Saturday, July 21, 2012

N Seoul Tower on Namsan Mountain

Ahh we've come at last to the final post about my trip to Seoul! (Not counting hauls, keke.) This is a continuation of my very long day from my last post. Even though I didn't get to visit a hanok village in Seoul, I did get to see a few traditional houses simply by walking around Jongno.


I even got a view overlooking a hanok village.


For dinner, we ate at a small but satisfying Italian restaurant nearby. I love Italian food. I forgot exactly what everything was, but it was delicious.






The last tourist spot I got to check off my list was the N Seoul Tower. If you know me, then you know I'm really a night person and I love city views at night, so this place was a must for me.



If you watch Korean dramas, then you might recognize this popular location. It's the setting in Boys Over Flowers when Gu Jun Pyo and Jan Di get stuck and spend the night in the cable car (episode 4, he tells her to meet him at Namsan Tower). The Namsan Mountain stairway is the setting for the final scene in My Lovely Samsoon and the Teddy Bear Museum also served as location for Princess Hours. SHINee also shot on location here in their show Yunhanam when they first debuted. *squeals*


The tower is known for its many, many Love Locks. That is couples, friends, etc. buy and write special messages on padlocks and leave them on the chain-linked fence as a symbol of everlasting love (or friendship).



The funny thing is people don't just use locks, but chain other things like cell phone cases. I guess more room to write their special hopes on for lifelong true love. ^_^




I do think it is a bit cheesy but it's no worse than celebrating Valentine's Day, and the location is nice especially for dates and couples. The tower has restaurants etc. The view from the observatory is stunning, even if you don't go inside to the top of the tower.


Sadly, my camera didn't do justice to the view but it was beautiful.


There are these oddly shaped benches which probably were supposed to resemble heart shapes but to me, it just looks like it broke under my weight, haha.


There's also the Teddy Bear Museum as I mentioned earlier, which I didn't visit but I did pop into the gift shop for some drive-by camera whoring.




I walked the stairway up to the tower and then rode the cable car down. The cable car wasn't as nice as I'd thought it'd be so I don't have any pictures from that.

Now we've come to the end of my adventures in Seoul. There were still a lot of places I wanted to visit but I simply didn't have time. My trip had its obvious ups and downs, but overall I really enjoyed just exploring and experiencing a different culture, and getting a glimpse of how others live. I hope I'll be back in Korea again someday. =)

19 comments:

  1. I want to go see there next time, the chains look so cool!

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  2. Same ! I wanted to visit many places, shame I didn't have time. Seoul tower is lovely. I saw the love trees with the padlocks, honestly thought they were Christmas trees. ^^ Don't know whether I've got any pictures of it, maybe I do somewhere. I watched Boys over Flowers! I don't remember seeing the Seoul tower. >< I might have skipped a bit.

    P.S: The Italian food looks lovely! I do wish to visit Italy one day to try out the authentic dishes. :}

    http://lifelivinginlondon.blogspot.co.uk/

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  3. Hi Diana omg! that is cheesy to buy all that cell phone cases to write on to throw away! You look so beautiful! I love your pictures haha! I would totally stop by somewhere cute just to camho too <3! Love the bear pictures! :)

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  4. great views! I love cities at night too, seems more serene and beautiful~ :D

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  5. Cool post and you're so cute ^^ Love from your newest follower, emi - http://emi-doll.blogspot.co.uk/

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  6. What a great trip you had! Your pics and post make us feel as though we were there. :D I love the idea of that love lock tower. Then again, I like cheesy stuff sometimes...hee hee.

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  7. Ahh I think I saw parts of the tower (the love locks + stairway) from We Got Married

    And yeah, the bench is weird! I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me at first haha

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  8. Happy Birthday! :) Hope you'll have a lovely time. ^^

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  9. That's cool that you got to visit the tower! I do remember the cable car scene from BOF now that you mention it :D

    Those locks are a really cute idea; it is a bit cheesy, but I'd still do it anyway hehe

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  10. Yes! It's so funny, I loved that scene but wasn't quite sure if it was the right location until I checked online afterwards (and I'm pretty sure there weren't any other scenes there in BOF).

    I think the locks seemed a bit cheesy only because there were so, so many cluttered together with cell phone cases, but I do think it's cute too and I'm sure if I had been visiting with a boyfriend or best friend I would have done it too, lolol. I guess that makes me a closet romantic. =P

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  11. Yes! I read that it was in WGM but I still haven't watched any episodes yet, hehe. I was quite happy to see SHINee there in their Yunhanam episode! I'm curious if their locks are still there or if some crazed fans have already stolen then, keke.

    The bench...I'm really not sure why they chose to have it like that? hehe It looks like I just cracked it when I sat down! haha =P

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  12. Aw thanks! It's nice too that I can share it with you girls and that keeps me from talking about it too much in real life, keke. Aww I don't blame you for liking cheesy stuff sometimes. I must admit that I do too (obviously, since I choose to visit the place, kekeke). And truthfully I wouldn't be surprised if I end up going back and adding a lock myself, keke. XD

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  13. Me too! Even though I do like suburbs, I am a city girl at heart. I love all of the lights! <3

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  14. Isn't that strange? I don't even think they sell cell phone cases there with the padlocks, so I wonder if people just buy them at subway station shops and then bring them there. But then...the meaning just wouldn't be the same as a love lock to me, hehe. Those messages must be super long on the cases! :P Thanks for the kind comments! <3

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  15. Ahh it's tough to see everything when you're traveling since you're on a time crunch and also can get lost and tired! hehe I do remember thinking of Christmas trees too. Hmm I haven't watched BOF in years but I'm pretty sure it's the part where they spend the night in the cable car. Remember she bought him the coffee with the view? keke I don't think they showed the actual tower or love locks though but I could be wrong.

    I also love Italian food and wish to visit Italy one day too! Hopefully we both can! =)

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  16. Definitely! It's also cool since we don't live there and we can say we have love locks in another part of the world or a different country, hehe. Plus you are married so it kind of makes more sense for you than me. (What if I leave a love lock there, break up and then have to go take that lock down before I can find new love?! keke jk.) =P

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  17. Hi, what time is better to get there? evening or afternoon? :D

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