About a ten minute walk west of the Bongeunsa Temple by the Coex mall you will come to the Seoul Training Centre for Important Intangible Cultural Properties. Bit of a mouthful and the entrance signs are not in english but look for an office building that looks like a museum or a gallery on the ground floor. Admission is free and access is allowed to the first two floors. There are displays of many traditional pieces of craft and artwork, along with musical instr...

Seoul is known for being an urban metropolis, not for having grand elaborate temple complexes. I was surprised to find a large temple complex across the road on the north side from the Coex mall, on par with the grand temples of Haeinsa or Bulgoksa in the south of the country. I was really impressed by this temple and didnt know they had places like this in Seoul. To begin you come thru a giant gate with giant doors. The outsides of the doors are painted with gia...

My next stop was the Namsangol Hanok village which was easy to get to at the intersection of two subway lines. Just outside the metro is Korea House another traditional style building. Inside was some large wedding ceremony taking place in the interior courtyard. I asked if this was a performance and was told it was real so they did not want photography. I had already taken a couple of pics thru the window as it was chilly to go outside. They also do scheduled pe...

Saturday morning I started off when I left the overnight sauna at a Paris Baguette bakery. I think I've been overlooking these. They are on almost every block and do have some nice cakes and breads, though not as nice or as cheap as they were in Taiwan. The Itaewon neighbourhood also has english speaking tourist info guides patrolling the neighbourhood. They are they to provide free maps and any information about the neighbourhood or the city. I've seen them a co...

Everytime I come to Seoul I try to find a good place to stay. Seoul is a costly trip for me as not only do I have to pay 44,000w KTX Train Ticket each way ($40), I have to find overnight accomodation so it easily costs me $100+ depending on how many nights I stay there. I was hearing motels would cost 70,000w ($65) in Seoul while I only pay 35,000w ($30) in the rest of the country. I did find a good place to stay at Bukchon Hanok Village in traditional homes duri...