march/april 2023

for our 2023 trip, we decided to go to south korea for the first time. we started in seoul (where else?), and since it was our first time to the country and the city, we had to hit some of the historic albeit touristy spots.

bukchon hanok village

one of the must-sees was bukchon hanok village. hanocks are traditional korean homes, and this area used to house government officials. while idyllic and beautifully preserved, these are still mostly private homes (though some have been converted to museums/cultural centers, airbnbs or other businesses) so it definitely felt a little weird to be walking around with a bunch of other folks taking pictures like we were at disneyland or something.

beautiful details and craftmanship everywhere.

as usual, my favorite moments and snapshots were when we found the small, quiet, and empty alleyways.

the hanok village is situated between the two palaces we visited, and where many tourists rented and dressed up in hanboks, or traditional korean outfits, for lots of photo ops both in bukchon as well as the palaces.

gyeongbokgung palace

gyeongbokgung was the main royal palace, and the first that we visited. it was huge and very busy, and we spent several hours wandering the stunning grounds.

the first few gates and main buildings (and any tree that had blooming cherry blossoms) were packed and busy, but as we walked deeper into the grounds it got quieter and more peaceful.

changdeokgung palace

the second palace we visited, changdeokgung, is said to have a beautiful secret garden. however, we went too late in the day and they were sold out of the timed tickets, so the better move would have been to visit this palace first! it was also smaller and a little more intimate feeling in the parts we were able to visit.

national museum of korea

our visit to the national museum of korea was really informative and i kind of wish we had visited the musuem before the palaces so that we would have had more context. the museum itself is beautifully designed and thoughtfully curated.

i especially enjoyed the prehistory and ancient history exhibit, seeing the evolution from prehistoric stone tools to pottery and bronzework and gold jewelry of the korean peninsula.

for our first visit to seoul, these felt like places we really had to visit. while we don’t regret seeing and visiting these places and learning more about korean history, part of me does wish we had spent more time getting to know the city as it is for modern residents. this isn’t to say we didn’t see quite a bit more of the city (as you’ll see in the next post), but it’s just such a big and diverse place that there were entire neighborhoods we didn’t get to see or get a feel for in 4 short days.