Food in Korea

After a lifetime of eating my mom's Korean food and hearing her stories of food in Korea, I was pretty excited to eat on my trip. Once I was served this delighful bibimbap on the plane, I knew I was off to a good start.

Well, okay AFTER I ate this very American but very delicious brunch.

This was actually more of a snack. Tteokbokki (spicy rice cake), jeon (pancake) and japchae (noodles).

One night we had BBQ. Thank goodness for the giant tube sucking away the hot air and smoke while we grilled up our food.

I love how you get lots of little things in dishes to try.

Another snack we stopped for at a street vendor. We just pointed at things and she served it to us.

Some of the best food to be had.

Gimbap and mandu.

And on our last night... a traditional meal. Bibimbap and...

Jeon and bulgogi.

Perfect meal for our last night in Korea.

Oh but wait. There was the plane ride home where I was treated to ssambap... rice and hot sauce (and in this case bulgogi) wrapped in lettuce. Seriously I have never had such good food on a plane.

N. Seoul Tower & Love Locks

We spent an evening visiting the N. Seoul Tower. The tower is described as a communication and observation tower but it seemed to be mostly a full-on tourist spot.

Seoul Tower was built in 1969 but not opened to the public until 1980.

We rode the Namsan cable car up to the top of the mountain to the tower. It was a little foggy but we still had a decent view.

Much like I've seen in Germany and Switzerland, there were locks of love hung everywhere on the Roof Terrace.

They even built special trees to hang locks on once the fence was filled.

We added one to the fence and also one to a big heart sculpture. Now we have locks across the globe!

Korean DMZ

My dad, a history buff, upon hearing we were going to Korea, suggested that we visit the Korean Demilitarized Zone - DMZ. I wasn't too sure and the travel pamphlets looked intimidating but my mom assured me it was perfectly safe.

So we traveled north to the DMZ. The DMZ is a zone north and south of the 38th parallel north that is sort of a no-mans-land that acts as a buffer between North and South Korea. Each side guards against hostility from the borders.

We stopped in Imjingak to see the Peace Bell...

And the Freedom Bridge. It is an old railroad bridge that POWs crossed, returning to freedom after the war.

There are flags and messages pinned to the barricade at the end of the Freedom Bridge.

This steam locomotive was badly shot and left behind by the North Koreans.

We visited the Third Tunnel. Four tunnels dug into South Korea by the North Koreans in an attempt to invade have been discovered. This is the third one. The last one, the Fourth Tunnel was found in 1990! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but we were able to walk down an incline into the tunnel to the first of three barricades that have been added.

North Korea claims it is a coal tunnel and there is charcoal "painted" on the walls as proof.

Aaron was pretty cranky after that excursion. He was too tall and kept hitting his helmet on the top of the tunnel.

At Dora Observatory you can typically see over to North Korea but it was too foggy to make out much. From this spot you can see the North Korean propaganda village - a fake uninhabited village designed to attract South Koreans to the North.

There was this line where you were not allowed to cross and take photos.

Our last stop was Dorasan Station. This rail station was built with the idea that someday North and South Korea would be reunited and one could travel north beyond this spot. But for now the trains from Seoul stop here.

Basically it is symbolic of hope for the future. No one boards a train heading north here.

I am glad we went to the DMZ. There is so much history to be remembered and it's so interesting. We could have gone to the JSA (Joint Security Area) in Panmunjeom but we had to sign up for it three days in advance and missed our chance. Next time.

Bukchon Hanok Village

While we were hitting up all the palaces in Seoul, we discovered the Bukchon Hanok Village wedged in between.

It is a traditional Korean village with preserved homes, hanoks, still being lived in, while some are tea houses, restaurants or cultural centers.

Since there are real families living there they ask that you keep the noise down while you are exploring.

We were able to tour one of the homes that was actually recently constructed to look like a traditional Hanok.

I've seen paper walls and doors like this in my mom's photos.

You take your shoes off when you enter a home in Korea.

Aaron was sooo tired of taking his shoes off and putting them back on.

Palaces of Seoul

My dad has always said you can't throw a stone in Seoul without hitting a palace.

There are Five Grand Palaces. I planned on seeing all of them.

Deoksugung Palace

This was the first and quietest palace we visited. Funny thing is, it is located at a very busy corner of the city.

Korean royalty lived there until the turn of the 20th century.

It was easier to get pictures without a lot of people in the background there.

That is the Seoul City Hall in the background.

Changdeokgun Palace

The best part of Changdeokgun is the Secret Garden. It's a 78 acre garden with ponds, trees, flowers and 28 pavillions.

Changgyeong Palace

Another smaller quieter palace.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

After a number of palaces you start to think "Oh look, another palace. How amazing. How old." But I did save the best for last. Gyeongbokgung is the main and largest palace in Seoul.

Beware of the tall hot cranky American.

This was my favorite of all the buildings. The tour book said it was the King's library.

It's the cutest thing, sitting on it's own little island.

This was the Royal Banquet Hall.

So there was one more palace, Gyeonghuigung Palace, that we didn't get to. Well, you have to leave something for the next visit.