Korea a very special distinction … that of an Annual Destination. In other words, alongside the only other country that previously held and continues to hold that honour – namely, my beloved Japan – and subject to the usual constraints (time, resources, opportunity, etc.), I’ve now resolved to visit this incredibly fascinating and achingly beautiful corner of the world at least once a year.
Cheers all, and please look forward to the first September 2015 Korea holiday post soon.
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.
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.
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.
In a cold, lonely outpost between two warring halves of the same country, there is plenty of silence – but very little peace.
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 the Demilitarised Zone.
On a dim, chilly, overcast winter’s day in Seoul, Diego pokes around one of the Korean capital’s smallest royal residences.
Continue reading “Field Report: Unhyeongung, Seoul, South Korea (10 December 2014)”
Within striking distance