Sunday, September 8, 2013

Seoul, Korea - 4/5/12

After our morning visit to the Korean Village (previous post), our host, Steve, gave us a walking tour of Seoul.
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We strolled through the grounds of old Royal Buildings, learned a bit about King Sejong, and appreciated the modern/ancient contrast.
Admiral Yi-Sun greeted us at Gwanghwamun Square, where in the far distance you can glimpse Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the "Blue House," the Presidential Residence.
Walking down the square, we passed Admiral Yi-Sun,
and the American Embasssy, where I grabbed a photo before I was waved off by an embassy guard.
We approached and walked through the gate to the palace, where we just missed the changing of the guard.

But we didn't miss this, protest Seoul-style. Demonstrators were "guarded" and hidden by this police line. A few people were holding microphones over the police to record what was being said, but it was lost on us. Our host was not encouraging about me taking photos and video but I got a few off :-)

Seoul Demonstration video - mostly people & police milling about.

Along with Steve, JJ met us at the hotel to escort us to dinner, complete with plum wine and soju.
Afterwards, we found Michigan represented, and were treated to a one-hour massage. Tomorrow we take the train to Busan.