Seoul

I just got back from my first trip to Seoul. A teacher from my school has a photography class in Seoul and I asked her if she could show me where the bus station in Inje was so I knew where to go, how to buy a ticket, how long it takes to get there, where it drops you off in Seoul, how to use the subway...ya know, the typical stuff. After being on my own for a few hours until I met my college friend, I got the hang of it.

We happened to be on the green line that makes a loop, so if I wanted, I could have stayed on that all day. I knew which stop to meet my college friend so I got off there so I could get off and walk around. The subway was above ground and underground so I like to see as much of the city as I can, since Seoul is in the top three of the largest metropolitan cities in the world.



I ended up getting off the subway where Olympic Park is. I like walking around Olympic Parks and Plazas to see all the sculptures and buildings and flags spread around the grounds. I have only been to one other stadium though, and that was in Barcelona. I didn't get to spend much time there, so I would like to go back and explore a little more.

Then it was time to meet my friend, so I headed back toward the subway stop I left from to go another three stops to meet her. I had to ask the information guy for a map because I haven't really been on a subway before by myself, so the one thing - and please don't laugh - I can't do is figure out which way on the Subway I have to be going. Sometimes when you go down to catch the subway, on one side of the road it goes toward one direction, so you have to go back up, cross the street above, then go back down so you're going the other way...if that makes sense. It does in my head. Anyway, after receiving the map, I opened it up and just gazing around and looking really confused some Korean guy came up to me and asked me if I needed help. I said yes, this is where I'm going and he told me the right way. then I said thank you in Korean...probably with a bad accent because I really don't know how to pronounce it yet.

I met my college friend for lunch, then we strolled around a little more before I had to catch my bus back. We found out where they held the G20 Conference and took pictures outside. I wish I could have seen Obama. That's OK, I'm sure he was busy anyway.



Seoul is such a huge city, but to me it doesn't seem like it has tall buildings all squished together. It just seems more spread out and a spider web of a subway system. I hope to go to Seoul once a month just so I can get to see everything I want to see. A one-way bus ticket costs 12,200 won, which is about $10, so not so bad. And the bus ride is only two hours, which is tolerable. I will have a fun time getting to know the city and visiting my college friend and my high school friend that are just teaching outside Seoul.