I didn’t get much time to wander around Seoul like I did in Tokyo. Every day was a work day and it was a brief stop. So I was confined mostly to what I could see from the windshield as we drove through the city or from the hotel. However, this was my first trip to South Korea so everything I saw was brand new to me. And I got to add a new country to my lifelong list.
Skyline
First, Seoul is huge. About ten million people live in the city itself although the larger metropolis holds closer to twenty-five million. This makes Seoul one of the largest cities on the planet. I stayed at the Grand Hyatt, high atop a hill in the Itaewon neighborhood (map). Every room in the hotel offered an amazing view when prevailing conditions allowed for it. I happened to be there when it wasn’t too overcast or smoggy so I was fortunate. Both are common. It also helped me gain an appreciation of the population density. Seemingly the city sprawled in every direction out to the horizon. This was the view directly off the hotel lobby on my first evening there.
Verticality
Huge apartment complexes grew up from the sprawl. Everywhere. Even out in the suburbs. There must have been thousands of complexes just like this one, each holding thousands of residents. Also, everything looked so new. I don’t know what existed in South Korea prior to the 21st Century but obviously there’s been a massive building boom in the last couple of decades. This closely matches South Korea’s growing economy and affluence.
Unfortunately the road network had trouble keeping up with the sprawl. Traffic backups happened at any time of day and at any place wherever we went. It seemed like no matter how much buffer we gave ourselves we were perpetually a few minutes late. So we did our best and brought along plenty of patience whenever we ventured out.
Gangnam Style
Gangnam simply translates to “South of the River”. The river in this instance is the Han which runs right through Seoul (map). Nonetheless, despite its ordinary name, it’s also one of Seoul’s most wealthy neighborhoods. So it’s become something like Seoul’s Beverly Hills, and of course spawned the infectious ear worm know as Gangnam Style in the previous decade.
It seemed like if I wanted a fancy dinner this would be the place to do it. There were certainly plenty of options available. I didn’t generally go over the top on meals during the trip, but when in Gangnam, live like Gangnam I suppose. Fortunately the U.S. Dollar was doing pretty well against the South Korean Won to help cushion the blow.
Side Streets
So I exaggerated. Not everything in Seoul was brand new. One evening I wandered downhill from the hotel and into the side-streets of Itaewon. Really they weren’t much more than alleys although motorcycles rode down them so I had to pay attention. I guess that made them roads in a sense. Stalls and booths lined both sides, offering cheap meals and various sundries. Notice the electrical wires in the photo. It looked like an obvious vestige of something that came well before the current modernization. Today all that mess would be buried underground.
N Seoul Tower
Yes, it really does seem to be called the N Seoul Tower although officially it’s the YTN Seoul Tower (map). YTN is a Korean news channel so it makes sense for it to own a big tower on a hill capable of broadcasting across the city. The tower, whatever one wants to call it, sits atop Nam Mountain right in the middle of Seoul. However, I didn’t go up there; I’d had enough of towers after my Tokyo experience a few days earlier. Plus I didn’t really have the time. So I just had to stare at it, longingly.
This was actually part of the view from my hotel room window, and that’s where I took the photo. At night the tower light up with multiple colors. The scene always seemed to change out in that direction from my window. I won’t say my room’s view was the highlight of the South Korean portion of the trip but it definitely enhanced it.
I felt like I barely had a chance to touch Seoul before I had to leave. I’m going to have to return someday as a tourist.
Articles in the Asia-Pacific Series
- Oahu: Honolulu Waterfront
- Oahu: Beyond Waikiki
- Japan: Tokyo Temples and Tourists
- Japan: Exploring Tokyo
- Japan: Farther Afield
- South Korea: Seoul
- South Korea: The DMZ
- Postscript: Interesting Signs
- Postscript: Brew It
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr
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