Seoul Stopovers

Our family of four had a weekend stopover in Seoul, en-route to Gyeongju, Korea. Seoul impressed us, and we had a very nice time visiting its old palaces, and shopping through its old-fashioned markets. We were very pleasantly surprised at how nicely we were treated by people on the street. In particular, during our stay, we came across several groups of school girls and boys, looking sharp in their school uniforms. They were really happy to see us and anxious to get a chance to try out their English. They were also really amazed at our 8-year-old's long blond hair. Throughout Korea, school girls and old ladies would want to touch her hair. (She got a little tired of all the attention by the end of the trip, but was always accommodating to them and thought it was funny.) We were surprised because we thought Koreans would be quite acclimated to seeing Americans because of all the U.S. troops that have been there over the last 50 years, but that really didn't seem to be the case. Maybe most Americans there don't take the public transportation?

Seoul had more jumbo-tron TVs (for advertising) on top of its downtown skyscrapers, than we'd ever seen anywhere. We took the train out of the city towards southeast Korea, and were amazed that the skyscraper apartments of the city seem to go on forever. There are a lot of people there!

We enjoyed the Changyeonggung and Changdeokgung palaces very much, with a colorful changing of the guard ceremony at the latter, and their National Museum is full of wonderful ancient artifacts.

We were lucky to be in town for the 2003 Seoul Drum Festival, a competition/show featuring drumming bands/exhibitions from all over Asia. Unfortunately, it was our first night after flying in from the U.S., so we were too tired to enjoy it fully, but I was able to stay awake for a little bit, which left me wanting more.

We found Seoul to be very affordable, as far as museums, food, transportation, and souvenir shopping went.

Quick Tips:

We took the Seoul City Tour bus tour to get some orientation to the city, and take us around to some of the palaces. It was reasonably priced at 10000 Won (under at the time) and the "hop-on, hop-off, hop-on" feature worked well, unlike other places where you really only have time to ride around the circuit once. However, one time we did have a long wait on the next bus.

Best Way To Get Around:

The subway and bus system are clean, quick, and relatively easy to figure out, if you're just sticking to the main tourist routes (such as up to Changdeokgung palace). The best part of the public bus system is interacting with the groups of school girls on their way to or from school, while waiting at the bus stops.

The Seoul Hilton is a very classy hotel, at the high end of the Hilton chain of hotels, I'd say. It is in a very convenient location, only a 10-minute walk from the main Seoul train station, the sprawling Namdaemun market. However, it is rather inconvenient to walk to the hotel from the train station with your luggage, since it is all uphill, and you have to figure out how to cross a major Seoul thoroughfare in front of the station. (The key is figuring out which underground passage to use, not an easy thing to do, plus dragging your bags up and down the stairs.) When we were there, the hotel also had a complimentary shuttle bus to the big Itaewon shopping/nightlife district, which was worthwhile. But it is also near to public bus stops, and the subway stops are all at the main station down the hill. Of course, the hotel makes it easy to get a taxi, with several of them always lined up out front (but they are somewhat expensive). The whole staff was exceedingly polite and helpful in any way they possibly could be. The executive lounge, near the top, provided complimentary breakfasts, snacks, and drinks for members of Hilton Honors who are on the Gold or Platinum level. This is a very nice perk that can save you quite a bit of money if you aren't on business and actually care. Like we've found in many international Hiltons, you can't book a room for four (two adults and two kids) here through their reservations phone lines or online. I told the phone reservationist that we had four, booked a room for two adults with one child, and showed up with four people. Like we've found other places, the hotel was fine with it and fit us into the room. The room was extremely tight, of course.

Changdeokgung Palace is a 600-year-old palace of the Korean rulers from their Joseon Dynasty. The kings residence and other official buildings are all very nicely preserved/restored. All admission is by guided tour only. It lasts about an hour and 20 minutes, and they describe the various buildings very nicely. The admission is also very inexpensive (about US $3)

When you're walking around, take time to notice the details of the colorful roof tile and wall paintings.

A highlight of a visit to this palace complex is the Royal Guard changing ceremony at the main entrance gate. This is supposed to take place daily at 2pm. (But double-check the times, since we encountered some confusion when asking about it.) Get there 15 minutes early to get a good viewing spot.

The ceremonial guards have very colorful traditional uniforms. The ceremony begins with a parade of several units of guards, each unit wearing a different colored outfit. There are several huge Korean drums used in the ceremony, and it is fun to see them played. The ceremony doesn't drag on, and it is a nice little spectacle. Afterwards, you're invited to take photos with the guards, drums, flags, etc. No hassles, no fees, just take your turn with the other watchers. You can view the ceremony for free if you don't want to enter the palace grounds after. But the palaces are worth a walk around also.

Changdeokgung Palace is a 600-year-old palace of the Korean rulers from the Joseon Dynasty. The king's residence and other official buildings are all very nicely preserved/restored. All admission is by guided tour only. It lasts about an hour and 20 minutes, and they describe the various buildings very nicely. The admission is also very inexpensive (about US$3).

The palace and other buildings are in a park-like setting. They include the royal family's former "secret garden," a very relaxing pond area. You also get to see the former workers/servants quarters, which was also interesting to see.

If you want a feel for some Korean history, and to see some wonderfully preserved 600-year-old architecture, this is a great place to start your tours in Seoul.

The Seoul Drum festival gathers percussion groups from around the world to perform in Seoul. It's an annual event. When I was there in 2003, it was held Oct. 9-11. If you are going to be in Seoul around that time of year, look for it!
They have a website at http://www.drumfestival.org/.

The highlights for me were the Asian groups, such as the Taiwanese "Chinese Lion Dance" troupe and some of the Korean ensembles. But it also includes African, Irish, or American groups, or mixed ethnicity percussionists, such as the female Japanese salsa band performing Latin rhythms. These are truly some of the top percussion troupes in the world!

The concerts were a lot of fun to listen to, and there was a festive atmosphere, with Korean food stands, drink stands, etc., surrounding the entrance walk to the stage area. They even gave out small free samples of things, such as Korean wine.

I don't recall exactly how much admission was, but it was pretty inexpensive. Since this was our first night in Seoul, and we didn't really know where the concert was exactly, I took a taxi to get there. I left way before the concerts ended, so there was no problem getting a taxi back to the hotel.

Namdaemun market is a sprawling market area, only a short walk from the main Seoul train station. It's a lot of fun to walk through. Its not just a market just for tourist souvenirs, but is really full of shops and stalls for the local populace. Nearly everything you can imagine is sold here: souvenirs, clothes, food, handbags, wallets, and more.

It's both a good place to buy souvenirs as well as more practical items (clothing, leather goods) that you want to find at a bargain price. It's a lot more fun than any US department store ever was!