Seoul South Korea - (The Good Korea)

Hello Family and Friends,

After Japan we really wanted to visit the Great Wall of China. However, Brett said that it would be difficulty to get there and traveling back to the states from China after having been gone from them for so long might raise questions. So we decided visiting South Korea would be an easier option. There were some easy flights from Osaka, Japan to Seoul, South Korea. South Korea is the home of K-pop, K-drama, Korean barbecue and chicken.

 Seoul from our hotel room.

Some things we instantly noticed about South Korea as compared to Japan is that more people speak English. Unfortunately, it is a very blunt English. For example, instead of saying "Is there anything else I can get for you?" when ordering food, they will say, "Are you done?" However, people were also more friendly in South Korea. We brought back a whole stash of candy that people gave Atlas, simply because they thought he was cute. One girl even gave him bubbles. Also when they saw me struggling to get the stroller on the train, complete strangers would pick up the front of the stroller and put it on the train for me. At the same time though, old people would cut you off getting on the elevator.

Another interesting thing about South Korea is they are prepared for war at all times. Throughout the metro, and public gathering areas there are cases of water, masks and dried food for bombs, chemical attacks and fires. For them, war is a persistent possibility.

Gas mask and food storage in the metro.

Water and first aid storage in the metro.

The food did live up to the hype. We had this amazing Korean barbecue. The meat melted right in our mouths.

Eating at Taecho BBQ. Didn't even have to cook the meat ourselves.

We also ate some delicious korean fried chicken. Brought the leftovers to the hotel, because of course we ordered too much. We also did a little, well a lot, of eating at some street venders. We had chicken and lamb on a stick, Brett had fresh lobster tail. They grilled it right in front of him and then melted some butter over it. For dessert, we had a huge flaming marshmallow. Mine had cheesecake inside and Brett's had a brownie.

One of the cultural sights we visited was the Yakhyeon Catholic Church also known as the Church of St. Joseph. It is the first Western-style building to be built in South Korea and is a designated historic site.

Atlas and I in front of Yakhyeon Catholic Church.

The underground crypt at Yakhyeon Catholic Church.

We were able to visit two palaces. One was named Changgyeonggung(don't ask me how to say it). This particular palace was built after a brutal feud between brothers for the crown. The eventual emperor wanted to stay somewhere else to help forget about the blood shed.

The building behind us has a blue roof and is the only one of its kind in the world.

 The throne room of Changgyeonggung.

These stones served as markers so that the officers would know where to stand according to their rank. Civilian on one side and military on the other.

If you wore a traditional outfit, or Hanbok, you got free entrance to the palace.

The second palace was the grand palace, Gyeongbokgung, which was cool to see.

The main gate of Gyeongbokgung.

Beautiful mountains as the backdrop to Gyeongbokgung.

The thing about most historic site things in Korea, including the palaces is that most are not original. Most historical sites were destroyed during various occupations by Japan and North Korea including the Second World War. Now, most of the historical sites are rebuilds. South Korea has been through it as a country. For example, during one of the Japanese occupations, a Japanese business man came to Korea, saw the home of the crown prince, disassembled it, had it shipped to Japan and then re-assembles in his backyard as a library. It stayed there for almost 50 years until Japan gave it back to Korea, but by then the foundation stone was too weak to hold the structure. The rebuilds are very good, but it makes Korea feel a bit fake or shallow. South Korea is not a new country, but all it's buildings are because it has had to rebuild so many times.

In summary, my opinion of South Korea is that it's a good place to visit if it's your first time to the Asian continent. However, after being in Japan, it was kind of a let down. Japan was isolationist for so long that visiting is like seeing a new world. South Korea on the other hand is rebuilt so often that it feels like all you get is their new slant on westernization. This mellows the culture and makes it, quite frankly, a bit boring. South Korea makes my list of places I wouldn't bother visiting again. Brett says we only went to a small portion of Seoul which is a very limited exposure, but I say there are too many other places in the world to see...but the food was pretty good.