Thursday, July 19, 2012

Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul

Hul~...I'm nearing the end of my Seoul trip posts. I did a lot on my last Sunday there so I've broken it into separate posts. This is a continuation of my day after visiting all of those K-pop entertainment headquarters. I met up with a friend in Jongno or "Bell Street." I liked this area of Seoul because it's rather traditional looking, with small, quaint streets and has a lot of traditional architecture as well as Buchon Hanok Village 북촌한옥마을 (traditional Korean houses). I was a little disappointed I didn't get to visit Buchon (too much time spent visiting K-pop headquarters) but I did visit Changdeokgung Palace 창덕궁.

First stop though was food! Of course I'd been in the mood for KBBQ, especially Samgyupsal 삼겹살, which is basically thick slices of Korean pork belly (like bacon).


Admittedly it may not look very impressive in this picture, but it tastes so good! I especially love wrapping it in sesame leaves with garlic and ssamjang 쌈장. Yummm...the only down side is that eating it too much and too often will give me a pork belly, haha.


It was a really beautiful day as spring was finally just arriving in Seoul. We took a nice walk to the palace. I'll spare you too much of the palace's history and details and just leave you with tons of pictures, keke.


The palace had lots of cherry blossom trees!



Architecture-wise, I feel once you've seen one Korean (or Asian) palace, you've pretty much seen them all. Palaces remind me of historical K-dramas, as well as history books and to a lesser extent, art books (and coffee table books). I still do like the colorful and detailed tiling though.



This palace had rather extensive grounds. It was very widespread and some spots really feel like a huge park.



I love, love, love the lake.



Further along the lake, we found these cute, cute, cute girls drawing and coloring pictures of the lake. So cute!




More cherry blossoms. ♥




Looking back, I do see my winter weight. I guess I was chunky afterall! haha



I brought along my Instax and snapped a few shots.




It was a very long but fun day so I will continue in my next post! =)

21 comments:

  1. Heh, it's so true, once you've seen one Asian temple, you've basically seen them all. During our Beijing trip my mum and I kept insisting that we were going in circles because we kept seeing the same temple but it turned out to be different ones xD
    Samgyupsal! I know an Ahjumma that calls her grandchild that xD

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  2. wait...kbbq in korea? that's legit! hah!

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  3. WOO. The pork belly looks so good :3 So true, it'll give you one if you eat too much T___T;; idk how Koreans manage to stay so skinny! Oh, the palaces do look pretty, very similar to all the ones I've seen in the old fashion dramas~

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  4. You make me wanna visit Korea so bad!!
    I have a question
    Why do so many Koreans have perfect skin?
    is it foundation or skin care routine?!


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  5. Lol aww! That must have felt so confusing in Beijing! That means I'd most likely get lost going in circles around all the temples, lol. And how funny of that ahjumma! Isn't that like calling her grandchild chubby? lol My mom and sister make fun of me for eating samgyupsal since it's so fatty. Then again, I guess only family can affectionately call someone samgyupsal. =P

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  6. It's definitely a must since it's the motherland of kbbq!

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  7. I wonder the same thing too since most Koreans are sooooo skinny! A lot of the food is not good for losing weight either. Supposedly they work out a lot but I really think it's mostly in their genes. So lucky. hehe The palaces totally make me think of those dramas, and all the story lines of corruption, kekeke.

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  8. Korea is a great place to visit, especially if you are well prepared for it or have friends there to take you around! Hmm I'm sure their perfect skin is from lots of attention to skin care as well as genetics. A good foundation helps to flawless too. =)

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  9. Looks like such a fabulous trip. What a beautiful city. Whoo, Korean BBQ sounds really good.
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  10. Ommo!!! I wanna see South Korea and the Cherry Blossoms so bad na rin!!!

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  11. wow you went on a very beautiful day, and of course season! Great pics! Hopefull you can see Bukchon village next time!

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  12. the palace is so colorful and ornate. i want to eat those bacon. you look lovely with the sakura

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  13. I am so enjoying your Seoul posts, I love Korean food especially their BBQ and seafood dishes too, there's a restaurant in London that do the best seasoned scallops. The palace looks amazing just like in the dramas, it reminds me a bit of "The Moon That Embraces The Sun" and "Rooftop Prince" - wow at their beautiful traditional wear.


    Cherry blossoms are beautiful, I love it when the wind blows and the petals just fall. I will definitely make sure that if I'm ever in Korea, I'll pay a visit to Changdeokgung Palace. You took a lot of beautiful photos and I love your Instax photos at the end - reminds me that I need to get myself a Fujifilm Instax.




    Can't wait for more of your posts, hope you have an amazing time in Seoul! (^--^) ♥

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  14. Gimme that pork belly! XD Gorgeous palace pics...

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  15. love your pictures with cherry blossoms!
    this brings back my old memories. my first visit to this place was on my 5th birthday and i still remember it. ;)

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  16. Aww that's so cute! I bet you were adorable running around the palace on your birthday, hehe. I was so glad to finally get a good viewing of cherry blossoms! =)

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  17. Oh certainly! I loveeeeee pork belly! Even if it makes my own belly all squishy, lol. I'm happy I can check off "cherry blossoms at palace" on my list and not have to worry about it the next time I'm in Korea, keke.

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  18. Yes! I watched those kdramas too and totally thought of them while I was visiting the palaces, hehe. Ahh I must have more Korean seafood, hehe, although I've certainly had my share of kbbq and love it too. Cherry blossoms are a bit difficult to plan a trip around but I was definitely happy to see them, even if it was at the very last leg of my trip. =)

    The Fujifilm Instax is great for close ups and selcas! lol I love that it has a little mirror on the front. It definitely makes for cute little pictures and momentos!

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  19. Aww thank you! I always see the cherry blossoms in Korean dramas and pictures and I'm so glad I was able to see them in person while I was in Korea. Korean bacon/pork belly is delicious! Really great especially when eating it as a wrap. Wish I could share!

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  20. Thanks! I now really appreciate the many beautiful days we have in Cali here, hehe, as it was not easy to pin down at the beginning of spring in Seoul! I will definitely make sure I visit Bukchon Village next time! I loved seeing it in your blog pictures. <3

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  21. Definitely! It's a must. I hope you can visit next spring and see tons of cherry blossoms during your trip!

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