South Korea Day 7 & 8 - N Seoul Tower & Jjimjilbang

Day 7 evening, we moved on to N Seoul Tower after a half day tour at DMZ and some history sightseeing at Gwanhwamum Square & Gyeongbokgung Palace.

N Seoul Tower stands at Namsan Mountain and is 243m high which offers panoramic views of Seoul and the surrounding areas. 



How to get there: You can pay with your T-money card!

1) By Namsan Shuttle Bus

No. 02
Namsan Library/ Hanok Village/ Chungmuro Station (Exit 2, 4)/ Dongguk University Station (Exit 6)/ National Theater

No. 03
Seoul Station, Seoul Square/ HoeHyeon Station/ Namsan Tunnel no. 3/  Itaewon Station (Exit 4)/ Yongsan-gu Office

No. 05
Namsan Library/ Namdaemun Market/ Chungmuro Station (Exit 2, 4)/ Hanok Village/ Dongguk University Station (Exit 6)/ National Theater

2) By Cable Car: You would need to walk for about 10~15 minutes to reach the boarding place by following the street of the right side of the Pacific Hotel, after coming out of the exit 3 of Myeong-dong Station (line 4) Operating Hours: 10:00-23:00 Fee: Adult: one way 6,000 won/ return 8,000 won Child: one way 3,500 won/ return 5,000 won We chose to take the Namsan shuttle bus and walk up to N Seoul Tower. It was pretty cold actually during the month of March.

Lovely sunset time...



Us with mascot Haechi which is announced as a city symbol of Seoul in 2008. It was believed that it is an ancient Korean symbol who is a mythical beast and a guardian of justice that can discern good and evil.



Love-lock tree!



The entrance fee to the observatory tower is 9,000 won per pax. Some views from the tower...







Our love-lock! We actually brought our own lock along from Singapore as I read that the locks that N Seoul Tower sells is a little expensive. But from all the locks all around, many ones had their ones bought there so it is similar.



Time for dinner! This round we went to Jokbal Alley to satisfy Dear's craving!



A small portion for 2 paxs costs about 30,000 wons.



The owner of the shop was very nice to treat us Bindaetteok (mung bean pancake) upon knowing that we are from Singapore. I guess this area is pretty unusual to receive tourist unless you are a local.



Jokbal Alley - Dongguk Uni Station Gate 3. 5m walk

You can find out more info from here.

Finally its our last day in Seoul. We still have a few hours before we need to reach the airport so we went to explore for Jjimjilbag.





It is something that most of our friends that had went to South Korea had missed trying. It is quite cheap however personally it was a shock as everyone is naked although we are split into male and female changing room etc.

If you are going, please look for the common stairway where you can meet your friends to enjoy the different hot/cold room or eating the hard boiled eggs etc. I wasn't aware where to meet Dear so I just go for the hot bath which is the same level as the changing room.

Dear ended up waiting for me for 20 minutes and even got the Ajuma to shout for me! *So embarrassing". It may not be the same "configuration" for all Jjimjilbang so check out the surrounding first before getting changed.

Remember to try their rice wine and hard boiled egg, challenge yourself by cracking the egg with your head. The shells are quite hard.  

With it, I ended my March 2013 trip to South Korea! Hopefully my next trip comes soon so I can start blogging more on my travel.

Thanks for reading so far! Do check out my other posts.  

South Korea Day 7 - Gwanhwamum Square & Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gwanghwamun Square is located at the center of Sejong-ro which connects Gwanghwamun Gate and Cheonggye Square.

Statue of Admiral Yi Sun-Shin, who was a naval commander who improved the "turtle ship" which is type of Korean war ship.



We spotted a super big flea market on a sunday!







The Statue of King Sejong the Great was relocated to the " Korea Main Plaza" where Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, is projected on a fountain water screen. He is the founder of the Korean Hangul language.

There is a "Civil Participation Urban Culture Plaza" which is between the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the Statue of Admiral Yi Sun-Shin. It has a range of attractions and services including accommodation facilities for visitors, exhibition halls and art galleries.

One of the war weapons...



Learning Hangul...



Gyeongbokgung Palace built in 1935 is knowned as the “Northern Palace” because it is the furthest north when compared to the Changdeokgung (Eastern Palace) and Gyeongheegung (Western Palace).

Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the most beautiful and remains the grandest of all five palaces.



We missed the parade just by about 15 minutes which we only got to see them leaving the premises.





But still managed to get a shot for Dear with the soldiers in the background.



Admission fee is 3,000 won per pax. However me and Dear did not go in as it was very crowded so we decided to head for our late lunch after our DMZ tour in morning.




Lunch was nearby Gwanhwamum Square, just across the street where there is a signage for Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup) with the word "famous" so we headed there.



My Jeonbokjuk (Porridge with Abalone) which is new to me. I quite like the porridge, just that I don't eat abalone so Dear gets to eat it. Note: The abalone are sliced into very small cubes! Haha



Dear's Samgyetang which was still boiling when served! Yummy, this is something that you must eat when in South Korea.



Ended half day with a enjoyable satisfied lunch. Stay tuned for last post on N Seoul Tower & Jjimjilbang.

If you missed out my other blogs on Seoul, here is it...

Day 7 - Click here ,
Busan Seagull Feeding - Click here
Day 6 -  Click here
Day 4 & 5 -  Click here
Popcorn Hostel - Click here
Day 2 & 3 - Click here
Day 1 - Click here

 Ending with a quote by Eleanor Roosevel on character:
"People are like teabags. You have to put them into hot water before you can know how strong they are."

South Korea Day 7 - DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

We started our day with our arranged pickup at 8am for our half day DMZ tour.The package is 46,000 won per pax.

If you do not know, Korea is the only divided country in the world. PS: You will need your passport as the soldiers will do a check before entering the area.

First, we stopped by Imjingak park which is located on the banks of the Imjin River in the city of Paju, South Korea. There is where the bridge of freedom is. It is a former railroad bridge which was used by prisoners of wars returning from the north.








A fence of prayer ribbons filled with hand-written for hopes of peace and unification line. This place is also used to pay respects to ancestors of those whose their ancestral homes are in the North.

The Korean War lasted from 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953. South Korea and North Korea established a border that cut the Korean peninsula roughly in half. 

The border stretched about for 2km on both sides of the border and it is known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which is the world's heaviest militarized border.

DMZ and its surroundings contain many interesting historical sights and pristine untouched natural surroundings. As the area around DMZ have been restricted, the place have also become a wildlife preserve.

We went to the the third tunnel first followed by a DMZ theater video/exhibition tour.  The third tunnel was discovered on 17 October 1978. Unlike the previous two, the third tunnel was discovered following a tip from a North Korean defector.

This tunnel is about 1,600 m long and about 350 m below ground. We, visitors have to wear a safety helmet before entering the tunnel using a sloped access shaft. No personal items were allowed to be brought it so we had to locked our items in a lockers provided.





It was a very tiring walk down and up the steep slope of the tunnel. Upon reaching the lowest ground, one has to walk through the supported scaffolding tunnel which is super long.

Along the way, you can see dynamites holes on the wall (sprayed in yellow) and at the end of the tunnel, it is a "sealed door" which separates the two countries.





Photography are only allowed at the yellow line where we stood. No photos were allowed to be taken at the viewing area towards North Korea.







Next, we went to Dorasan station which is a railway station situated on the Gyeongui Line. It once connected North and South Korea.

It is the northernmost station of the South Korea which is 700m distant from the southern boundary line of DMZ.







As I blogged about DMZ, I could not find words to describe the experience of my visit there. The border which separate wealth and poverty between two countries. Join the tour to experience the journey yourself if you are in South Korea.

South Korea - Seagull Feeding in Busan

I have to share that Dear got the inspiration to do seagull feeding after watching "We got married Yong Hwa & Seohyun" where Yong Hwa took Seohyun to his hometown Busan. We were at the same Haeundae beach!



What you need is some snack - Prawn crackers to feed the seagulls. The seagulls will start swamping around once you lift the cracker up in the air. You can also throw up in the air and hopefully the nearest one will fly towards and catch it.

Don't fret if the cracker is not caught by any seagull as there would be many pigeons to indulge those missed crackers on the beach.



Dear was the first to try and guess what.... the picture paints a thousand words! Haha





 





I kept trying to take a "perfect" shot of Dear feeding the seagull but that is the best I could take cos they were simply fast! However Dear got a very nice shot for me.





It was a wonderful experience which I don't think we will get to try it again unless we come back to Busan. I am not sure if other seagulls in other countries will eat prawn cracker? Haha