our flight returning to the u.s. had a long layover in korea. after talking to many people, we found out that it's pretty much a tourist trap and they have all sorts of excursions that you can arrange at the airport so you can go in and see the city. being the suckers we are, we decided that it would be better than spending 12 hours sitting in an airport so we picked a tour that looked fun and went with it. one of my professors, lauri, and i were the only ones heading back at the same time so she became my korea traveling partner. she's super cute and it was fun to have someone to sightsee with. we also made some friends in our tour group- a couple from nyc on their way to bali and a guy from san francisco who was on a "soul searching" trip through southeast asia.
our first stop was the cheonggyecheon stream in the middle of downtown seoul. it was a beautiful river that was once "lost" and has recently been uncovered to add to the beautification of downtown seoul. the stream and the surrounding structures have a lot of symbolism and meaning behind them- there are murals, sculptures, wall paintings, wishing wells, the grand fountain, and bridges all along the path of the stream. if i remember correctly, isn't there a scene in lost where jin and sun walk along this stream?
our next next stop was the changdeok palace, "the palace or prospering virtue". the grounds are large (over 100 acres) and are made up of 13 buildings and 28 pavilions. it was interesting to see the king's private residence, living quarters, libraries, main hall, auxiliary rooms, family rooms, and queen's quarters. i was constantly in awe at the detail of the paintings, furniture, and detailing on the pagodas, and it was very interesting to see how the royal family (and the king's concubines) lived. my favorite part was the main temple and the gardens leading up to the "secret garden". i was sad that we weren't able to go through the gate into the secret garden, but i guess it's still only for royalty or by invitation only. bummer.
afterward we were hungry and our tour guide wanted us to experience a real korean meal. so, we went to the myeongdong which is a huge shopping district with restaurants, shops, and entertainment all over the place. we sat down for a traditional meal called bibimbap which was a hot bowl of rice mixed with sprouts, mushrooms, beef, zucchini, bellflower and other unknown veggies mixed with an egg and chili paste. i was super nervous to eat it but after mixing the concoction all together (and the egg cooking thanks to the hot bowl), it actually didn't taste too bad. i also tried the kimchi (fermented cabbage) but was not a big fan of that one. we ate quickly so we'd have enough time to wander up and down the street looking at all the little shops.
we then walked over to the jogyesa temple- the main buddhist temple right in the middle of the city. it seemed a bit out of place when compared to the other temple in the sense that it was right in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of a huge city. interestingly enough though, inside the temple was very quiet and peaceful and it was interesting to watch the people worship. the three large gold plated buddhas inside the ceremonial room were huge and represented the amitabha buddha (buddha of love), shakyamuni buddha, and bhaisaiya buddha (the medicine buddha).
it was a busy day but i was happy to fit in a little sightseeing before we headed back home on what felt like the longest plane ride ever (i think it was because the people i sat next to were awful). i really enjoyed learning about a new culture that i had never studied before and hope to go back again next year and see even more!
