South Korea; Myeongdong: National Day 2023

From Qingdao, South Korea is the easiest and closest destinations outside of China. In less than 90 minutes I landed into Incheon Airport and found my way through a very confusing bus system into Seoul Myeongdong area. Google told me this was is one of the best areas for a newcomer to the city and that it was packed with food, night markets and shopping. My hostel itself was in a fantastic location right above a massive night market but the hostel itself was a tad unpleasant. 

Around the hostel was a maze of streets of restaurants and shops, all of which were filled with a night market as the sun went down. It's a fantastic area for wandering about but so easy to get disorientated and lost. I walked miles and every time I got lost, stopped for something to eat and studied a map to get back on track. 

From the shopping night market area into the palace area of town runs a canal/river walkway. It's below road level so nice and quiet and impeccably clean. The whole length runs for about 8km I think and takes you right through the heart of downtown Seoul. Under all of the bridges are displays of local art works from schools and artists alike. People play cards, chess, music, eat or nap. It was a blissful walk and very easy to forget that you are in the middle of a bustling city. 

The end of the river walk brings you out to in front of the imperial palace "Gyeongbokgung Palace" which is a huge royal palace that dates back to the 14th century. 

 Outside is a nice area with statues, water fountains and an outside reading library (although I don't know if this is a permanent feature or just for the holiday). 

I didn't explore inside properly as I was there at a very busy time but a quick wander about the museum and a  few pictures later, I left with a very general idea. Around the palace are hundreds of shops for renting the traditional dress 'hanbok' so that you can go and take pictures in the correct outfits. In my experiences in

China and Japan, the locals don't really love tourists wearing the traditional cloths for pictures as they feel it cheapens the experience or you aren't 'allowed' to wear something from a culture to which you do not belong. In Korea, it is encouraged and considered part of the experience of visiting the palace. I quite liked the open minded approach and generally agree with the Korean attitude. 

Cultures are there to be shared. 

From the palace, I jumped on the extensive yet quite simple bus system over to Gangnam shopping district to find some souvenirs and presents for the kids. 

Outside one of the largest shopping centers I have ever seen, I found the "GangNam Style" statue, complete with speaker system playing the title song on repeat and kids jumping about as parents took pictures. The shopping center itself was nothing special, other than being ginormous, but the atmosphere was chilled and fun for people watching. 

This was all in my first few days in the city. From here I jumped on a high speed train to a seaside city of Busan which had been recommended to me by a few people who had been and enjoyed it. All I knew about it was the movie. "Train to Busan" which if you are looking for a good violent zombie film, I recommend. If you are looking for information about how to travel by train within Korea, I do not recommend.