MangoVine
Adventures in East Asia

Entries in South Korea

 22 July, 2009
Wednesday National Folk Museum of Korea
The National Folk Museum is set within the grounds of the Gyeongbokgung - the Palace of Shining Happiness and entrance was free with the admission ticket to the palace. Made up of buildings comprising several stories and a pagoda to boot, the place felt completely at home amongst the palace architecture.

National-Folk-Museum-Exterior

We visited the Gyeongbokgung on a pretty hot day and so the blissfully air-conditioned museum was a welcome diversion about halfway through our visit.

Read more... 22 July, 2009
Wednesday Superb Historic Gyeongbok Palace at Insadong
Gyeongbokgung or the Palace of Shining Happiness is one of several royal palace compounds in Seoul, rebuilt several times but still offering visitors a fascinating glimpse into Korea's feudal past.

Gyeongbokgung-Island-Building

I wasn't expecting anything of the size the Gyeongbokgung's grounds covered and we had to brave the sun's unflinching rays throughout our outdoor exploration. Not that it was regrettable. The architecture, massive courtyards and maze of corridors made for excellent photo opportunities and gave us a decent dose of Korean history.

Read more... 21 July, 2009
Tuesday Delicious Warm Sulfur-Fed Sliced Duck at the Tobang Duck Restaurant
The Tobang Duck Restaurant was a deliciously-sounding place, listed in our Seoul guide book (Lonely Planet City Guide), that served sliced, smoked duck kept warm over a caudron of steaming water. It was located in Namdaemun Market and if not for the sign, it was certainly for its visible popularity that we found it.

Tobang-Duck-Nam-Dae-Mun-Duck-Slices

The restaurant was packed with most of the space filled with rowdy diners at traditional low tables with floor seating. We had to wait for a quarter of an hour and then it was actually on the second floor that some space was available for Linh and I.

Read more... 21 July, 2009
Tuesday Brave Male Bra Seller Wears Bra on Head at Namdaemun Market
Of all the vendors we'd seen in Seoul, none could match this guy for nerve, audacity or sheer bravery. Maybe it was because he was selling a range of womens wear off the floor and needed to make potential female customers more at ease - with humour.

Nam-Dae-Mun-Bra-Seller

I did a double-take at first. Yes, it is a man, That's obviously a bra on his head. And he does have two lumps on his chest.

His strategy was working though, there were quite a few women sorting through his stock. 21 July, 2009
Tuesday Namdaemun Market for Ginseng and other products
Namdaemun Market is a large day and night market reachable via Hoehyeon metro station on Line 4, but its nowhere near as big as Dongdaemun Market.

Nam-Dae-Mun-Market-Gate

Things sold at Namdaemun were similar in style to Dongdaemun, particularly with fashion, though the place also sold lots of ginseng, dried seaweed, some gadgets and alot of spectacles! Several stores on one street had touts outside attempting to draw passerbys in.

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