Day 3 - South Korea

On Saturday I arrived in Seoul, South Korea, where I had a 14 hour layover so I signed up for a 5 hour tour of the city. I boarded a bus along with 15 other tourists from all over the world and we enjoyed the hour drive into Seoul from the airport. We made three stops on our tour: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Insadonggil market (a tourist trap), and a traditional Korean restaurant. I found the Palace to be the most educational place on the tour.

GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE

The Palace was built in the late 1300's and spans across more than 400,000 square feet with more than 15 buildings and numerous gardens on the premise. It served 12 kings until 1945 when South Korea elected the first president and the grounds were opened to the public.

The foundation of the Palace buildings were made of stone and roof and walls were were made of hand painted wood that included many different designs and illustrations. Unfortunately the pictures do not do the magnificent colors justice. Below to the left is one of the King's chamber buildings where he would conduct his daily affairs and the picture to the right is the top to one of the gates leading into the plaza area.

Below to the left is an expanded version of the gates leading into the plaza. It was customary for the King to walk down the center sidewalk which is raised above the other stone. This was a sign of respect that he was higher than the other people in the plaza. The picture to the right is the Gyeonghoeru which was a building made of stone pillars that sat on a pond with floating trees. This open, airy building was used for banquets and special events that the King held on the Palace grounds.

Our tour group was able to see the changing of the guards ceremony which takes place once a day. Loud drums and trumpets sounded the old guards leaving and the new guards arriving. The men wore traditional costumes in various colors that symbolized their rank in the guard.

When I arrived back at the airport and returned to the gate area I discovered that the Korean Tourism Committee has set up a free cultural center where tourists can enjoy an art project and traditional Korean music. Below is a picture of a Korean woman playing an ajaeng, which is a string instrument that used a bow to play on the floor. It is used in Korean Folk music. What a fantastic idea to share with the travelers passing by in the airport!!

*** Check out more pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/jglesne/albumid/5266226588726543073?alt=rss&kind=photo&authkey=_CFFUnGXcXk&hl=en_US