For the last weeks, I have been living my life as a tourist here in South Korea. I visited tourist attractions and.... I don't know. I think I did almost all things a typical tourist does. So... without further ado, let's begin!
National Palace Museum of Korea
The best thing about this museum is that it's free to get in! You don't need to buy ticket or anything, so just go inside and see what they offer. Since this museum is called the National Palace Museum of Korea, you guess it! This museum is filled with everything related to palaces. If you like to watch historical dramas, then I guarantee you'll enjoy your trip in this museum. To show you what it looks like inside, I have some photos below!
The only thing missing from this place is English explanation. Well, they have English explanation for each big rooms that contain exhibitions(?) but they don't provide English explanation for every exhibition(?). They only state the English name. It's too bad, in my opinion, because who knows...some tourists also want to learn history instead of just taking pictures ;)
*BONUS!
This museum is located near Gyeongbokgung, so if you are done visiting the museum, you can immediately head to the ticket office and make your way to Gyeongbokgung! I visited the palace once, 2 years ago, so I decided not to at that time. I only took a picture of the big gate that you can see from the streets.
Bukchon Hanok Village
This place is not that far from Gyeongbokgung, but I didn't really know the location so I had to blindly go around and stupidly turn around until I found the place. I think it would be best if you ask someone where it is located.
What's Bukchon Hanok Village, you ask? Well it's an area filled with houses that still look traditional. Not really that traditional but still...traditional. If you don't get what I mean then take a look at the picture below.
There are people who live inside these houses so make sure you don't make loud noises around this place. You can't really do much except for sightseeing and taking pictures, but it was a good experience nonetheless :D
The Story of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun Shin
If you walk a few meters from Gyeongbokgung, you can see a statue of King Sejong. He is the one who invented the Hangeul system (Korean alphabet), so he is called The Great King Sejong. If you're curious about his life story, you can go to this place under the statue. The place looks like a museum and inside you can also use some latest technologies to kind of learn Hangeul.
Connected to this place is another place that looks like a museum, dedicated to Admiral Yi Sun Shin. According to my lame historical knowledge, he is the one who leads Korea towards freedom and victory for several times. Well, you can always Google who he is. He also has this biggggg ship...
Turtle Ship
...and because Admiral Yi Sun Shin was always preparing for battles, it was said that he was too lonely. Hence, he wrote a journal...
You can use this screen to browse through Admiral Yi Sun Shin's diary if you want to...I don't see anything wrong with that but maybe you're going to spend hours there...
Namsangol Hanok Village
If you want to go here, you can get off at the Chungmuro subway station and walk a few meters. Again, going inside here is free so you can save that money to eat later ;) In this place, the houses are really traditional, unlike those in Bukchon Hanok Village. The houses in Namsangol Hanok Village are said to be replicas of houses built back in the days. Here's an example of what the house looks like inside.
Doesn't it look like those rooms where the ladies plot evil plans? Haha if you've watched a historical drama, you'll get what I mean. In case you're really interested in those kind of things, you can pay if you want to wear traditional clothes and get your picture taken!
Namsan Tower/Namsan Park
Behold..........the official place where couples date! Yeah really, I'm not even kidding. Everywhere you go, you can always spot a couple there. If you're a depressed happy and single man/woman, then just ignore those couples and enjoy the view instead!!
Breathtaking isn't it?
But if you come with your partner, then be sure to check this out!
Yes! The eversofamous love padlocks. You can buy them in the souvenir shop or you can bring it yourselves. I saw some phone cases among the padlocks so I guess you can use whatever you want there.
And that is all for this post! If you want to go to the places mentioned above (or any other place), be sure to check http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto This website provides you with information about the places that you want to visit and the transportation that you can take to get there. Happy travelling!!!
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