추석 - 서울 ~ Korean Thanksgiving, Seoul

Well, Chuseok came and went very quickly; it was already a month ago.  Chuseok is like American Thanksgiving when it time for the Koreans to do their harvesting.  They also spend time with their families.  This year, Chuseok was from September 11-13.  It fell on a weekend so we got about five days off.  I was originally planning on going to China, but only two weeks after arriving home from my summer vacation and not having enough time to get a visa, I couldn’t make it feasible.

This is a typical intersection - six lanes wide

Then I thought of going to Japan or Taiwan since it was a similar flight distance (Japan – two hours, Taiwan – five hours) but I just decided against it.  I thought I should spend some time in Seoul doing things I haven’t done yet there.

Korean War Museum

The first thing I wanted to do was see the Korean War Museum.  It was so interesting.  They had huge memorials displayed for all the soldiers who lost their lives in the Korean War.  They even had it separated by country AND by state.  It was such a great honor to go there. 

Each black slate had names etched in them

Once I got inside the museum, the first floor was all about wars from a long time ago.  Then the second floor was just for the Korean War, so I spent most of my time up there.  I really wanted to read everything and we watched a few short movies.  My friend Jazmine was with me, so after spending a few hours in there, we decided to leave.

Outside the Museum with Namsan Tower in the background

Outside there were old replicas of war machinery, like tanks, planes and ships.  It was really interesting. 

Then we saw this lady who appeared to be sweeping off some bricks near the water.  She was in heels and we were waiting for her to fall in.  So naturally, I just watched and snuck photos of her..haha.

Crazy Lady

Then we went to Namsan Tower (or Seoul Tower) which is the geographical center of Seoul.  Now I don’t know if it was just foggy ot if it’s actually the pollution, but it always seems to be hazy in Seoul.  But I’m glad I was able to make it up there to see the view.

I also debated about going up at night, but thought that if it was foggy during the day, it would foggy during the night.  I didn’t know what was better, and I thought there might be a chance of rain, so I thought we should go while we could.

Up near the ticket booth, they have an observation deck where people puts locks on it to lock their love for one another there forever.  That was really cool to see and it was way bigger than I thought. 

I spent three days there total and got most of the things done that I wanted to in Seoul.  I still want to go to the DMZ, see the Kimchi Museum and a few other little things, so I may have one more chance the weekend before I fly out.

Also, walking through the streets of Seoul, I ran into a Starbucks.  I never get Starbucks because I am more of a Caribou fan, but I always enjoying seeing the name Starbucks in Korean Characters.  So here ya go!

Chuseok was fun and I’m glad I could escape Inje for a few days.  I can’t wait to come home and celebrate American thanksgiving with my family!  See you all in 35 days!!