A Week in Seoul

It has been one week since I arrived in Korea, and I have already seen and done so much. On my first day in Seoul I visited Gwangjang Market, Gyeongbokgung palace, and the neighborhood of Insa-dong. It was a day full of trying to absorb elements of a culture that is entirely new to me. This did not fully hit me until I arrived at the market and attempted to order food. At Gwangjang market I ordered the Korean dish bibimbap (translates to mixed rice). It is a dish that usually consists of rice with fresh vegetables and sometimes egg or meat on top. As a vegan, I read prior to coming to Korea that this is a dish that can be easily be made without meat or eggs. 

So I attempted to communicate my wish for the dish to made without meat or eggs, and when the dish (pictured above) was brought out I thought my attempt was successful... until I took a bite. What I thought was kimchi on top of the dish turned out to be raw beef. Luckily, I realized this right away and did not finish the dish. Since then I've gotten better at ordering food, and have not had any similar incidents. I have even found multiple restaurants with an all vegetarian cuisine!

It was wonderful taking in elements of a new culture. The first picture in this post was the view after emerging from the Gwanghwamun subway stop and seeing the statue of King Sejong with Gyeongbokgung palace and the mountains as a backdrop. This was something I thought to be unique, and unlike anything I have seen before. The prominence, and clear high regard of what was, adjacent to what is new was stunning (see third picture).

Here are photos from Dal Yang, an all vegan restaurant with lots of flavors from different cuisines. This restaurant is very close to where I am staying. I have already been there twice. The first time I had a vegan version of the traditional Korean dish bulgogi (beef or pork over rice). In this case it was soy meat. The owners were so kind, and gladly informed me of more restaurants to try! I will definitely be returning here.

On the second day in Seoul I visited the communications tower on top of Namsan mountain. It was a foggy night, but that did not detract from the view. It was noticeably a tourist destination, and for good reason.

The following night I went to Myeong-dong. A district filled with street food and shopping outlets. Above are pictures from some of the street food, and a music shop that no more than three people could comfortably be in at a time. It surprised me to see that most CDs were packaged inside a hardcover book. Very cool!

More to come!