Destination: Changgyeonggung – a wonderful Seoul palace (South Korea)

Changyeong Palace (the gung means palace in Korean) was originally built in 1418 by King Sejong for his father, Taejong. Like almost all palaces in Korea, portions of the palace have been destroyed or damaged, then rebuilt; destroyed or damaged again, and rebuilt...

Destination: Funique / War Memorial of Korea / Rolling Ball Museum (Seoul, South Korea)

While the War Memorial of Korea is the largest war memorial in the world, my primary destination was actually a place called Funique (website only in Korean). Incongruously located inside the War Memorial in an area near the souvenir shop, Funique contains a number of...

Destination: Yongsan Electronic Market – a huge shop for anything that plugs in (Seoul, South Korea)

Yongsan Electronic Market (AKA Digital Specialty Store AKA just ‘Yongsan’ to some) is known as the electronic shopping capital of Seoul. With seven floors worth of shopping for the electronic gadget / accessory, it should go without saying that a geek like...

Destination: Dongdaemun – history, shopping, and culture in one (Seoul, South Korea)

Author’s note: I first visited Dongdaemun in late September, but I didn’t feel I had gotten to see the area as well as I usually do when I write about it in the blog. I put off blogging about the area until I got to see it again, which I did in late...

Destination: Uiwang railroad museum (field trip at school) (South Korea)

Our recent field trip at school took us to the Uiwang Railroad Museum – home to several decades of trains and train technology both indoors and outdoors. The museum was appropriately located close to the railroad tracks, although we arrived by school van of...

Destination: Olympic Park – where the 1988 Seoul Olympics were held (Seoul, South Korea)

While Olympic Park is where some of the 1988 Summer Olympics took place (the other major area being the previously blogged about Jamsil Sports Complex), the Olympics from 20 years ago seems a legacy, a thing of the past that mostly gets passed by. With 2,000,000...

Destination: Dragon Hill (Jimjilbang) – or 10 steps to enjoying a jimjilbang in South Korea

Define jimjilbang: A Korean day spa / sauna / public bathhouse, often open 24 hours a day with separate places to sleep, relax, soak in hot water, sit in a sauna, and so on. Visiting a jimjilbang has become one of my favorite ways to relax, especially after having...

Destination: Seoul Design Olympiad (2008) (South Korea)

The Seoul Design Olympiad, being held from October 10-30, 2008, was a great chance to see the designs of the future, along with a fair amount of the designs of today. The picture above is just one of the many advertisements for the three-week-long event – and...

Destination: Rodeo Drive / Dosan Park (Apgujeong)

Part of the massive Gangnam area, Apgujeong’s claim to fame is a tourist trap aptly named ‘Rodeo Drive’ after the real one in Beverly Hills. Unlike the Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, however, the Rodeo Drive in Apgujeong is more than just shopping for...

Destination: Seoul Folk Flea Market – a quirky shopping experience (Seoul, South Korea)

I had some extra time on Sunday afternoon, and happened to be in the area of the Seoul Folk Flea Market. Located near the Sinseol-dong subway station on line 1, I had heard that this was the place to see some links to Korea’s past… stuff… Your...