Asia
Korea
Travel
Zeru Wanders
Exploring South Korea: Day 2 Roaming Around Jongno
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Yosh! Finally, I'm able to continue writing about my Korean adventure. I was supposed to finish these series of entries before August. However, due to an unfortunate event in our company (we were cyber-attacked), I've been too busy with work to finish our backlogs. Restoring our system took us a lot of time and we had to do everything manually. Ugh! Anyway, here's another lengthy post of my second day in Kimchi Land.
The second day of our Korean adventure was scheduled for the palaces and landmarks which are just around the Jongno area. We planned to visit the five royal palaces in Seoul namely - Gyeongbokgung, Chandeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo Shrine.
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| Peanut butter, cereals and a cup of coffee for breakfast |
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| No milk left for me :( |
Gyeongbokgung is the largest Joseon dynasty temple in Korea and considered as the most beautiful among the five palaces. If you're an avid Korean drama fan, you know that this palace is a popular filming location. Some of the dramas filmed in this majestic palace are Goblin, Rooftop Prince, Moon Embracing the Sun, Queen In-Hyun's Man, Chicago Typewriter and many more.
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| Gyeongbokgung Palace is just a couple of minutes walk from our hostel. |
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| Gwanghwamun Gate, the main gate of the palace.If you have watched the Korean drama hit 'Goblin' and 'Chicago Typewriter', you have probably seen this gate as well |
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| Instead of purchasing one ticket per palace, we opted for the palace pass which already include five royal palaces tickets. |
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| The Changing of Guards Ceremony. Ticked off another box in my South Korea bucket list. Yey! |
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| Heungnyemun Gate is the second gate into Gyeongbokgung. |
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| Geunjeongjeon Hall, the main throne hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace Because it was a Saturday, the palace grounds was a 'bit' crowded. |
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| Gyeonghoeru Pavilion |
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| I remember painting Hyangwonjeong Pavilion two years ago, with hopes that I can visit South Korea one day. And I did after a year! |
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| Traditional Korean dresses for kids displayed in a shop across Gyeongbokgung. Just a tip, wear hanbok if you want free access to palaces. |
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| Binge! Lunch time in Insadong |
We ordered one set of meal. Yes. Just one set is more than enough to fill our hungry tummy. I love how the food tasted. My only problem was that the fish stew was too spicy for me. Other than that, everything on the table was awesome.
After our lunch, we walked around the area and bought our souvenirs. I don't have a photo of it but what we got were shirts, scarves, lipstick pouches, and refrigerator magnets. Our hostel is just a few walks so we went back to rest afterwards.
We still have four more palaces to visit so we went out again and head to Changdeokgung Palace.
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| Saw these girls heading to Changdeokgung as well. |
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| Donhwamun, the main entrance of Changdeokgung, is the oldest remaining palace entrance in Korea today |
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| Changdeokgung Injeongmun Gate |
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| Injeongjeon Hall, the main palace for the King |
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| Passes for the Secret Garden |
Within the palace grounds of Changdeokgung, also lies the Secret Garden. A separate fee will be collected if you opted to go on a tour on the said garden. We purchased the royal passes so we already have a ticket for the tour.
The Secret Garden was intended as place for kings and royal family members to relax. It was also a venue for various outdoor activities.
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| This pavilion is situated around the Buyongji Pond and Juhamnu Pavilion |
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| Buyongji Pond and Juhamnu Pavilion |
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| Aeryonji Pond |
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| Foliage! We were too early for autumn though. |
I left the Secret Garden tour halfway through and decided to complete the path on my own, as we still have three more palaces to visit. Luckily, Changgyeonggung Palace is just a few walks from the Forbidden Garden.
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| Overlooking Changgyeonggung Palace. This spot is relaxing. |
Changgyeonggung Palace is far overlooked by visitors and locals. I certainly disagree as this palace has it's own beauty as well. I've noticed that after roaming around its grounds, it features a lot of green space including fields and trees, various flowers, and even cherry blossoms (in spring, which I hope I can see soon). Photographers, nature lovers and even ordinary families will certainly love spending time in this residence.
As it was starting to get dark, we hurriedly left the palace to got to our next destination- Gwanghwamun Square.
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| Did you know that there's a museum hidden beneath this statue of King Sejong? |
Gwanghwamun Square is located at the center of Sejong-ro which connects Gwanghwamun Gate and Cheonggye Square. The main division of the plaza features the golden statue of King Sejong the Great, the much-respected fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty reigned from 1418 to 1450.
Upon arrival at the square, we saw booths offering free calligraphy. Across the plaza, a mini-concert was being held as well. We were surprised when a battalion of soldiers suddenly came rushing to the venue. It turned out that it was the Armed Forces day.
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| Yellow flowers around Admiral Yi Sunshin's statue. |
As we approached Admiral Yi's statue in Gwanghwamun, we were welcomed by protesters of the Sewol ferry tragedy. I've followed the news about the tragedy and seeing the actual photos of the victims was heartbreaking. The atmosphere on that side of the plaza was a complete opposite. It was depressing.
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| Philippines has National Bookstore. While Korea has Kyobo |
It was a good thing that Kyobo bookstore is just nearby. We needed something to lift our spirit from the dreary sight we had.
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| Cheonggyecheon Stream at night |
The final leg of our second day was a quick stroll at Cheonggyecheon Stream. This stream used to be a neglected waterway hidden by an overpass. Now, it has been transformed into a haven and a landmark for the visitors and locals.
Cheonggyecheon stream is also a favorite filming location. Korean dramas like Chicago Typewriter and 49 Days was shot here.
Cheonggyecheon stream is also a favorite filming location. Korean dramas like Chicago Typewriter and 49 Days was shot here.
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| This is probably the best fried chicken I've ever tasted! |
We capped off our exhausting day with a serving of chicken from Madfry. I haven't tasted other Korean chicken brands while in Korea but I consider this as the tastiest I've ever tried. I wouldn't mind eating this whole chicken all by myself. It would have been better if we ordered 'chimaek' (chicken and beer - maekju) but me and my boss don't drink beer.
SECOND DAY IMPRESSIONS
SECOND DAY IMPRESSIONS
- Korea has a rich culture. It's amazing how they preserved the palaces and how they are spending time and money for these landmarks. How I wish Philippines can do it as well.
- I should have tried on that gatekeeper's uniform when we were in Gyeongbokgung. I've wanted to try hanbok that I forgot that wearing that traditional gatekeeper's costume was part of my Seoul bucket list. Ugh!
- One of K-Guesthouse's staff was really nice. He doesn't know how to speak English but he tried his best to understand us. His hospitality is excellent! I hope we can meet him again when we visit Korea again.
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