My Trip to Korea

It has been an awfully long drought here and I decided to spice things up a little. Here are a few pictures I took while on my trip to Korea at the start of the year. It was winter when I was there so these pictures may look less colourful. Nonetheless, Korea is a lovely place and if given another chance, I would love to visit Korea again. :) Editing these pictures definitely bring back the good old memories. :)

 The first picture I took when I arrived in Seoul. Notice the billboard at the top of the building? I find it absolutely fascinating. :) Plus, it saves space. Need not build a new billboard at the road side.

 I think this is a gigantic thermometer but I might be wrong. It looks very cool though. :) The temperature that day was also freezing.

 At the entrance to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. I love the location as we can see the mountain behind the palace. Absolutely gorgeous.

 When modern meets traditional. I love the fact that they preserved the building in the midst of modernisation. Brilliant fusion and I think the landscape design around the area was especially designed to fit the palace and the historical buildings around the area.

 Great carvings on one of the pillars at the entrance to the palace. I like the details on the carving.

 If I am not mistaken, this is the statue of King Sejong the Great. He was the fourth king in the Joseon Dynasty and is one of the most respectable kings in the Korean history. King Sejong placed great emphasis on scholarship and education. He promoted cultural, economic and scientific research. He instituted han'gul, the Korean script. His legacy is left behind till today.

 This is the carvings on one of the pillars at the entrance of Gyeongbokgung. It was a brilliant showcase of a brief historical run in the Korean history.

 We arrived right on time to watch the hourly performance of the 'changing soldiers' ceremony which dated way back to ancient times. It was an eye opener as that was our first time witnessing something like that. The guards were there after the performance for a wee photo session too. Such an awesome experience.

 Our entree tickets to the palace. The palace was built by King Taejo which is the founder of the Joseon Dynasty in 1395.

Gyeongbokgung is the Korean translation of 'Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven'. It was nearly destroyed by the Japanese government in the early 20th century, the walled palace complex is slowly being restored to its original form prior to destruction. As of 2009, roughly 40 percent of the original number of palace buildings still stand or are reconstructed.

                                          The scenery in the palace was breath taking.

 One of the buildings that makes up the palace. Most of the buildings in the palace have the same feature as this building from the outside but each structure serves a different purpose. There were soe buildings that were meant to be the changing room and some were the bedrooms while many others were the places where military strategies were formed or scholarly discussions took place.

 Some cute little kids having a field trip at the palace. They were paying great attention at their teacher when we disrupted their concentration when we seek permission for the picture. Haha

                                                 On one of the walls of the palace. :)

 The map of Gyeongbokgung. It was huge and we had a really good time exploring the place. I loved the architecture of the buildings in the palace.

                                                      Cute decorations for winter. :)

 I'm not too sure whether this is a graffiti or a mural but it sure looks cool. :) It was in one of the malls near the palace.

 This was taken in one of the rivers flowing through Seoul (should be the Han River but I am not too sure). However, I found this mini frozen waterfall absolutely mind blowing. I think the waterfall was created by showering the trees and rocks with water on a cold night. Isn't it gorgeous? :)

A gigantic shell in the middle of Seoul. Cool. :)

                  I was amazed at how many things this wee scooter can carry on the rear. :)

 This is a picture I took in one of the houses in Bukchon Village. This house was filled with numerous collectables from ancient times (or at least they mimic those made in prehistoric times).

                                    I think this used to be a water dispenser. It looks lovely.

 This is the place where they wrote calligraphy. Trust me, those calligraphy they wrote were impressive. I had a go at it and it was very very difficult to write with a brush. Hats off to those who write really well in calligraphy.

 We were told not to make too much noise as we were walking in a neighbourhood. I find it cute and an effective way to send the message across. :)

 A view of Bukchon Village. This village has the largest cluster of privately owned traditional Korean wooden homes or hanok in Seoul. They also have beautifully restored architectural features like small courtyards, decorative outer walls and dark tiled roofs. A great way to spend the evening and serves as a good exercise. There are many hills and slopes to climb but the view from the top made the journey worth it.

 A hardworking chap making sure everything is in place and he is there to save the day in case of a fire. :)

 Some of the things sold in Bukchon Village. I bought one of those little collectables home.

 We didn't sit in his taxi but loved the fact that he was the best taxi driver in town. :)

I would definitely agree to live in a house like this They were carefully architectured to maintain the traditional values of the village but incorporates modern living conditions.

These are just pictures from the first day of my trip. I shall upload more pictures when I have the time to do it. I would love to visit Korea again and this time maybe somewhere out of Seoul would be another good experience for me. :)

Cheers
YM

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