Namsan, Naksan and Dongdaemun

Annyeong-haseyo.

We hear it has been unusually cold back home. It is cool here as well.....only about 23 degrees today. Had to wear long pants! Last week it got up to 30 degrees, so the "mild" temperatures this week are most welcome. We had a big thunder and lithening storm here yesterday. Deb and I were grocery shopping on our way home from school and the sky got real dark, then....flash! bang! We waited as long as we could in the store then pulled out our new umbrellas and hailed a cab home. Although we've had rain - even sleet on our first day here - this is the first real storm. I wonder if monsoon season is like this. Aside from yesterday's weather, all is calm here and we are well.

Last weekend we decided to explore a couple more parks. The ancient capital of Seoul (now Seoul's downtown area) was surrounded by a wall and protected by the surrounding mountainous terrain. Namsan (south mountain) is located south of the old capital, but now finds itself surrounded by the modern city of Seoul. It has been preserved as a large natural park and offers a cool respite from the hot, noisy, bustling city. Our neighbourhood is located south of Namsan, between it and the Han River. Above us, on the lower slopes of Namsan is Itaewon, a mainly foreign neighbourhood with large homes, embassies and high end restaurants, shops and hotels. At the top of Itaewon is the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Behind the hotel we found an entrance to a wonderful network of trails and gardens on the southern flank of Namsan. Here are a few photos from the afternoon we spent there.

There is the Hyatt looming over the trees behin the bridge access to the park. Although the cherry blossoms are long gone, other bushes and trees are in bloom.

It's very quiet and peaceful here. A nice place to read a paper or have a picnic.

We even found a grove of bamboo! Here we are in front of a big pile of stones.

The "bugs" here are huge!!!!

There are gingko trees all over in Seoul, in the parks and lining many roads, like the one below that runs beside Namsan Park. Here is a close up of the distinctive gingko leaves. This species of tree is very old dating from at least the Jurassic (when dinosaurs roamed the world), making them a kind of "living fossil".

As I mentioned earlier, a fortress wall once encircled the old capital of Seoul. It was built in the late 14th century to protect the city from the "bad guys" of course, but also from wild animals like tigers that once roamed the Korean peninsula. There were four great gates in the wall, at the north (Bukdaemun), east (Dongdaemun), south (Namdaemun) and west (Seodaemun). I think only 2 of these gates remain today, Dongdaemun and Namdaemun. Namdaemun was severly damaged by arson last year and is currently being re-built.

Sunday, our park expedition took us to Naksan Park where a section of the old wall (renovated) rises above the city on Naksan Hill. Here are our "city guards" pose on the fortress wall and then relax in the shade for a picnic.

The views were great! Here is a view to the northwest (below left) and northeast (right).

And to the north (below left). A pagoda, perched on the side of the mountian, is a relaxing, shady place to look out over the cityscape.

And here is a view through a slot in the wall (left) and one to the southeast (right), towards Dongdaemun Gate, near where this section of the wall ends.

We walked through the old alleys and streets from Naksan to Dongdaemun to catch the subway home. The great gate there sits at a busy intersection beside a huge (many blocks long!) market. It was very busy on the weekend, and we were all tired out from our trekking, so decided to give shopping a pass this time. We did stop briefly to admire the gate (left) and the Chonggye stream which runs by the market area (below right).

I believe that large sections of the old wall exist or have been restored in the northern part of Seoul. We'll have to return to explore these....and look for the elusive playgrounds with swings and slides.

Time to hit the hay. Thanks to all that have posted comments or emailed us.

All the best,

Derek, Deb, Jin and Lili