Seoul/Gyeongbokgung

My working week was pretty uneventful, apart from my Boss cutting his finger and showing it to me like a proud little boy to his mother.It took considerable restraint on my part not to throw a sarcastic comment. "Poor baby" would have been what I would have said had I not had the common sense to keep my mouth shut. I really have no respect for a man who constantly upsets the Korean teachers and thrashes, yes, thrashes the kids with a snooker cue when they dont do their homework (is that really punishment to fit the crime? I think not.) I have yet to hear of another hagwon in Gunsan or in Seoul that still uses physical punishment, though as far as I am aware its not illegal.

Saturday was spent in Seoul. It took me 3 1/2 hours to get there, during which the first hour was spent coughing and blowing my nose. No joke, I looked at my watch when it started, and again when it subsided. I have had this for over a week, and I was curious as to how long each coughing fit lasted. After that, I fell asleep for the next couple of hours till I reached the outskirts of Seoul.

Seoul, Korea's capital city, is THE place to be if you want anything convenient eg a phone card for cheaper phone calls, or to have a good time. Half of Korea's population is concentrated in Seoul, some 30 million vs 60 million, and in some parts of Seoul every other person is an English speaking westerner. Suprisingly, I did not like it one bit, I felt like I was back in England. Some Korean's compare Seoul with Manhattan, though it is likely that those from New York will disagree.

Having met up with Ben at the Bus Terminal, we took the underground to the train stop that would lead us to Gyeongbokgung palace. The bus terminal, with no exhaggeration is bigger than some airports I have been to eg Luton and Liverpool John Lennon, and some of the ones in Canada, apparently. The underground was an experience in itself. As large as the one in London and twice as confusing (due to Hangul and not knowing the system), it really is a sight to behold. The trains were just as hot, smelly and overcrowed as the ones in London, with Seoulites competing for seats. I was lucky to have someone with me who was used to the ticket system of the underground. Gunsan does not even have a train station; I have to get the bus everywhere, even from one city to the next.

40 min later, when we emerged from the underground and onto the street, it was still throwing it down. The sky was dull and miserable and the wind was strong and bitter. Within 5 min my trainers got soaked through, despite the umbrella. The photos don't even begin to capture the weather that day. In the end we did not stay long, as we could not find any decent shelter, and it was too cold and wet to carry on wandering the full grounds of the palace. Below is my half-hearted attempt of an account of the palace.

The palace was first built by Taejo, the first king of the Yi dynasty, when he relocated Korea's capital to Seoul. The palace was the hub of royal power, and royal residence for around 200 years. Unfortunately the Japanese invasion of 1592 saw the destruction of most of the 500 buildings that were housed within the place walls. After centuries of neglect, restoration of the palace finally began during the reign of King Gojong (1864-1907). Some 200 of the original buildings had been restored when the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) resulted in wholesale destruction, leaving only 10 building remaining.

The Koreans have vowed to restore the palace to its former glory of the days of King Gojong. This ambitious project commenced in 1995 and is due for completion in 2020.



This the gate to the palace, which lead to a huge courtyard. It directly faced the main enterance to the palace.



This the main enterance to the palace. Extending from this was a wall that quite possibly extended for a kilometre of two in enclosing the rest of the buildings.



Steps leading up to the main gate.



Stone carving in steps leading up to the main enterance. There were also some stone carvings of various creatures which I forgot to take photos of.



This is part of the Changing of the Guard ceremony. In the background you can see the wall that I mentioned earlier. The guards stood outside the main enterance holding swords, spears, and various other mean-looking things, looking rather uncomfortable in traditional costume. Again, I forgot to take a close up photo of these guards.



I noticed this from the courtyard in the background. I'm not sure what it is, possible some kind of Pagoda from the Japanese invasion???



Inside one of the palace numerous room was a some kind of alter. The roof was lofty and was painted in the same style as the rest of the buildings in the palace. This style can be seen in some of my photos of temples in previous blogs.



Eun-Jung informs me that this is where the King used to hold banquets and entertain his guests. It is surrounded by a body of water, (bigger than the one residing in my trainers).




This is a general view of inside the palace. We gave up after this, the weather having 'dampened' our spirits as well as our clothes.

After this Ben and I went for a Mexican, which was a real treat as you cannot get mexican food in Gunsan. I had a burrito, which was simply delicous, and I savoured every splendid mouthful.

The title of this blog provides a link to Ben's website, whose photos and descriptions provides more information than what I was able to conjure up.

One the way back, I spent some time looking round the shops at the Bus Terminal. They actually had a Body Shop, so I took the invaluable opportunity to buy the eyeshadow that I am running low on (always important!!!!). The journey home was restful, and I actually got to read some more of The Real Middle Earth, before arriving in Gunsan just past midnight.