Meghan은 간다, Meghan ya no esta aqui

A Palace

On our days off Stephanie and I, understandably, want to get out and see the city. We have done a lot of walking around, some shopping, running errands in the city, and attended a sporting event (and we want to go to more sporting events), but when we thought about what to do today I thought that I really wanted to do something that had to do, specifically, with Korea. As much as I am surrounded by Korea everyday, it's easy to feel like I'm just in another big city.

So, Stephanie and I set off today to the Deoksugung Palace in the heart of the city. If you click on that link you can read a short history about it. The neat thing about it is that it's in the middle of the city, right next to City Hall and the Seoul Plaza, but once you enter the gate, it's all very serene and takes you back in time. Here are some pictures.






Weird mixture of old (the building to the right) and the new (huge screen tv with advetertisements).


I'm knocking on the door! Let me in to the head honcho meeting! I declare these doors entirely too large! What are we-- giants??


Stephanie and I think elderly Koreans are so cute, so Stephanie sneakily takes pictures of them :)


In fact, sometimes she takes pictures of them with them knowing.


Expect to keep seeing a lot of the peace sign.


After the palace we headed over to the Seoul Plaza where they were having different acts on a stage. Modern dancers, a circus-like act (jumping through circles, spinning a table on her legs, etc.) and breakdancers. The plaza is directly in front of city hall.


A plaque on the ground in the Seoul Plaza talks about the history of the plaza and its significance in the democracy of South Korea, as well as its meaning as a meeting place for social events such as the World Cup games. The last part talked about the hopes for reunification, which I thought was very interesting.

Today on the subway, on the way to the palace Stephanie and I were on the subway. Stephanie sat down in the one empty seat and I was standing with various other people. At the end of the row was man who looked about grandfather age, in a business suit. As he got up to prepare for his stop, he tapped me on the arm, and motioned for me to sit down, to assure me the seat rather than the young men who were standing around. I felt so honored. I smiled at him. Right before he got off the train I looked at him again, he bowed his head at me a little, and he exited the train. This might have been my favorite moment of the day.

posted by Meghan @ 6:10 AM