the myeongdong intersection 07:13

Above is a bird's eye view of what is now mostly Myeongdong. You can see the former Bank of Chosen and the Old Seoul Post office in the foreground. The Mitsukoshi Department Store has yet to built in this picture. As one follow the street just right of the bank, the street opens up to the City Hall and a large, open plaza. On the left is a close up of the intersection, with the Bank of Chosen on the left. Today, most of the other buildings have all been demolished unfortunately.

Above is the former Mitsukoshi Department Store now Shinsegae Headquarters and below the Former Bank of Chosen Bank now museum.

The former Korea First Bank.

The recently built Korea Post Office.

bank of korea 23:18

The Bank of Korea was designed by Tatsuno Kingo, the same architect behind Tokyo Station and the Bank of Japan. It was completed in 1912 and served as the Bank of Chosen (朝鮮銀行) until 1945. In 1950, the Bank of Korea was established and was headquartered here until a new skyscraper was built just behind the building. It is now the Bank of Korea Museum. It is built in an eclectic mixture of French Chateau and French Renaissance styles. 

the first mall in seoul 19:48

The first department store in Seoul was the Gyeongseong Branch of Mitsukoshi (三越京成支店), built in 1930 and designed by Japanese architect Hayashi Kouhei. It is one of the few structures that actually survived the Korean War. In 1963, the Samsung group took over the building and began the Shinsegae Department Store (신세계 백화점) and in 2007, it was remodeled with escalators.

During the colonial era, this department store was one of two Western-style buildings that ordinary Koreans could enter (the other being Seoul Station). It is here that concepts such as 'modern boy' and 'modern girl' entered the vocabulary of young Korean people.

A view of it today at night

During Christmas

 In 1914, Japan opened its first Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi in Tokyo modeled after department stores in London (Harrod's) and Paris (Le Bon Marché). Sixteen years later, the Seoul branch would open.

Harrods in London, 1898

Le Bon Marché, 1850

the old seoul post office 14:21

Certain buildings, I wish were still extant. The old Seoul Post Office being one of them. It was originally called the Gyeongseong Government Post Office (경성 우편국 청사)  and served its purpose from 1905 to the 1950's when the Korean War erupted. And it was during the war that much of it was sadly destroyed. In 1957 a three-story building was constructed until it was expanded in 1968 to serve the growing metropolis. 

The first building was constructed in the Japanese 'Imperial' Style, which was a style loosely based on late German Baroque. The red brick and whitish granite are typical of architecture in colonial Korea during the early 1900's. A central dome topped the building in typical Baroque fashion. 

By the early 1950's the building had already lost its dome and parts of its roof.

After the demolition of the original and the two subsequent (and mediocre) buildings, this is the Seoul Central Post Office today. It was designed and built by the architecture firm Space Group headed by Lee Sang-leem in 2008. 

the most economically powerful cities 21:52

1) London, England.
GDP: 452 billion. population: 8,567,000.
2) Hong Kong, China.
GDP: 244 billion. population: 7,206,000.
3) New York, USA.
GDP: 1.13 trillion. population: 19,040,000.
4) Tokyo, Japan.
GDP: 1.19 trillion. population: 35,676,000.
5) Chicago, USA.
GDP: 460 billion. population: 8,990,000.
6) Seoul, Korea.
GDP: 218 billion. population: 9,796,000.
7) Paris, France.
GDP: 460 billion. population: 9,904,000.
8) Los Angeles, USA.
GDP: 639 billion. population: 12,500,000.
9) Shanghai, China.
GDP: 139 million. population: 14,987,000.
10) Toronto, Canada.
GDP: 209 billion. population: 5,213,000.

From Forbes.com

the bowing building 18:59

This is one of my favorite buildings north of the Han River in Seoul. Apparently, SK Telecom added the bend at the top as a symbol of the company bowing to its citizens. Pretty neat concept I think.

top five things to do in seoul 10:20

5) All that Jazz in Itaewon. A place where you can have a glass of wine and listen to live jazz music. A pretty sweet way to spend a night out in Seoul.

4) Go watch Nanta. A musical comedy about four chefs cooking up a birthday dinner bash. It actually is more exciting than it sounds. The music and beats are all derived from traditional Korean music. And the greatest thing is, you don't have to know Korean.

This is how Meredith felt after watching Nanta!

3) Go to a barbeque restaurant in Myeongdong. Most restaurants cater towards the Japanese here but that doesn't mean it isn't good. One of the best places for meat in my opinion. And then after all that meat, you can refresh yourself with a nice bowl of cold naengmyeon!

2) Spend a few hours at one of the five palaces. I prefer Changdeok Palace to the other four only because there are always less people around. A beautiful place to enjoy traditional architecture and nature. Extremely calming and peaceful.

1) An afternoon strolling around Insadong. Walk down Insadong gil and in between all the narrow alley ways and visit all the little pottery shops, painting galleries, and tea houses. And don't forget to grab yourself a 700 won hotteok from the street vendor and a bowl of cold plum tea from one of the tea houses.

A restaurant in one of the alleyways in Insadong

jon in korea 04:58

I'm grateful that my friend Jon came out to Korea during his vacation time. Him being here though really made me miss home and even now, I feel a bit homesick. Luckily, I only have three more months left before I fly back to California!

Jon's flight came in late on Friday night so he could not bus to Daejeon, the city I'm living in. I made him stay with my friend Brian who he had never met and I met him the next morning. We hung out in Seoul for the day and then flew out to Jeju Island the next morning. My friend Tim who lives on Jeju Island picked us up. Jeju was probably the highlight of our trip. On Monday morning, we hiked up Seongsan to see the sunrise. Seongsan is a mini crater that juts out from mainland Jeju. I guess it's famous for sunrises and since everybody's does it while they're there, we did it.

Immediately after, we took a ferry to Udo (Cow Island) and rode scooters. While scootering around, we happened upon Haenyeos, really really old woman divers. These women dive and catch sea creatures for food. They can hold their breath for about three to five minutes and from what I saw, most in their seventies. Despite their age, it seemed as though most were in better shape than I was. According to one Haenyeo who we talked to, most woman start diving at the age of ten and continue to do it until the day they die! Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take pictures with them and we dared not to secretly sneak one after we saw a haenyeo punk a father and son who had done so without their consent. 

I think Jon actually did better with the food that I thought he would have. Granted, I kind of know what he likes and dislikes... I was still surprised at how adventurous he had gotten after Tokyo. 

the new old tea house 04:18

Visiting the "New Old Tea House" in Insadong is one of the top ten things to do in Seoul according to Lonely Planet. It is a very difficult place to find because it is nestled in an alleyway away from all the tourists in Insadong. Once you get there you can drink overpriced tea while having birds fly over your head... Well, not exactly. But they do have lots of birds. And they talk too. We went to it and found it surprisingly nice and relaxing. It is now one of my top ten things to do in Seoul.

building frenzy 07:03

I am beginning to appreciate skyscraper architecture. To me (and I think many others), most skyscrapers were an ugly product of modernist architecture. Luckily for my generation, we have moved beyond modernism and architects are now paying attention to the aesthetics of a building and not just its functionality.

In Korea, there are plans for 7 new skyscrapers all over 100 stories high. This building on the left will be built near Yongsan, Seoul. If completed as scheduled in 2013, it will be the second tallest building in the world, after the Burj Dubai. The Burj Dubai when completed in 2008 will be about half a mile long with at least 164 floors! Before the Burj Dubai, the Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world. Other new buildings being built are the Shanghai World Financial Center, the Freedom Tower in New York City, the Russia Tower, the International Commerce Center in Hong Kong, the Incheon Tower in Korea, and the Chicago Spire. Images of these buildings are below in their respective order.