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Background: Korea was an independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium. Following its victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan occupied Korea; five years later it formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north. During the Korean War (1950-53), US and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1987, South Korean voters elected ROH Tae-woo to the presidency, ending 26 years of military dictatorships. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President KIM Tae-chung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il.

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By HalAndCheryl
April 16th 2009

Touring Seoul Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Palaces, Palaces, Palaces
Why did these kings need so many palaces?

The next morning (no too early) we hopped a subway for downtown and hooked up with the half-day bus tour of Seoul’s palaces. It’s not really a full half-day since we only get one ride around the city for a 1½ hour tour of the palace sites, but it was just right for us. We were most impressed with the canal area with its sculptures of Korean life. WE could get off and get back on as many times as we like, but after one 2-hour stint at a single pair of castles, we were toast! We walked back to the [View Full Entry]

By HalAndCheryl
April 15th 2009

Travel to Seoul Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Manila Jeepney
They do get colorful her. The more outrageous, the better.

Our scheduled departure from SIL Bagabag was 4:30 AM Easter Monday. Our destination was Manila and the main highway, EDSA (I have no idea what the acronym stands for), only allows certain vehicles access from 10 AM to 2 PM. They call it color coding, although there are no colors involved. I gather that it means that if your license plate number ends in a 1 or 2 you can drive in Manila on Mondays and if it ends in a 3 or 4 you can drive there on Tuesdays, etc. If your vehicle does not meet the criteria, you are [View Full Entry]

By Nine tales from the Orient
April 14th 2009

Deoksugung Palace Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Korea's long period of monarchism essentially ended in 1910 when Japan annexed the Korean peninsula. The monarchy never reestablished itself after Korea regained independence in the 1940s. Nevertheless, four palaces in Seoul have been renovated and restored so that the public may view the Korean monarchy's architectural legacy. Deoksugung Palace is close to the City Hall subway station and is in the heart of downtown. Changing of the guard ceremonies regularly take place at the palace's front gates. These ceremonies feature colourfully attired marching bands, which play traditional, Korean [View Full Entry]

By Seoul Seeker
April 13th 2009

Copy Write Asia » South Korea » Seoul

classy and goodlookin'
don't let the sweet faces fool you, they will take your money at scrabble, too!

After asking Pamela for her permission and getting an ok, I wanted to use an entry she most recently published on her own travel blog. She went to Crab Fest with me 2 weekends ago and she couldn't have put the experience regarding Ajummas better. Granted we were definitely out of sorts in the country and this does not regularly happen (or has not to me) in a major city like Seoul. Maybe all rules are out the window after you leave metropolitain and hit gravel roads. Whatever it is I thought she put it perfectly and wanted to share: ------------------------------------------------------- [View Full Entry]

By Ami Lou
April 13th 2009

Spring has finally arrived! Asia » South Korea » Seoul » Insadong

Apparently 'Art is Over'.

The last couple of weeks have been the usual - a mixture of teaching, exploring, partying and attempting to catch up on my sleep!! Last weekend was spent exploring Insadong the arty area of Seoul. Its one of those places that is very touristy so has tons of stalls to buy from but it also has a great atmosphere. There's art shops, tea shops, yummy restaurants, galleries, food stalls, palm readers - they all make up a fab area and I can imagine Jacqui would love to photograph it as it seems to have this 'arty haze' as you walk through [View Full Entry]

By john9284
April 13th 2009

Bukhansan National Park Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Mountain 1

Day 7 (4/13): Today, we wanted a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the city to do something less touristy, so Catherine and I decided to go hiking at Buraksan National Park to the north of Seoul. Ideally, hiking a mountain should be done in the morning, allowing you time to climb up to the peak and enjoy the view before descending. Did we do just that? Nope. We didn't leave the guesthouse until around 2PM. Needless to say, we didn't make it up to the top. More on that later. Generally, the day had pretty good weather [View Full Entry]

By john9284
April 11th 2009

First Update from Seoul Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Checking In
Arrival at the airport prior to our 13 hour flight to Narita, Japan.

OK, so I'm too lazy to write clever and witty stories, so I'm just gonna start it off as a diary of sorts and keep track of what we're doing each day. Day 1 (4/7): 13 hour flight to Narita, Japan, then another 2 hour flight to Incheon, South Korea. Took a taxi from the airport to Annie's apartment. Cost: 75,600 Won (~$58) Rushed to Bupyeong to look around before they close. Spent the first night in Incheon at Annie's TINY apartment. Day 2 (4/8): Catherine woke up at 6 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. Left Annie's and took [View Full Entry]

Catherine, Annie, and her cousin, Min-young

By Nine tales from the Orient
April 7th 2009

Yangjae Stream Ecological Park Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Yangjae Stream is a scenic, 5 kilometre-long tributary to the Han River. Recreational pathways run on either side of the stream, and some grand trees grace its banks. While the stream was once heavily polluted, its waters now flow more clearly than those of the Han River, thanks to a gravel filtration system. I found the stream while looking for tennis courts in the Yangjae subway station area. There is a well-treed park, with tennis courts, about 1 kilometre distant from the station. I visited the area in order to find the courts, but came away most impressed with the recreational [View Full Entry]

By ShelleLee
April 5th 2009

Let's all go to the lobby, and have ourselves a snack Asia » South Korea » Seoul » Gangnam

Work
Just some pictures of my workplace

I trust that you all have a glorious and eventful week...this way at least one of us has :) This blog may or may not be really short, (I always say that it will, and then it never is...) but I have exactly 142 won in my account until payday, which is on Friday. In American dollars that is less than $0.02, so you can see why I have been laying low. Though you all know me, and even when I am laying low, I tend to have a pretty good time. So I suppose we should get on with the [View Full Entry]

By ihavenoideawhattheheckijustgotmyselfinto
April 5th 2009

rebel Asia » South Korea » Seoul » Itaewon

I saw this ring and it was engraved with the word “rebel”. I wear it and look at it often wondering what it means. Go against the grain. Do something different. Make a change. Lauryn Hill has a song about rebel... Rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel Repent, the day is far too spent, rebel... rebel! Wake up and rebel We must destroy in order to rebuild Wake up, you might as well Oh are you satisfied Rebel... ohhh rebel Why don't you rebel? I agree…We must destroy in order to rebuild. Even ourselves. Sometimes when we reach the bottom that’s when [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Asia » South Korea » Seoul

Seoul Travel Blogs, page 14

Seoul Travel Blogs

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