August 21, 2017

South Korea SEOUL | Day 1 Gyeongbokgung

This was my first time in Seoul, South Korea. My Cathay Pacific red-eye flight landed us in Incheon International Airport. We took the shuttle to our hotel. We briefly wandered the streets, showered and headed out to explore the city in 72 hours.

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First day in Seoul we decided to get all things touristy out of the way. Gyeongbokgung Palace is easy to get to – it is located north of Gwanghwamun Square. There is a subway metro station that takes you right to the imperial palace. The construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace was completed in 1395 during the Joseon Dynasty.

There are free guided tours in English at 11am, 1pm and 3:30pm. Catch the Changing of the Guard ceremony every hour between 11am to 3pm.

The palace was destroyed during the Japanese invasion and 1592-1598 was later rebuilt. The goal was to restore Gwanghwamun Gate and Heungnyemun Gate to their original state.

The tour takes you around Gangnyeongjeon Hall (living quarters for the king), Geoncheonggung Residence, Geunjeongjeon Hall (main hall),Gwanghwamun Gate, Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, and etc.

After a morning looking at history it was time to head into the city and grab some food at Insadong. Day 2 in South Korean, we booked the DMZ tour at Demilitarized Zone.

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