Seoul, Korea - March 2009
Heart of Seoul
by Carleton Cole
by Carleton Cole
The modern and traditional seamlessly blend in Seoul, with neon-lit malls a short walk away from splendid old palaces. Nowhere is this chic mix of old and new more dynamic than in the hip Insadong district, with its cosy intimate teahouses, Korean-food cafés with warm ambiance, and shops and stalls with classical curios like celadon teacups and Chinese-landscape-inspired scroll paintings.
Women can also try on and buy honbok (traditional clothing). This garment is distinctive for its extra-long ‘train’, which extends from the torso to the floor, made of white and the three primary colours. But the area isn’t entirely soaked in tradition, and the area is home to thoroughly modern restaurants and fashionable young patrons in Western attire.
Favourites in the area’s restaurants include the delectable staple dish bimibop (rice, veggies and egg with sweet red pepper sauce served in a stone bowl) subtly spicy kimchi (various pickled, bite-size vegetables and meats served in small dishes) Korean barbequed delights, uniquely chilled noodles cut with scissors by the server at the table, and sweet honey skein, which melts in the mouth.
Many things in Insadong look the same as they did in the days when aristocrats and noblemen of the later Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) built the area’s many hanok (classical one-floor Korean wooden houses with tiled roofs). Similar, but much more dramatic, Chinese-inspired imperial architecture can be enjoyed in the South Korean capital’s stately estates
Five Grand Palaces were built on the command of Joseon kings. In 1997 Changdeokgung was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 as an “outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture and garden design”. The buildings are “integrated into and harmonised with the natural setting” as well as adapted “to the topography and retaining indigenous tree cover”.
Shoppers will enjoy walking through: Dongdaemun Market, the country’s biggest shopping plaza, which has lots of silks, clothes, shoes; Apgujeong-dong, which boasts several high-end department stores, boutiques and restaurants; and, if you want to see what locals are buying for everyday needs, Namdaemun Market, the oldest retail market.
Popular and well-situated hotels in Seoul include the Life Style Hotel, conveniently in the city centre, a seven-minute walk to the subway; the mid-range New Kukje Hotel in Namdaemun Market; and Biz Myeong Dong Hotel, which is a kilometre from the city centre and a minute’s walk to the metro. These and other hotels can be booked for the guarantee-lowest price at HotelTravel.com.
Easily and quickly accessible from Seoul, the Korean Folk Village is a living museum in Yongin, a satellite city of the South Korean capital in Gyeonggi province, which exposes visitors to the traditional ways of Korean life and culture. Yet nearby this blast from the past is the fully modernist Everland Resort, a Disneyland-like theme park in Yongin that is the most popular destination in the country.
To add cultural depth to your new appreciation for the country, there’s no better place to go than the National Museum of Korea, which claims to be the largest museum in Asia and the sixth-largest museum in the world in terms of floor space. Established in 1945, the museum moved, in 2005, to a bigger, more open building in Yongsan Family Park in Seoul.
You could browse for days without being able to appreciate the complete collection. Among the objects on offer are Buddha statutes, fine old ceramics, woodworks, bronze incense burners and painted scrolls from centuries past, as well as contemporary works.
Along with South Korea as a whole, Seoul has punched above its weight ever since the de facto end of the Korean War in 1953, well marrying a Confucian work ethic with a savvy sense of how to make and sell products in an increasingly capitalist world. The small nation lived it up big time in hosting the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
With a population of more than 10 million, Seoul is the largest city of South Korea. Moreover, the Seoul National Capital Area is home to 24.5 million people and is the world’s second largest metropolitan area behind Tokyo, Japan. But Seoulites love orderliness, and so there’s hardly any jostling when getting on a bus or getting tickets for a movie, as a sense of calm—and quiet queues—takes precedence.
This serenity extends to and increases in the natural attractions in the area, such as the Han River, which runs roughly through the centre of the city. Taking a river cruise is a good one way to see Seoul’s skyline punctuated by high-rise apartment blocks. Or, to put it all in perspective, even grander views across the city are just a speedy lift-ride away to the observation deck about halfway up the almost 500-metre-high Seoul Tower.
As fascinating as this big city is, there always comes a need to chill out away from it all. Nowhere else in or near Seoul is better for that than the beautifully hilly Pukansan National Park, which with its natural green beauty and elegant Buddhist temples would be notable no matter where they are found.
It is utterly astonishing to be discovered near a subway stop that links this leafy area with the heart of the city in less than an hour. In a relentlessly modern city like Seoul, which quakes and quivers with neon flash and retail madness, it’s good to know that classical nature and a sense of old Korea is just around the corner.
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