Deoksugung Palace & Seoul Museum of Art

It finally stopped raining (at least for 36 hours), so we had to get out the house and do some sightseeing. Seoul is home to five Joseon palaces of ancient Korea, according to one source forming a palace compound like a Korean "Forbidden City" of sorts. My first palace visit was to Deoksugung the palace of virtue and longevity. Deoksugung was inhabited by royalty until the beginning of the 1900s, then used for official business till 1919, though it was not always the seat of power. It is composed of several buildings, and also includes a more recently built art museum inside the palace walls. I can't find much good history information on this palace, so I'll just have to suffice with pictures, though I didn't take very many good ones this day.

We arrived in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony & pose for pictures!

Jeonggwanheon Hall, 1900. Said to be the first European style architecture built in a Korean palace. This was the king's 'party hall'.

Love the juxtaposition of old & new. Such a lesson in preservation!

Junghwajeon, throne room. Used for official business until 1919.

Roof of the throne room. Each wooden tile has the same image as that of the two large gold dragons in the recess.

Funnily enough, the visit to the palace was unplanned and inadvertent. The original destination was to the Seoul Museum of Art, housed in the old Supreme Court building. Currently they have a fake facade in place advertising an upcoming special exhibit, so I had to borrow a photo.

There is currently no special exhibit running, so there was little art work on display. Just a few pieces from prominent Korean artists.

This statue display is near the entrance to the art museum, and abuts the palace wall. You can't tell from the picture but because of the way they are shaped, they really mess with your head! You feel like you can't quite focus on them, and it makes your eyes go fuzzy. It was pretty awesome.

Children's Grand Park

What an awesome time we had today! I'm quite sure adults have as much fun at Seoul's Children's Grand Park as kids do. There are numerous playgrounds, water activities, animal shows, a zoo, and plenty of other things to keep you occupied and entertained.

After walking around for a short time, we chose to see the "Aladdin" show with a full cast of animal characters. It was adorable!

Jasmine with some birds.

Aladdin with monkeys.

There were also guinea pigs, ducks, a raccoon, a cat, and many other birds. It was really a lot of fun!

The zoo at the park is also very nice. We were fortunate that most of the animals we saw today were active, and those that weren't were napping in the open. My personal favorites were the polar bears. I don't think I've ever seen polar bears in person before.

Massive paws!

We had a good natured laugh at the jaguar's expense. There was a worker on top of his cage, the roof of which is just a type of metal netting. That jaguar was stalking that man, ready to pounce. I was glad to see his animal instincts haven't deserted him in captivity.

"I'm ready!"

The lions, leopards, and tigers were all out and pacing in front of the glass, so we were able to see them very well which is always a lot of fun!

And what would a trip to the zoo be without a camel ride!

Before leaving we took some time to cool our feet in the wading area. Now I know to bring clothes next time!

Movin' on Up

This blog entry is of a more personal, reminiscent nature, so feel free to skip over the ramblings and rantings below if you've no interest in reading about my feelings!

We've begun our move north to Seoul, I say begun because we've been stuck in a hotel for over a week now waiting on the reconciliation of some housing issues. We are present in Seoul, but not exactly living here yet. I'm excited and disappointed all at the same time. Excited to be in this massive city with a thousand and one things to do, but incredibly disappointed in the Yongsan garrison here. To be the largest post in Korea I expected so much more in the way of family services and standard of living, especially since they brag on this post so much. Please do not take this as a rant against all things army; I truly enjoy the army lifestyle most days, but I am appalled at what they expect families to accept as 'just part of life in Korea'. Since I have lived in Korea under the army's care for 20 months now, I know that what they are peddling up here is, quite frankly, crap. Part of me is more than a little ticked off.

I'm also a bit melancholy for the small town environment of Waegwan and my neighbors and Camp Walker. (Wow, truly never thought I'd say that!) Of course some of it comes from having to once again say good-bye to people I've grown to love and not having anyone to fill that space right now. In time I'll adapt to the services and command climate here and learn to navigate around. But for now I'm going to wallow in my memories, already burnished by distance if not time, and hope the silver lining comes out soon.