Although I
didn't get a picture of this happening, I just wanted to share that I was walking alongside a man today, and he didn't
even glance up from his phone as we crossed a street!!
This morning, I went back to Gwanghwamun Square where Key and I briefly visited
yesterday. As I mentioned in my previous post, it is the site of the King
Sejong Statue. However, today I had the time to walk to the other side of
Gwanghwamun Station to visit the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin as well. This statue sits
opposite from where the King Sejong statue is.
From there I
went to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. I didn’t know that this palace was so close
to where I am staying, so I was happily surprised to see these interesting
sights!
There were
many tourists from Korea and other countries crowding through the main gate.
These men were dressed in traditional Korean clothing (can anyone tell me what
this is called?), and they were available for people to take pictures with
them. They remained completely unmoving and their facial expressions were very
serious.
I went
through the main gate and walked around the courtyard a bit. What a beautiful
place!
This is the
design on the ceiling when you walk through the main gate. Incredible!
On the way
out, I saw this group of young kids on a school field trip. I couldn’t resist
taking a picture! How cute are they??
Across from
the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace is a Microsoft building. It reminded me of
Washington!
I passed the
National Museum of Korean Contemporary History on my way back toward Gwanghwamun
Station, and I would have gone in to check it out, but of course they happen to
be closed on Mondays! I'll have to come back and visit there sometime.
By this
point, I had been walking around for about two hours and decided it was time for a rest. I ordered a green tea smoothie and found a nice spot to sit in the sun. On that note, the weather is SO NICE here. It’s
warm but not hot...my favorite kind of weather!
The American
embassy is in Jongno-gu. MURICA!
Speaking of
which, American influence much?
The emergency
number in South Korea is 119. I have learned so many new things today!
After a short
rest back at my hostel, I went to visit Cheonggye Stream.
From there I
just started walking, and I came to Seoul City Hall! It is a quite an architectural
marvel!
These
inflatable characters decorated the outside of the city hall entrance. They
were unlike anything you would see outside of a government building in America!
At the end of
the day, I had crab fried rice and kimchi at a Vietnamese restaurant. The
waitress asked me how old I was, and I had to think for a second…I’m 22 at home,
but now I should answer that I am 23 because I’m in Korea! In Korea, a child is
one year old when s/he is born, and then his/her age is counted up from there.
So I guess I’m 23 now!
I will be
taking the subway across the Han River tomorrow to meet an HR rep from JLS! I’m
so excited to see my school, my apartment, my coworkers, and so on! Thanks everyone
for your thoughts and love!
feels like i am there already! sooo beautiful! especially the selfie! LOVE you!
ReplyDeletecan't wait to have you here someday! love you so much, Momma!!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I have to admit that these pictures make me feel a bit jealous of you. :P I'm so happy that things are going well so far, it makes me want to come join you!
ReplyDeleteFrom Aunt Denise
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Everything is so neat and tidy. Love the inflatables!
Megan, you know what that means...you should come here yourself!! :D I will be here to welcome you!!
ReplyDeleteAunt Denise: yeah, isn't it amazing how clean everything is? for as many people as live in this country, it is really neat.
1. Those place names are hard to pronounce.
ReplyDelete2. I want that ceiling in my house.
3. That little spot to drink your frozen green tea looks lovely.
4. Cheonggye stream looks beautiful.
5. The Seoul City Hall is amazing! I had to look up the architects because I wanted to know who it was, reminded me so strongly of Frank Gehry's work but the more I looked the more I realized it was very original.
6.The Inflatables! I would have thought they were just statues from the photo, they are so great!
7. And that Microsoft building absolutely looks like the ones in WA. I wonder if they're the same all over the world?
I know, Korean words are very long and difficult to pronounce! I'll have to work hard to learn this language.
ReplyDeleteisn't that ceiling beautiful? I loved the bright colors and the design. it's unlike anything I've ever seen!
haha, yes that was a nice place to sit for a rest, but I had to laugh because the "grass" was really like thin football turf on that little plaza!
we should go to Cheonggye Stream when you come here. it goes on for a long time, just right through the middle of the city! it makes the area feel more natural in the middle of all of those tall buildings.
I love that you looked up the architects of Seoul City Hall! I know, there's no missing that building! I wanted to go inside to see what it was like, but I felt shy because it's a government building and I didn't have any reason to go in there. I'll have to bring a Korean-speaking friend with me sometime to back me up ;)
I know, I seriously want those little inflatables to come to America! I love the ones with random words: love, like, happy! makes no sense to me, but they made me smile! :)
I know, I felt like I was looking up at a building in Redmond! the funny thing is that it's directly across the street from that beautiful palace gate. Seoul is an amazing place! can't wait to have you here!!
Learning about unasperated consonants at the end of words helped me feel more confident trying to pronounce things but I'm sure I'll get there and figure out I've still got it all wrong :)
DeleteHaha i totally can't tell in that picture that that's turf not grass! At least it looks nice ;) and nobody has to pay for upkeep
Yes let's go to cheonggye stream while we're there :)
Do you need a reason to walk through city hall? I guess it's better have someone with you just in case
I'm trying to learn one new Korean word every day. it's a small goal, but doing that will at least get me started until I can get a tutor or something!
DeleteI'm sure I probably could have walked inside just to check it out, but I feel really conspicuous here. I feel like I stand out a lot because I'm tall, white, and not a Korean speaker. so maybe it was just me trying to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention to myself ;)
Amazing pictures! You have quite the photographer's eye, old sport.
ReplyDeleteThanks, friend! I'm considering looking for a photography class to take, since I have so much free time (I don't work until 3pm M-F). Thanks for the encouragement!
Delete