When we were touring Dorosan Station near the DMZ, a colonel in the South Korean army was standing on the train platform and kindly posed for a photo with me. Just as hubby was about to snap the shot, the colonel directed me to “say kimchi,” which definitely left me smiling! I knew kimchi was a popular […]
South Korea
Exploring Asian Culture at the National Museum of Korea
I am a total museum geek. Give me a building full of ancient artifacts and I will be happy for hours. If the collection is well-curated with detailed English descriptions, I could be there all day. Which is what happened when we visited the excellent National Museum of Korea in Seoul. We started on […]
Palaces of Seoul: Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung
Before the Japanese annexed Korea in the early 20th century, the Joseon dynasty ruled the country for some 500 years after King Taejo ascended the throne in 1392. The new king established his capital in Seoul – moving it south from Kaesong, a city located in modern-day North Korea – and established a grand palace […]
Love Locks and Lovely Views at N Seoul Tower
On our first day in Seoul, pollution from China had blown over and the 236-meter N Seoul Tower standing atop Namsan Mountain was barely visible through the smog. When we were greeted with sunshine and beautiful blue skies the next day, we seized the opportunity to admire the panoramas from the tower. While much shorter […]
Touring the DMZ and Dorasan Station
When planning our trip to Seoul, the only part of our itinerary I was certain about was a tour of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) running between the borders of North and South Korea. We had pre-booked a tour with Koridoor, which operates in conjunction with the non-profit United Service Organizations (USO) and is widely considered […]