Soulful Seoul
May 13, 2017
Our first day in Seoul was pretty much what you would expect first-time visitors like ourselves would do. Truth be told, Penguin, and I are not the touristy kind of people. Whenever we travel, we constantly explore more local spots, staying in apartments rather than cheap hotels where the tourist attractions are. But after researching before our trip, I found that there aren't many touristy places in the city, at least not compared to its older brother, Tokyo, so we decided to take on most of them on Day 1.
Of course, Gyeongbukgong Palace was mandatory. We went there early in the morning, which was a good call because there wasn't a long queue when we purchased our entry tickets. A few minutes later, however, the line was longer than I could imagine.
Honestly, when we reached the palace, I expected so much more than just an open throne room. It turned out to be mostly an open space bordered by the Palace walls. But it was a beautiful day to be out there, and the blue skies made for a picturesque backdrop to the photos. Don't take my word for it, though, because that's just me. I'd still recommend visiting this Palace if you ever find yourself in Seoul and appreciate it yourself.
After Gyeongbukgong, we headed to the old village of Bukchon Hanok, where one can find the most Instagram-worthy spots anywhere along the traditional Korean houses lined up leading to the top of the hill. From above, you can see the N Seoul Tower from afar.
We walked from the palace to the village along Samcheong-ro. The walk was pleasant, as you could see the juxtaposition of old and New Seoul left and right. The side streets are lined up with the cutest and most colorful cafes, art spaces, stores where you can buy or rent a Hanbok, cute clothing boutiques, and little flea markets that look more like backyard sales.
The village is easy to find. You'll know you're close as long as you see the stone-paved alleys. However, it took us a little while to locate the famous uphill street where the best view is because every corner and turn leads to a different path that becomes narrower as the main street disappears from view.
By the time we arrived around late noon, we found ourselves among packs of tourists with cameras on hand, taking photos nonstop. We should have gone earlier to give you guys the best visuals because the whole place is picturesque, but it’s a pity that it was rather hard to take photos without your shot being blocked by a crowd or two also trying to get a good photo op. These are the best I can gather so far.
What I found funny is that the icing on the cake in these photos is the tourists wearing their rented Hanboks. I know for a fact they are tourists because they are taking photos of themselves nonstop like that because there are so many of them. They made the whole scenario, especially the old tourist areas, look and feel like old Seoul in the photos. I wrote to my Instagram the exact same thing, like we were transported back in time.
I've so much more visuals and stories to share with you all so stay tuned.
