Seoul Part III
This weekend was one of those beautiful weekends at the beginning of summer that begs one to give in to itchy feet and so, along with some Ulsan friends, I headed up to Seoul. Even though Seoul was brutally hot this weekend, it was the same welcoming, exciting city that I've come to admire. Once again, we hopped on the midnight express (really the 1 A.M. express, but whatever) out of Ulsan, arriving in Kangnam at 5:30. After a breakfast of pancakes in Apgujeong, we took the subway to Sinchon to meet up with my friend Ja Young, who has just completed the exhausting process of applying for a job with the United Nations and anxiously awaiting their decision, and one of Jessica's friends, Dae Jin. From there, we walked around Cheonggyecheon, a small river near the palace district that used to be the home of newly emigrated Seoul residents and has been preserved as a walking path.
From there, it was a short walk into Insadong for lunch on different jjigaes. Thankfully, Ja Young, was able to get us the "student" menu so we avoided be price-gouged like most other tourists in Insadong. Ja Young had a wedding to attend on Yeouido, so we followed her down there and took the opportunity to ascend to the top of the 63 building:
The view from the top was actually nice on Saturday as there was relatively little haze. Afterwards, we took a ferry from Yeouido to Jamsil, which takes about an hour, and met up with my friend Gyeong Min, another Ulsanite who has been studying for the TOEFL exam in Seoul. As the evening was fast approaching, we decided to head over to Hongdae, one of the centers of Seoul's nightlife. After dinner, we went underground to Seoul's famous "Ice Bar," a bar that is constructed almost entirely of ice, complete with ice cups. The temperature inside is kept at a "balmy" -5 degrees Celsius. The bar provides guests with insulated ponchos and gloves. Apparently, the record for time spent in the bar is a little over three hours. We certainly couldn't last that long. My camera battery died at this point, but here is a picture of Jessica posing in an ice sculpture holding a sign that reads "Stop Global Warming." I found this incredibly ironic given the amount of energy it must take to keep the bar frozen (a more cynical person might even suggest that it was intentionally ironic):
After a changing locations to a Belgian beer bar, Yassin and I met up with Ja Young again and spent a couple of hours dancing at a hip-hop club called Catch Light. Once again, I was amazed by the breadth of the DJ's knowledge of American club hip-hop. Although it wasn't entirely up to date, most of the songs weren't exactly the biggest hits outside of the club, and I was happily surprised to hear them there. Finally, fatigued, Yassin and I walked back to our hostel in Hapjeong to sleep.
The next day, Yassin and I went up to the palace district and walked around Gyeongbokgung, one of the main palaces of the Joseon era. It is quite magnificent and elaborate without being ridiculously ostentatious. I was especially excited to see this building (the name of which escapes me) where hangeul was invented in the 15th century under the auspices of King Sejong:
Finally, this is the view from outside of the Traditional Folk Museum, which is adjacent to Gyeongbokgung, and some of the examples of traditional village guardian totems. Unfortunately, due to time constraints we didn't have time to visit the museum as we had to meet up with the rest of our Ulsan posse and catch the bus from East Seoul back to Ulsan. I guess that means I will have to go back to Seoul, which isn't such a bad thing at all.
From there, it was a short walk into Insadong for lunch on different jjigaes. Thankfully, Ja Young, was able to get us the "student" menu so we avoided be price-gouged like most other tourists in Insadong. Ja Young had a wedding to attend on Yeouido, so we followed her down there and took the opportunity to ascend to the top of the 63 building:
The view from the top was actually nice on Saturday as there was relatively little haze. Afterwards, we took a ferry from Yeouido to Jamsil, which takes about an hour, and met up with my friend Gyeong Min, another Ulsanite who has been studying for the TOEFL exam in Seoul. As the evening was fast approaching, we decided to head over to Hongdae, one of the centers of Seoul's nightlife. After dinner, we went underground to Seoul's famous "Ice Bar," a bar that is constructed almost entirely of ice, complete with ice cups. The temperature inside is kept at a "balmy" -5 degrees Celsius. The bar provides guests with insulated ponchos and gloves. Apparently, the record for time spent in the bar is a little over three hours. We certainly couldn't last that long. My camera battery died at this point, but here is a picture of Jessica posing in an ice sculpture holding a sign that reads "Stop Global Warming." I found this incredibly ironic given the amount of energy it must take to keep the bar frozen (a more cynical person might even suggest that it was intentionally ironic):
After a changing locations to a Belgian beer bar, Yassin and I met up with Ja Young again and spent a couple of hours dancing at a hip-hop club called Catch Light. Once again, I was amazed by the breadth of the DJ's knowledge of American club hip-hop. Although it wasn't entirely up to date, most of the songs weren't exactly the biggest hits outside of the club, and I was happily surprised to hear them there. Finally, fatigued, Yassin and I walked back to our hostel in Hapjeong to sleep.
The next day, Yassin and I went up to the palace district and walked around Gyeongbokgung, one of the main palaces of the Joseon era. It is quite magnificent and elaborate without being ridiculously ostentatious. I was especially excited to see this building (the name of which escapes me) where hangeul was invented in the 15th century under the auspices of King Sejong:
Finally, this is the view from outside of the Traditional Folk Museum, which is adjacent to Gyeongbokgung, and some of the examples of traditional village guardian totems. Unfortunately, due to time constraints we didn't have time to visit the museum as we had to meet up with the rest of our Ulsan posse and catch the bus from East Seoul back to Ulsan. I guess that means I will have to go back to Seoul, which isn't such a bad thing at all.
posted by TSF in Ulsan | 9:30 AM
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