Starting my first day in Korea with a good laugh! After Corinne Gibbons' concert last night at Golden Village Vivo City in Singapore I rushed to the airport to catch my overnight flight to Seoul … connecting on to Jeju.
More on Jeju in a different blog entry.
I land after a good sleep, pick up my luggage for I have to change airports and of course, go to the bank machine to get cash … which is what I always do. Before I arrive to the ATM I check the exchange rate at a ForEx booth nearby. I'm standing at the ATM, trying to figure out all the buttons and denominations, select an amount … and get a whole wad of cash out! I knew something was wrong when I saw how many bills I had. Well … it was $1,000 worth of Wons!! I started laughing. I don't think I've ever done this before.
So with lots of cash in my bag … off I go to discover Korea :-)
Flying from Seoul to Jeju, which takes you across all of South Korea, you realize how populated this country is. A relatively small area with 48 million people means there's not much land that you see undeveloped. I also found out that Koreans are the Italians of Asia. They are very emotional and expressive. Visualize someone talking very loud and waving their hands. The reason given was that they have been invaded for over 1000 years by all their various neighbors, and the only way to survive was to let your emotions out.
The population is actually very homogenous and very self-contained. There seems to be very little influence from the outside … and they're managing very well. They have a very strong culture, strong familial expectations and a thriving economy. Some of the largest global companies are Korean … think Samsung, Hyundai, LG. Given the homogeneity, Koreans are very quick to mobilize. Get them moving in the right direction and things happen very fast. That is very evident with the rapid development that they have gone through in the past several decades.
As I'm driving from Gimpo Airport to the city it's undeniable, Seoul is an ultra-modern city with first-class infrastructure, clean, efficient, organized and seemingly high tech. It is also a massive sprawl of 22 million people in the greater Seoul region which translates to terrible traffic.
The city is divided into two parts, the river Han being the divisor. To the north of the river is the older part of town. This is where you will still find a lot houses, all the government buildings and palaces. South of the river is where the modernity is most visible: high-rises (both residential and commercial), wider streets, the business centre. And the river … very quiet! Given the size of the city I would have imagined that the river-way would be much more active. Our guide said that one of the reasons was that the river, although very wide, is actually very shallow. 4 metres deep on average. An astonishing tidbit: while driving around I immediately noticed how many churches there are in town. I later found out that 30% of the Korean population is Christian, which I found very surprising.
To end, do you know that 21% of the population has the family name Kim? I even have a friend in Singapore … and her last name … you got it … Kim! So it must be true :-)
HOW TO GET HERE:
I first went from Singapore to Jeju, via Seoul … and on my way back from Jeju, we stopped in Seoul for a few days. Seoul has two airports, both located on the western side of the city:
> Incheon Airport, Seoul: this is the main international airport in Seoul, which is well connected with the city by regular luxury busses, that will drop you off/pick-you up from all the major hotels. It's also a modern marvel. When I see airports in Asia I always have to think how Europe nor America have nothing to compare with the ultra-modern airports you find in Asia. The main airlines in Korea are Asiana and Korean Airlines.
> Gimpo Airport, Seoul: My Asiana flight to Jeju departed from Gimpo airport which is about a 35 minute drive from Incheon (Seoul) airport. So invariably you will have to transfer from Incheon, for that is where most international flights land. The bus transfer costs 6,500 Won and busses depart regularly from bus stop 10. Several domestic/regional airlines such as Air Busan, Jin Air and Jeju Air also fly from this airport.
> Taxis: the one major problem with Seoul is its traffic. Get ready to spend quite some time commuting around … and that's why cab fares are important. There are two main types of taxis that you need to differentiate. The black, limousine taxis are comfortable, but more expensive. I can vouch for that for we were in it for 90 minutes going from Gimpo Airport to the Intercontinental Hotel. The ordinary white taxis are just as good and much, much cheaper. Since English is not widely spoken, make sure you have your address written in Korean, or at least a map to point out where you want to go. Some taxis have 'Free Interpreters' stickers on them. That means that if you say that magic word to your cab driver, s/he will call a toll free number and you can tell them where you want to go and consequently they will translate that to the cab driver. There are also cabs with orange taxi signs on their roof … that means the driver speaks English.
WHAT TO DO:
Given that Seoul is such a sprawl and nothing is close to anything, if you want to see the city quickly, it's best to do a tour. We did two half-day tours with CosmoJin Tour Company and they were great.
> Tour 1 - : Cultural tour
Changdeok Palace and Secret Garden: As one of UNESCO's world cultural heritages, this is the largest among the 5 royal palaces in Seoul. The palace style is akin to what you would see in China with some minor differences. This palace has a very large secret garden behind the main buildings. Secret, because it was intended only for the royal family … so it was 'secret' or hidden to all the citizens. The Palace has been fully converted to a museum for the royal family has become extinct in Korea, the last descendant having had died a few years ago.
Insadong Art Galleries: this is the artsy-fartsy part of town with lots of art galleries, traditional costume shops, paintings and the likes. This is the place to buy your souvenirs. What is fantastic about this place is that it's not a tourist trap … it's a de-facto art district with a lot of original works. It's real Korea in Seoul. There are also several street vendors selling all sorts of local foods. And I have to say … I really enjoyed them, even though Korean food in general doesn't sit well with me :-)
Namdaemun Market: whatever you want can be found here. May not be original … but it will be here. What is surprising about this market is that it's actually very similar to what you would see in other Asian cities … however, it's very clean, very organized and no one heckles you. It was a pleasure to walk through this market … and buy myself a Gucci and Hermes belt!!
Ginseng Centre: The second we walked into the store and started listening to the sales pitch of this bubbly Korean lady (but Indonesian by birth) … we were sold! Ginseng, originating from Siberia, is a root with a lot of healing powers. It's very good for boosting your immune system, giving you energy and is used for treatment of diabetes, high/low blood pressure and other ailments. And the Korean ginseng, which is grown over 6 years, is supposedly the best. It's not cheap, but I know it's a revered root in Asia for Singaporeans go crazy for it.
> Tour 2 - Demilitarized Zone Tour (DMZ)
The DMZ is a strip of land that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea and runs across the whole 249km long Korean Peninsula. From the actual border, the DMZ stretches 2km north and south across the 38th parallel across Korea. What is ironic is that this stretch of land, a no-man's land where time has come to a stop, has become a wild-life haven. Since no one can walk through this part, various flora and fauna have settled here and are thriving in an un-touched environment.
Standing there you realize that this is the last place in the world where you can still see the 'iron curtain' live - two confronting ideologies still facing each other. There is still hope though, that one day these two countries will be again reunited.
Imjingak Park: this park was built to express the national hope of a united Korea. As you're standing at the viewing platform, and erroneously thinking that the hill across is North Korea, you see a white railway bridge in the near distance, which is the only rail connection between the two countries. It is currently used once a day and only for cargo.
3rd Infiltration Tunnel: Over the past few decades, four tunnels have been discovered that have been dug by the North Koreans to penetrate into South Korea, underneath the DMZ. They expect that there are several more. We saw the 3rd tunnel, which is some 73 metros below ground level and is long 1.6 km. The stretch that is open to tourists is about 350 m long, but for the whole while you have to walk bent over due to the low ceiling. Of course, there are several stories about these tunnels, one being that the North Koreans painted the walls of the tunnels with black stains, so that if they were ever to be caught, they could claim that they were digging for coal. Even though the rocks are pure granite!
Dorasan Observatory and Station: This is the only viewpoint on the tour from where you can see across the DMZ into North Korea. It was pointed to us that the way you spot the beginning of North Korea is that they have cut all the trees on the mountains so that they can see if someone is trying to escape or invade. And it is so … there is a line on the horizon no too far, where suddenly there is no more vegetation. And there we were, standing on one side of an arbitrary line that was marked after the second world war, which has created such a divide between a very homogenous country. You couldn't help but wonder if there were Russian tourist groups staring at us from the other side, also wondering how insane all this is!!
> Cheonggyecheon Stream: this small stream that runs through Seoul has been converted to a beautiful water way that you can stroll along. Make sure you also walk up the newly designed plaza that is on the street where the City Hall is located. This whole area has been revitalized, combining modern and ancient design in a superb way. And if you're lucky enough with your timing, you will see the change of the guards in front of Deoksugung Palace
> N Seoul Tower: opened in 1980, this tower located on Mt. Namasan in the northern part of Seoul has a spectacular view of the whole city.
> Itaewon: this is the expat enclave of Seoul. Walking around at night you're exposed to a mishmash of what you would expect are confronting social groups … but somehow they co-exist in peace. Muslims, gays, Koreans, American soldiers, locals, churches, prostitutes, cross-dressers … all in one-spot. Needless to say, it's a very colorful part of town with lots of great restaurants and lots of action. Heard from an expat that the US soldiers have tamed down recently, since they now have a midnight curfew. Not much time to get into trouble or to cause some!
RESTAURANTS:
Seoul, given the size, has an astounding number of restaurants. To read about my view on Korean food, see my Jeju blog.
HOTELS:
> Grand InterContinental Hotel: Beware, there are 2 Intercontinental Hotels practically side by side, the only thing that separates them is COEX (Convention and Exhibition Centre). We stayed in the Grand Seoul Intercontinental, which is the elder of the two. Very comfortable hotel in a great location.
> Grand Hyatt: this hotel must have a stunning view! Located on the northern side of the river, close to Itaewon, the hotel is built into a hill and quite high up. I'm sure the vistas of all of Seoul from their rooms are breath-taking.
> The Classic 500, Starcity: check-in to these futuristic serviced apartments
Bojan Tercon
I just won't to know about that hotel and collect more information.....
Posted by: Everett Town Car | August 24, 2011 at 12:09
Its about a traveling different place i am so impress by this.........very interesting side keep on doing this things.
Posted by: Beverly hills realty | August 23, 2011 at 14:06
The war between North and South Korea is so miserable story to me both share a same name of country the peoples are same but they are always in thirst of each other blood.But Seoul is just wonderful city as well as capital.The people of their are very determined and too much active to make their country stronger and progressive.
Posted by: Denver Limo | August 23, 2011 at 13:43