Seoul Off the Beaten Path Tips by kdoc13

Ok, it may just be the Political Science degree I wasted 4 years of college on, but there is something about a Presidential Home which I just can't pass up. The Blue house is the Korean version of the US White House. It is not quite as big, but the blue tiled roof is more attractive than the white marble mansion in Washington DC.

Unfortunately, it is just as hard to get into. But it can be done. The tickets are free, and can be obtained at the information booth. You will have to go between 10 am and 3 pm on Fridays and Saturdays durring select seasons. The last time I was in Seoul, I took the tour and managed to get a look at past President Kim (the 2001 version of a President Kim.) It is a very nice tour and one that surprised me as to how the President lives, compared with his US counterpart.

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Phone: 02-730-5800
Website: www.cwd.go.kr

Samcheongdonggil Street is home to many art gallaries. I think there were at least three. There was also the Korean Traditional Folk Dress Museum which featured many colorful and beautiful Hanbok's.

In addition to the museums and art gallaries, there are many cafe's, craft shops, and the Jeongdok Library nearby.

My favorite place on the street though is Dongsipjagak. Dongsipjagak was a watch tower at the southeastern corner of the Gyeongbokgung Palace wall. The stone base structure was built during the early Chosun period, while the structure on the basement is believed to have been built by the Prince Regent Daewongun when he rebuilt the Gyeongbokgung in 1867. Originally there was a flight of stone stairs on the inner side. Unfortunately, as can be seen in the picture, this reflects both the ancient and modern history of Korea. The structure itsef may reflect the Chosun period, but the bullet marks i the tower reflect the Korean War, which technically still has not come to an end.

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Website: http://www.ocp.go.kr:9000/ne_dasencgi/full.cgi?v_kw_str=DONGSIPJAGAK&v_db_query=A1%

I love art, especially great art. And Seoul has a lot of great art, including works by Western artist Auguste Rodin. In case you are not sure who Rodin is, the statue "the Thinker" is one of his best known works. Sometimes scary (like Rodin's gates of hell) but always beautiful, his sculptures are something not to be missed.

While the "Thinker" is not at this gallery, and it only seems to have three or four of his works, the works it does have, have such depth and dimension that is is worth the time to see. It is also a great chance to witness genius up close and personal. Plus, it is right next door to the Namdaemun gate in a white glass building which is of a design that is almost as impressive as the sculpture inside. It is a quick trip over from the Namdaemun market

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Website: http://www.rodingallery.org/

The Nanta Theater is best described as a Las Vegas show without all of the fun. I think I saw another post refer to it as a poor man's "Blue Man Group." That is kind of close to it, it is also kind of like the show "Stomp."

The Nanta Theater showcases modern theater-type performances. The one I saw was called "Cookin!" I was hoping it would turn into Iron Chef, or something like it, instead it was a bunch of people using Kitchen equipment as procussion instruments. It wasn't bad, I had just seen it before, and seen it done better.

There were some things to enjoy, at one point they were chopping vegetables in a unique way, and in time with the music. The Americans in the group all started whispering the words to the Choppin Broccoli song, which made for good times. But my favorite part of the show is the part I called "got milk?" It is hard to explain, but milk was basically poured into these drums so that when the drums were played, it exploded everywhere.

I think the key to enjoying it is not to take it as seriously as "Blue Man Group" or "Stomp". It is meant to be different, and has some very funny moments.

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Phone: 02-739-8288
Website: www.nanta.co.kr

There is nothing quite like the smell of fish in the morning to smack you awake! This rather large complex has many fishies, from flopping and tanked to recently caught and displayed on ice and dried or pickled fish. I am unfortunately allergic to fish, so this was wasted on me. But if you can look at one and imagine it on your plate... well, you can live the dream.

The market opens around 1:30 or some other incredibly early (or incredibly late depending on your point of view) hour in the morning, and the auction soon begins. Soon after the auction is over, the retail stores begin to open outside. Good days to go are in the middle of the week, Tues-Thurs, and when it is raining. Not sure why, but I have been told the deals get better then. Of course you can always go get a fish from a tank and have a merchant prepare it for dine in or carry out.

The market is easy to get to. Take line 1 to the Noryangin Station. It is connected to the market. Follow the smell and you will be there!

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Phone: 02-814-2211
Website: www.susansijang.co.kr

Let me start by saying, I am not making this up. On the second underground level of the COEX Mall is a small museum dedicated to Kimchi. For the few people who know nothing about Korean food, but are considering a trip to Korea, Kimchi is a pickled cabbage (mostly, there are many varieties) that is really spicy! Really spicy! It is a bit of an aquired taste for most westerners. It took me 3 years and 2 Korean girlfriends to get me used to it, and another 2 years before I started to enjoy it. Now I complain if it is not fresh. But I digress....

The Kimchi Field museum has many ehibits on all things Kimchi in order to help people understand the many types, the history, and the Korean's love of Kimchi.

It was interesting to me, but may not be everyone's choice of things to do. But, if it is a rainy day and you can't make it to some of the other sights in Seoul, the Kimchi Field musem has many videos which can help you learn about Korea's most famous food. Now, if they only had a video on figuring out Korean Kimchi tempers.... but that is for another page.

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Website: www.kimchimuseum.or.kr

Korean Popular Music is in some ways very similar to its Japanese counterpart, but perhaps a bit more....sugar-ish. My past experience with Korean music has been that it is typically slow and sad. But lately the new younger stars of the Korean music scene have made it a lot more interesting, mixing traditional asian sounds with R&B and Rock and Roll. One of my favorite new groups is called S.E.S. and I have seen them in concert twice!

S.E.S. represents the first name of each of the three young ladies who are in the group (Sea, Eugene, and Shoo. Sea is the cute one! Yeah, I really am in my 30's.) And while most of their songs are love songs, they sound like western acts like Janet Jackson, or the spice girls. Seeing them live is great though, because they actually sing live, but they dance around and have a great stage show too. Around Seoul, it seems liek there is always a band playing or one of the major K-pop groups in concert. If staying at a hotel, ask the kid carryign your bags about concerts in the area, he will probably know, or check out a CD-shop, they will steer you in the right direction. Most of the groups I have seen go out of their way to entertain their fans, and very rarely do the concerts end after an hour like some of the western bands do.

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