Autumn in Seoul

Seoul, Seoul, Seoul. If you watch K-dramas, then you've seen South Korea, or at the least, Seoul. We Filipinos, since we live in a tropical country, like to experience the cold weather other countries have. And fanatics as we are of K-dramas, we also want to experience their place, their food, and their culture.

Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea and my last trip there was in the autumn of 2015. I went with one of my colleagues, and we were there for only four days, sadly. So allow me to take you to the land of kimchi, the land of K-dramas and K-pop!

This was my second trip to Korea already, the first one was during spring time, so I was already somewhat familiar with the place. It was the first time for my friend so I played the tour guide for her, ha ha! We arrived in Seoul at night, and from the airport we took the limousine bus 6015 which took us into the city and right opposite of our hotel for the stay, which was the Holiday Inn Express Seoul Euljiro. We just ate dinner upon arrival and slept as it was already very late.

The hotel offers free buffet breakfast, and we feasted on sausages, kimchi, their yoghurt was so good! I mixed it with assorted nuts and fruits and it was so,so good! It was like this every day while we were there, so we always started our day by eating a lot so that we have enough energy to roam around.

On the first day we just took the Seoul City Bus Tour, and we got off where we wanted, and got on again when we were done. The Hop On Hop Off bus costs 12,000 KRW and the departure points is from Gwanghwamun Station. To go there, take the subway line 5 and get out at exit 6, beside Koreana Hotel. You may check out their schedules and site stops here.

Changgyeonggung Palace

The first stop we did was the Changgyeonggung Palace.  The palace was in 1483 to take care of the wives of the preceding kings. The palace is connected with Changdeokgung palace.

Myeongjeongjeon Hall

Myeongjeongjeon is the main hall of the palace, where state affairs were held, such as meetings with officials and the reception of foreign envoys. In particular, Myeongjeongjeon represents an outstanding example of seventeenth century Joseon architectural style and is the oldest main hall of any palace.

One of the gates

There are separate structures within the palace complex. And we just took the time to look around. It would have been very informative if there is a detailed description outside of each structure to explain what it used to be.

We see the intricate wood works, and the typical style of palace buildings during that era. A lot of the buildings were destroyed during the Japanese war, some of them have been restored though.

Glass green house

There is also a glass greenhouse within the premises which  is one of the largest and most impressive glass houses in the world housing some rare species of plants. Sadly, we did not see the rare plants as the green house was under maintenance during the time of our visit.

Palace grounds

If you take the time to stroll along the palace grounds, you may encounter locals wearing hanbok, their traditional clothing, just enjoying, taking a stroll, being on a date like this couple. When they visit wearing their hanbok, they don't have to pay the entrance fee. :-)

We were also goofing around, like pretending to knock, or act as if we were opening the door so that we could enter, but at the same time careful so as to not disrespect the place. We took our time looking around the palace complex, but what drew our eyes beyond the palace buildings was definitely something else.

lake behind the palace gardens

And this is what greeted our eyes. A beautiful lake surrounded by colorful trees of different hues! Red, yellow, golden, ahhh, we were so awestruck by the beauty of it.

There is a pathway that goes all around the lake. so we took a leisurely stroll and kept taking pictures. Again my iPad cannot do it any justice. The colors was just breathtaking, and I could just stay here for hours, just reading, or doing nothing. It has such a relaxing atmosphere.

I never get tired looking at views like this. We spent several hours in this palace, then boarded the bus again to go to Namsangol  Hanok Village. 

Namsangol Garden

Namsangol Hanok Village was opened in 1998 on the north side of Namsan mountain. This village has five  restored hanok  or Korean traditiona houses, a pavilion, traditional garden, performance arts stage and a time capsule plaza. 

Again we saw the same colorful trees, so we just went around enjoying the view and the breeze while clicking away on my iPad.

village garden

In this park there was also a mini-stream and it was so relaxing to see the water flowing, contrasted with the colorful foliage.

Here we see the Namsan Tower on top of the mountain, as this park is at the bottom of it. We will see Namsan up close in a bit.

Entrance to Korea House annex

A few meters from Namsangol Hanok Village is Korea House. It is a traditional Korean building built in 1981 and it introduces the culture and lifestyle of Korea. There is a restaurant here, and weddings and other events take place here.

Korea House

Korea House is divided into Haerin-gwan where people can get acquainted with each other, the traditional theater, and three annex buildings. We went to where we can get access and not pay a fee, ha ha!

Pavilion

This is the pavilion- and the pavilion at Namsangol Hanok Village is the same in structure.

Earthen vessels

If you are familiar with Korean dramas where the family is big, you must have seen this earthen vessels. They store homemade soy sauce, fermented beans, and every other condiment imaginable in these vessels.

Downtown Seoul seen from Namsan

After these two places, we grabbed some lunch nearby, and we feasted on some Korean delicacies. Not once during our trip did we eat anything Western. I will talk about food later. We actually went to Namsan twice during that day, as I wanted my friend to see it during daytime, but we did not stay there too long to waste our bus tour as well, so when we decided to go to other places, we just enjoyed the bus ride as well.

below the tower

As usual the foliage is very colorful, and we just took loads of pictures. It's almost the same thing, color wise, but you just can't stop clicking. It's addictive!

She did not want to climb up the hill as she thought there was nothing up top. I did not force her as I thought she was tired. But during the evening I made her go up, and she exclaimed in surprise at what she saw! Ha ha ha! I was feeling sorry that she did not get to see it during day time.

Namsan Tower at the foot of the mountain

Namsan Tower at night

Here it is up close and personal, the Namsan Seoul Tower. If you watched Boys Over Flowers, here is where Gu  Jun Pyo ( Lee Min Ho) went on a date with Geum Jan Di (Ku Hye Sun). Other dramas and variety shows have been shot here, like 2 Days 1 Night.

Downtown Seoul seen from Namsan Tower

Here is Seoul glittering below as seen from the ground observatory. My friend kept exclaiming she did not know there was more up top. I felt sorry to her as she did not see it during daytime.

sipping hot chocolate by the love locks

We ordered hot chocolate as we were feeling a bit cold- the wind was blowing hard and it was freezing cold!

People who visit usually buy locks, write their names and 'lock' their love, hoping that like the lock, it will be forever. After some time, we took the bus back down, had dinner somewhere and went back to our hotel, and thus ended our first day.

Stay tuned for the next installment!

You can also read more travel posts here.