Seoul...3rd Time's a Charm

Seoul is one of those cities that surprises you every single time you visit it. The fact that this metropolis is the largest city in Korea probably helps that fact along, as well as the internationality of the place, but I'm still surprised at all the nooks and crannies that this city holds.

Take where I ate for breakfast this morning. My friend, Kenzie, met me in an area called Gangnam where "the best pancakes in Seoul" were located. We had to wait for a table and the menu was huge: a full-on, Western breakfast menu (and I don't mean Texas Western). Six different kinds of pancakes, egg breakfasts, waffles, french toast, you name it, it was there. And I'd never heard of the place before. My gingerbread pecan cakes were to die for and the drip coffee with milk and sugar on the side (a request that usually draws a look of confusion...milk? Do you want a latte?) made it feel almost like home.

But the jewel of the day was when Kenzie and I walked into Changdeokgung Palace. Granted, we didn't really "stumble" on it...more like we read about it and decided to give it a try. The main gate to the palace overlooks what is now Insa-dong, a shopping district with an artistic flair. The palace seemed to fit right in with its surroundings. For about three dollars Canadian, we joined an English tour that took us through the grounds and all around the back garden, known as the Secret Garden. We'd read that the palace was a UNESCO site, which added to the appeal, but the history of the place was incredibly interesting. Parts of it had been burned down, relocated, rebuilt, and restored since it was first built in 1405. It housed members of the royal family from that year until as late as 1989, when the last prince died there. Stepping onto the grounds was like stepping back in time. It is known as one of the most unique palaces left in Korea. Here's a bit of the intro from the palace guidebook:

Unlike Gyeongbokgung (at that time, the main palace in Seoul), where major buildings are arranged along a main axis, Changdeokgung is laid out in harmony with the area's topography. The palace architecture has an asymmetric beauty that is unique to Korea. The layout is welcoming and was very comfortable for the royal family. Originally there was no boundary between Chandeokgung and Changgyeonggung (another secondary palace), and the two were collectively known as the "East Palace" as they are both located to the east of Gyeongbokgung. Together with Jongmyo Shrine (to the royal ancestors) to the south and the royal garden to the north, this area formed the largest royal residential complex of the Joseon Dynasty (one of the longest reigning dynasties in Korean history).

After all of this treasure finding, I then had the opportunity to watch part of my boyfriend, Jamie's, movie shoot. He's starring in a short film that is being entered into one of the film festivals here and he's been working on it for a while. The shoot took place at a cafe that was decorated and is owned by the producer's uncle. It's a charm to see: huge rooms with trinkets everywhere, including an original Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band LP. I had fun informing the producer that that was the Beatle's original name...his answer: "This must be worth a fortune!"

Being on a movie shoot was interesting. I can see now that being an actor (or anyone else, for that matter) involved in movies is tough work. Shooting around the city started at 9 AM and all of them were worn out by the time they wrapped for the cafe location at 1:00 AM...and then they all headed on to the next spot while I went back to the hotel. Guess I'm not cut out to be an actor!

We've got one more day in Seoul and I hope that it'll be as fun-filled as today was. I'll upload some pictures soon.

Take care!
M