Seoul Searching - Blogativity

I confess I didn’t invent the terrible pun in the title of this post. It was a movie from 2015.

*Is this supposed to be the Korean version of the Breakfast Club? You can guess which kids are channeling Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald.*

At first I thought I was making up an original pun, but let’s face it, it’s practically impossible to do anything original these days. And even if you do, you get accused of using AI. Trust me, there’s no artificial intelligence in this blog. There’s no intelligence of any kind whatsoever in this blog. But I have to admit that “Seoul Searching” is the sort of thing AI would come up with. Because it’s a really awful, terrible pun.

*These kids look much happier than the Breakfast Club bunch.*

*Maybe there is artificial intelligence out there…somewhere.*

I’m sure you’re asking, why did we go to Seoul? (Or maybe you couldn’t care less.) Well, George and I had never been to South Korea. (The main destination for this trip is Taiwan, but we’ll get to that later.) And South Korean culture is all the rage, isn’t it? Like, a worldwide phenomenon. We’ve got K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty, K-everything. All enjoying massive popularity in the West at the moment.

There’s a really cool space in Seoul called the Cheonggyecheon Stream. It runs through downtown for 6.8 miles.

Historically, the stream was used for domestic chores. In the 20th century, it became a sewage conveyance, a shantytown, and eventually a highway (the stream was sealed over with concrete). Now the waterway has been cleaned up and the area rejuvenated. We wandered through a section that features an outdoor library.

*At night, the stream (and much of the city) is lit by vibrant colors. Koreans, we discovered, really, really like colorful things.*

*Except in their skyscrapers, which tend to be mostly bland and homogenous. This view is from our visit to the Namsan Tower.*

Historical Seoul is pretty fascinating, too. Old temples and palaces snuggle up against the sprawl of modern buildings, reminding Koreans of their heritage and a time when they weren’t divided into arbitrary north and south sections. (More about that division in the next post.)

*Many of the homes in Bukchon Hanok Village are hundreds of years old and beautifully preserved.*

*But modern Seoul is never far from view.*

*The changing of the guard at Gyeongbokgung Palace. The palace is a reconstruction of the original that was built in 1395 during the early days of the powerful Joseon Dynasty.*

*The guards were posing for pictures after the ceremony, but for some reason this dude wanted to put a hex on me.*

Stay tuned for more from Seoul!

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3 Comments

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Ilana Subar

20 hours ago

Thanks for sharing! It brought back fond memories of my trip to S. Korea in 2023. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Timo

20 hours ago

Hi Craig! Thank you for your blog. Will spend more time on this later, but I think we will look for a trip to Korea soon. After all, we are half way there. LOL. Speaking of K-drama, just finished the “4 Hands 2 Sonatas” series on netflix. thumbs up.

Kip Zahn

6 hours ago

Looks awesome Craig. And glad to know you still have the trademark humility. The dickhead would be so pleased.