Seoul

Our first day in Seoul was a hectic sprint through the most important sights of the city. Our guide – who went by the name Mr J – first took us to the museum of the Blue House, the residence of the South Korean president. Despite the fact that the grounds have been used for over a millennium, our guide (just like a close-by Chinese guide whom I happened to overhear) started the story at Japanese aggression, setting the tone for pretty much every subsequent stop. What became the president’s residence used to be the residence of the Japanese Governor General during the period of Japanese occupation between 1910-1945.

This model one-child family statuary in front of the museum was part of a government campaign to lower birth rates.

We proceeded to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty, built in 1395. Drawing into the sandy ground with his umbrella, Mr J gave us an account of how the Japanese levelled much of the complex to make way for the General Government Building. Koreans assert that the addition of the General Government Building turned the rectangle shape of the royal palace into 日 for 日本 – Japan. Right after independence, a fierce debate broke out in Korea over what to do with this potent symbol of Japanese imperialism. However, it was not until the 1990s that the building was disposed of. Mr J said the South Korean president had originally intended to move it, but Japan requested that it be sent back to Japan. Enraged at the proposal, the South Koreans knocked the building down instead.

Such displays of righteous anger, we learnt during our tour, might very well be called the daily kimchi of ordinary Koreans. In the year 1592, another time Japan invaded the peninsula, the royal family fled Seoul. In response, the angry townspeople burned down the royal palace.

What remains of the palace now, therefore, is mostly reconstructed from the very detailed plans left behind for posterity. Among the most ingenious components of the building is the heating system, which runs under the floor, heating rooms up from the bottom before escaping through the chimney. The luxury of this arrangement, however, was counteracted by a conspicuous lack of furniture, for it was feared assassins might use it to hide while creeping through the palace. The king’s life always came first. For that reason too did the royal physician have a taste of the king’s faeces after every royal bowel movement. Our guide compared this to how Kim Jong-Un’s faeces are the most heavily guarded excrement in the world: When travelling, the North Korean delegation will never let their leader’s poo stay in a foreign country for fear it may be analysed.

 A tourist dressed in a rental costume at Gyeongbokgung

 Gyeongbokgung

 A very official seal

 A depiction of a royal procession

 A Haechi and its baby - the protector and symbol of Seoul

 The empress's dress

 The royal car

 The imperial throne

 The furniture inside the royal palace

 The interior of Gyeongbokgung

 Irworobongdo: literally "Painting of the Sun, Moon, and the Five Peaks"

 A of to the palace's intricate underground heating system 

 The back of Gyeongbokgung

 The animals of the zodiac

National Folk Museum of Korea

After the royal palace, we visited the Bukchon Hanok Village. ‘Hanok’ is the term for a house in the traditional Korean style. Bukchon Hanok Village stands on some prime real estate between several palaces, for which reason it used to be inhabited by court officials during the Joseon period. However, after Japanese occupation, many of the large manors were levelled to the ground or repurposed to be inhabited by the growing ranks of Japanese administrators.

Bukchon Hanok Village

A Hanok door

It started to rain quite heavily as we visited Tagpol Park – we were quite sure it was the fallout from Typhoon Lekima, which had fortunately evaded Xiamen and had grown very weak by the time it crawled up to the north. Tagpol Park is famous for the Wongaksa Pagoda, which was once part of a larger temple but now stands protected from the elements in a giant glass case. However, the park is simultaneously a well-known haunt of Seoul’s neglected and often impoverished senior citizens.

 A memorial at Tagpol Park

 A stele on a turtle's back

The Wongaksa Pagoda

Our lunch consisted of some soup with rice cake, and of course a lot of kimchi. Later in the afternoon we visited the War Memorial of Korea, which commemorates just about the only war in which Japan is not remembered as the devil incarnate. Incidentally, the 15^th of August, which is the day we visited, is celebrated as Korea’s National Liberation Day. On our way through the city centre, we saw massive demonstrations, which Mr J described as protests by old conservative people who hate Japan and love America. Many of them were holding signs calling for former president Park Geun-hye to be released from prison. As I was taking pictures through the car’s window, an elderly man approached us and ecstatically shook our hands, no doubt taking us to be Americans ourselves.

 A turtle ship at the War Memorial of Korea

 The interior of the War Memorial of Korea

 A tiger drum

 National Liberation Day protestors

 More protestors

 A policeman walking in front of protestors

 A protestor

A seated pro-American protestor

In the evening, I finally got to do something I was very much looking forward to – meet Michael, a friend from the Yale Russian Chorus who is currently doing a Korean program at Yonsei. Because the protest cut off vital points of transportation, Michael, for reasons entirely unknown to me, decided to run instead, drenching his whole shirt with sweat. And what a shirt it was – I am not sure I can quite describe the level of meme-ry it was on, but suffice it to say it was iconic. The look was completed by a pair of trousers, which, rather scandalously, ended just above the ankles in the style of the Korean youth. In the few hours we had together, we managed to do quite a lot. We got a little lost while phoning up and singing to our mutual friend Agata, after which we ate far too many cold noodles. Michael also took me to Seven Eleven and had me try several of the food articles that sum up his Korean childhood. Finally, we visited a Noraebang – a Korean karaoke bar. Bereft of my Chinese selection, I can still say that my thorough knowledge of Take Me Home carried me through the day.

 The Bank of Korea Museum

 The Bank of Korea Museum

Michael in front of the Bank of Korea Museum

A bustling street

 Michael's gift to me: meme sun glasses

 My gift to Michael: my presence