When we arrived at the hotel last night we received a message saying that the guide would pick us up at 8.30 rather than 9.00 which would have been fine except that breakfast didn’t start until 8.00! As it turned out we managed to fit in breakfast and still be on time for the guide. I had thought that we would probably take public transport around the city as we had in Japan but we had a very nice car and Paul (our guide who I am sure is actually called something far more complicated than that) explained that there were demonstrations planned for this afternoon about the impeachment of the president and therefore a number of roads would be shut this afternoon although he very much doubted there would be any trouble. We started with a drive past the Blue Palace which is where the president lives, we were not allowed to stop or take any photos and there were both police and secret service people about every 100 yards! It was then onto our first stop which was Changdeokgung Palace built in 1405 as a secondary palace of the Joseon Dynasty, it was destroyed during the first Japanese invasion between 1592 – 1598. It was rebuilt in 1610 and served as the main palace for about 270 years. The throne hall – Injeongjeon hall, was used for holding the most formal state events such as audiences with ministers, coronation ceremonies and receptions for foreign envoys. We went round a few of the rooms, the council halls and the queens bedroom then Paul asked us if we wanted some free time so we took about 15 minutes to wonder round again, unfortunately what we hadn’t realised at the time was that there were a number of other areas we could have visited including the Secret Garden so we will probably go back on our free day. From there we were driven to Insa-dong which is called the antique district but is more arts and crafts with a liberal sprinkling of tourist shops. Paul said that he wasn’t able to show us round as he couldn’t leave the car or possibly he needed to park the car, but he said he would meet us back where he dropped us in about an hour. This seems to be a relatively new district, originally where middle class people lived as it was close to Bukchon and Jongno, it was populated with interpreters, engineers and artists in the 1930s a number of booksellers and antique shops opened around the area, in subsequent years more businesses moved in until in the 2000s it was designated a Culture District and became car free in 2011. They say that between 30,000 – 50,000 Korean and foreign tourists visit the 0.7km long street per day so we walked to the end and back, today is the second day of the Lotus Lantern Festival which basically meant that on the stage at the end of the street there were a number of people ‘performing’ traditional songs or dances, we watched for a while but to be honest it was rather like the Beijing opera – you obviously have to be born to it to appreciate it! As we were walking back a procession passed us which was very colourful men and women in traditional dress playing music and at the back pulling a float, I got handed a plastic flower which we will try and carry with us but I am not sure it will survive! We jumped back in the car and went to Cheonggyecheon (stream) again we were given time to walk this area, depending on what you read it is either a 8.12km or 10.9km stream that used to divide Seoul physically, politically, socially and culturally. In the Joseon period the northern side housed the nobility and government buildings and the southern side housed common people and poor scholars. For 600 years the stream played an important role in the lives of the people living in the capital from hosting festivals at new year to carrying sewage to the river. However over time this became a problem and when dredging was no longer possible they filled the stream until it was completely buried in 1978 destined to disappear from the history of Seoul as they built and overpass over it! In the 21st century it was decided to uncover the stream and create somewhere that people can relax in the middle of the city. By this time it was about 1pm and Paul asked us if we wanted to be dropped somewhere but we decided to head back to the hotel so that we could drop the bag then go and find something for lunch. Our hotel is actually right on the edge of the main market district so we took a walk across the road and had some lunch then we just walked round all the streets which were full of street food stalls some of which looked really nice others not we were not so sure about! Unfortunately we had already eaten but it may be somewhere we visit if not tonight definitely another night. We decided we would head back to the hotel for a rest but on the way we walked past the Bank of Korea money museum, this is a free museum that has various currencies from ancient times to the present day, it also has a representation of the historic governors office and conference room which are very reminiscent of the soviet era offices in east Berlin and a replica vault full of fake money! By the time we had finished walking round it was almost 5pm so we went to the hotel to read up on what we are doing tomorrow and to plan what we want to see on our free day in a couple of days time.
